Below are 2013 Reports.
2013 Report to Congress on China's WTO Compliance
This is the twelfth report prepared pursuant to section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-286), 22 U.S.C. § 6951 (the Act), which requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to report annually to Congress on compliance by the People’s Republic of China (China) with commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), including both multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the United States. The report also incorporates the findings of the Overseas Compliance Program, as required by section 413(b)(2) of the Act, 22 U.S.C. § 6943(b)(2).
2013 Report on Russia's Implementation of the WTO Agreement
This Report was prepared pursuant to section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitskiy Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-208), which requires the U.S. Trade Representative not later than one year after the United States extends permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to the products of Russia, and annually thereafter, to submit a report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives assessing the extent to which Russia is implementing the “WTO Agreement” (including the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and the progress Russia has made in acceding to the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). In addition, to the extent that USTR believes that Russia is not fully implementing its WTO commitments or not sufficiently progressing to accede to the ITA and the GPA, the Report is to describe the actions that USTR plans to take to encourage Russia to improve its implementation of its commitments or increase its progress toward acceding, as the case may be. Consistent with other provisions in P.L. 112-208, in June 2013, USTR submitted the first annual “Enforcement Report” on WTO enforcement actions against Russia.
2013 Trade Policy Agenda and 2012 Annual Report
The President’s Trade Policy Agenda for 2013 describes how the Administration will continue to use every available policy tool over the next year – and develop new tools as necessary – to pursue the most efficient and productive pathways for trade liberalization in order to support greater economic growth and jobs. Moving forward, the Administration will continue to work with willing trading partners as we constantly seek ambitious, comprehensive, and high-standard trade and investment commitments that will enhance the ability of U.S. workers and firms to compete here at home and on a level playing field around the world. We will continue to enforce our trade agreements rigorously to bring home their economic benefits, preserve and support additional U.S. jobs, and discourage trade-inhibiting actions that diminish economic growth. We will strengthen trade relationships in every region, partner with developing countries to share the benefits of trade more broadly, and continue to reflect and uphold American values in trade policy.
This document is the fourth strategic plan of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. This strategic plan has been developed in accordance with the USTR's obligations under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) to help USTR plan for the next six years. The plan consists of eight main components: (1) a statement of USTR's agency mission; (2) USTR's general goals and objectives over the next six years; (3) How any goals and objectives contribute to the Federal Government’s priority goals; (4) the means and strategies USTR will employ to achieve its strategic goals; (5) the means and strategies by which the goals and objectives incorporate views and suggestions obtained through congressional consultations; (6) a description of the relationship between USTR's annual program performance goals and USTR's larger strategic goals; (7) key factors external to the agency and beyond its control that could significantly affect the achievement of the general goals and objectives; and (8) the program evaluations that USTR used in preparing the strategic plan.
Final Report of the U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth
The HLWG has reached the conclusion that a comprehensive agreement that addresses a broad range of bilateral trade and investment issues, including regulatory issues, and contributes to the development of global rules, would provide the most significant mutual benefit of the various options we have considered. We therefore recommend to Leaders that each side initiate as soon as possible the formal domestic procedures necessary to launch negotiations on a comprehensive trade and investment agreement.
National Trade Estimate Report
The 2013 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is the twenty-eighth in an annual series that surveys significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. This document is a companion piece to the President's Trade Policy Agenda published in March. The issuance of the NTE Report continues the elaboration of an enforcement strategy, utilizing this report, among other tools, in that strategy.
The report provides, where feasible, quantitative estimates of the impact of these foreign practices on the value of U.S. exports. Information is also included on some of the actions taken to eliminate foreign trade barriers. Opening markets for American goods and services, either through negotiating trade agreements or through results-oriented enforcement actions, is this Administration‟s top trade priority. This report is an important tool for identifying such trade barriers.
