2019 National Trade Estimate Report on FOREIGN TRADE …

2019 National Trade Estimate Report on

FOREIGN TRADE BARRIERS

UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is responsible for the preparation of this report. U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer gratefully acknowledges the contributions of all USTR staff to the writing and production of this report and notes, in particular, the contributions of Will Davis, Samuel Gruber, Julie McNees, Nathaniel Moulton, and Lida Weinstock. Thanks are extended to partner Executive Branch members of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC). The TPSC is composed of the following Executive Branch entities: the Departments of Agriculture, State, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Treasury; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Office of Management and Budget; the Council of Economic Advisers; the Council on Environmental Quality; the U.S. Agency for International Development; the Small Business Administration; the National Economic Council; the National Security Council; and, the Office of the United States Trade Representative; as well as non-voting member the U.S. International Trade Commission. In preparing the report, substantial information was solicited from U.S. Embassies.

Office of the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer

LIST OF FREQUENTLY USED ACRONYMS

AD................................................................................ Antidumping AGOA .......................................................................... African Growth and Opportunity Act APEC ........................................................................... Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN ........................................................................ Association of Southeast Asian Nations BIT ............................................................................... Bilateral Investment Treaty BOP.............................................................................. Balance of Payments CAFTA-DR.................................................................. Dominican Republic-Central America-United

States Free Trade Agreement CBERA ........................................................................ Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act CBI............................................................................... Caribbean Basin Initiative CVD ............................................................................. Countervailing Duty DDA............................................................................. Doha Development Agenda DOL ............................................................................. U.S. Department of Labor DSB.............................................................................. WTO Dispute Settlement Body DSU ............................................................................. WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding EU ................................................................................ European Union FOIA ............................................................................ Freedom of Information Act GATT........................................................................... General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GATS ........................................................................... General Agreement on Trade in Services GDP ............................................................................. Gross Domestic Product GI ................................................................................. Geographical Indications GPA ............................................................................. WTO Agreement on Government Procurement GSP .............................................................................. Generalized System of Preferences ICTIME........................................................................ Interagency Center on Trade Implementation,

Monitoring, and Enforcement ILO............................................................................... International Labor Organization IPR ............................................................................... Intellectual Property Rights ITA............................................................................... WTO Information Technology Agreement KORUS ........................................................................ United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement MFN............................................................................. Most-Favored Nation MOU ............................................................................ Memorandum of Understanding NAFTA ........................................................................ North American Free Trade Agreement OECD........................................................................... The Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development SBA.............................................................................. U.S. Small Business Administration SME ............................................................................. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise SPS............................................................................... Sanitary and Phytosanitary TAA ............................................................................. Trade Adjustment Assistance TBT .............................................................................. Technical Barriers to Trade TFA .............................................................................. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement TIFA............................................................................. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement TPRG ........................................................................... Trade Policy Review Group

TPSC............................................................................ Trade Policy Staff Committee TRIMS ......................................................................... Trade-Related Investment Measures TRIPS........................................................................... Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

Rights TRQ ............................................................................. Tariff-Rate Quota URAA .......................................................................... Uruguay Round Agreements Act USAID ......................................................................... U.S. Agency for International Development USMCA ....................................................................... United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement USTR ........................................................................... United States Trade Representative WTO ............................................................................ World Trade Organization

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................................ 1 ALGERIA ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 ANGOLA.................................................................................................................................................... 11 ARAB LEAGUE ........................................................................................................................................ 15 ARGENTINA ............................................................................................................................................. 21 AUSTRALIA .............................................................................................................................................. 33 BAHRAIN .................................................................................................................................................. 39 BANGLADESH ......................................................................................................................................... 43 BOLIVIA .................................................................................................................................................... 51 BRAZIL ...................................................................................................................................................... 55 BRUNEI DARUSSALAM ......................................................................................................................... 67 BURMA...................................................................................................................................................... 71 CAMBODIA............................................................................................................................................... 75 CANADA ................................................................................................................................................... 81 CHILE......................................................................................................................................................... 91 CHINA ........................................................................................................................................................ 97 COLOMBIA ............................................................................................................................................. 119 COSTA RICA ........................................................................................................................................... 125 COTE D'IVOIRE ..................................................................................................................................... 131 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ....................................................................................................................... 135 ECUADOR ............................................................................................................................................... 141 EGYPT...................................................................................................................................................... 149 EL SALVADOR ....................................................................................................................................... 155 ETHIOPIA ................................................................................................................................................ 161 EUROPEAN UNION ............................................................................................................................... 167 GHANA .................................................................................................................................................... 217 GUATEMALA ......................................................................................................................................... 223 HONDURAS ............................................................................................................................................ 227 HONG KONG .......................................................................................................................................... 233 INDIA ....................................................................................................................................................... 235 INDONESIA............................................................................................................................................. 257 ISRAEL .................................................................................................................................................... 275 JAPAN ...................................................................................................................................................... 279 JORDAN................................................................................................................................................... 295

KAZAKHSTAN ....................................................................................................................................... 299 KENYA .................................................................................................................................................... 307 KOREA..................................................................................................................................................... 317 KUWAIT .................................................................................................................................................. 329 LAOS ........................................................................................................................................................ 333 MALAYSIA ............................................................................................................................................. 337 MEXICO................................................................................................................................................... 345 MOROCCO .............................................................................................................................................. 353 NEW ZEALAND...................................................................................................................................... 357 NICARAGUA........................................................................................................................................... 359 NIGERIA .................................................................................................................................................. 365 NORWAY................................................................................................................................................. 371 OMAN ...................................................................................................................................................... 375 PAKISTAN............................................................................................................................................... 379 PANAMA ................................................................................................................................................. 387 PARAGUAY ............................................................................................................................................ 391 PERU ........................................................................................................................................................ 395 THE PHILIPPINES .................................................................................................................................. 399 QATAR..................................................................................................................................................... 407 RUSSIA .................................................................................................................................................... 411 SAUDI ARABIA ...................................................................................................................................... 431 SINGAPORE ............................................................................................................................................ 437 SOUTH AFRICA...................................................................................................................................... 441 SRI LANKA ............................................................................................................................................. 449 SWITZERLAND ...................................................................................................................................... 457 TAIWAN .................................................................................................................................................. 461 THAILAND .............................................................................................................................................. 469 TUNISIA .................................................................................................................................................. 479 TURKEY .................................................................................................................................................. 483 UKRAINE................................................................................................................................................. 491 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES................................................................................................................... 499 VIETNAM ................................................................................................................................................ 507 APPENDIX I ............................................................................................................................................ 521 APPENDIX II ........................................................................................................................................... 523

FOREWORD

SCOPE AND COVERAGE

The 2019 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is the 34th in an annual series that highlights significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce. This document is a companion piece to the President's 2019 Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report, published by Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in March.

In accordance with section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as added by section 303 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984 and amended by section 1304 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, section 311 of the Uruguay Round Trade Agreements Act, and section 1202 of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, USTR is required to submit to the President, the Senate Finance Committee, and appropriate committees in the House of Representatives, an annual report on significant foreign trade barriers. The statute requires an inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, including agricultural commodities and U.S. intellectual property; foreign direct investment by U.S. persons, especially if such investment has implications for trade in goods or services; and U.S. electronic commerce. Such an inventory enhances awareness of these trade restrictions, facilitates U.S. negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers, and is a valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and strengthening the rules-based system.

The NTE Report is based upon information compiled within USTR, the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, other U.S. Government agencies, and U.S. Embassies, as well as information provided by the public in response to a notice published in the Federal Register.

This report discusses the largest export markets for the United States, covering 61 countries, the European Union, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Arab League. The discussion of Chinese trade barriers is structured and focused to align more closely with other Congressional reports prepared by USTR on U.S.-China trade issues. The China section includes cross-references to other USTR reports where appropriate. As always, omission of particular countries and barriers does not imply that they are not of concern to the United States. For example, USTR's Notorious Markets List for 2018 is still being finalized. Therefore, the absence of reference to notorious markets for any particular country in this report does not imply an absence of notorious markets nor a change in circumstance from last year's NTE Report.

Trade barriers elude fixed definitions, but may be broadly defined as government laws, regulations, policies, or practices that either protect domestic goods and services from foreign competition, artificially stimulate exports of particular domestic goods and services, or fail to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights.

The NTE covers significant barriers, whether they are consistent or inconsistent with international trading rules. Tariffs, for example, are an accepted method of protection under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994). Even a very high tariff does not violate international rules unless a country has made a commitment not to exceed a specified rate, i.e., a tariff binding. Nonetheless, it would be a significant barrier to U.S. exports, and therefore covered in the NTE Report. Measures not consistent with international trade agreements, in addition to serving as barriers to trade and causes of concern for policy, are actionable under U.S. trade law as well as through the World Trade Organization (WTO).

FOREIGN TRADE BARRIERS | 1

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download