National Trade Estimate on Trade Barriers

Mr. Bolten spoke at the Office of the United States Trade Representative on the release of the 6th Annual National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers. The report is an inventory of all trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters, including tariffs, standards testing, government procurement barriers, export subsidies, lack of intellectual property protection, services barriers, and investment barriers. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative supports open and free trade between countries, and the report may be used by the U.S. administration to act against unfair trade barriers through the 1988 Free Trade Act. Mr. Bolten said the Bush administration’s focus concerning trade centers on the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, being conducted according to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which may solve a number of the conflicts the U.S. finds in trading with foreign countries. close