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Report)
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is pleased to publish its fourth annual Report on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Report). This report was created to respond to the concerns of U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and workers who confront SPS trade barriers as they seek to export high-quality American food and agricultural products around the world. SPS measures are rules and procedures that governments use to ensure that foods and beverages are safe to consume and to protect animals and plants from pests and diseases.
Many SPS measures are fully justified, but too often governments cloak discriminatory and protectionist trade measures in the guise of ensuring human, animal, or plant safety. These SPS barriers not only harm U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, workers, and their families, they also deprive consumers around the world of access to high-quality American food and agricultural goods. USTR is committed to identifying and combating unwarranted SPS barriers to U.S. food and agricultural exports. USTR’s efforts to remove unwarranted foreign SPS barriers serve the President’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014 through the National Export Initiative.
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Report)
This year the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its fourth annual Report on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Report). This report was created to respond to the concerns of U.S. companies, farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers, which increasingly encounter non-tariff trade barriers in the form of product standards, testing requirements, and other technical requirements as they seek to sell products and services around the world. As tariff barriers to industrial and agricultural trade have fallen, standards-related measures of this kind have emerged as a key concern.
Governments, market participants, and other entities can use standards-related measures as an effective and efficient means of achieving legitimate commercial and policy objectives. But when standards-related measures are outdated, overly burdensome, discriminatory, or otherwise inappropriate, these measures can reduce competition, stifle innovation, and create unnecessary technical barriers to trade. These kinds of measures can pose a particular problem for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often do not have the resources to address these problems on their own. USTR is committed to identifying and combating unwarranted technical barriers to U.S. exports, many of which are detailed in this report. USTR’s efforts to prevent and remove foreign technical barriers serve the President’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014 through the National Export Initiative.
Results of the 2013 Section 1377 Review of Telecommunications Trade Agreements
This 2013 Review addresses several general themes: Internet-enabled trade in services, including cross-border data flows and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services; independent and effective regulators; limits on foreign investment; competition; international termination rates; satellite services and submarine cable systems; telecommunications equipment trade; and local content requirements.
Although several of the issues in the 2013 Review have been discussed in past Reviews, USTR considers it appropriate to continue to raise these issues and encourage U.S. trading partners to implement appropriate solutions. The 2013 Review describes practices or measures of U.S. trading partners that USTR will actively monitor throughout the year and with respect to which, if warranted, USTR may take further action.
This Report reflects the Administration’s continued resolve to encourage and maintain adequate and effective IPR protection and enforcement worldwide. It identifies a wide range of concerns, including the continued deterioration in IPR protection, enforcement, and market access for persons relying on IPR in Ukraine; the growing problem of misappropriation of trade secrets in China and elsewhere; troubling “indigenous innovation” policies that may unfairly disadvantage U.S. rights holders in China; the continuing challenges of copyright piracy over the Internet in countries such as Brazil, Italy, and Russia; and other ongoing, systemic IPR enforcement issues presented in many trading partners around the world.
Report on WTO Enforcement Actions: Russia
This report was prepared pursuant to section 201(b) of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitskiy Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-208). This Act requires the U.S. Trade Representative not later than 180 days after the United States extends permanent normal trade relations (PNTR)to the products of the Russian Federation (Russia), and annually thereafter, to submit a report to the Committee on Finance of the U.S. Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives describing the enforcement actions taken by Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) against Russia to ensure Russia’s full compliance with its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including any obligations under agreements with members of the Working Party on the accession of Russia to the WTO.
Seventh Report to the Congress on the Operation of the Andean Trade Preference Act as Amended
The Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as amended by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) (jointly referred to as the ATPA/ATPDEA), requires the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to submit a report to Congress on the operation of the program no later than June 30th every year during the period that the program is in effect. Congress directed that these reports include a review of the ATPA/ATPDEA beneficiary countries based on the eligibility criteria and considerations described in the statute. This is the seventh USTR report to Congress on the ATPA/ATPDEA, and covers the year 2012, unless otherwise indicated.
2013 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets
