Big companies furious at USTR reporting trade changes

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative changed the definition of trade barriers in its annual report on international trade estimates, abandoning a concept long cherished by the technology industry and angering America's largest business lobby.

“The NTE report has received unprecedented attention this year as we take steps to restore it to its stated statutory purpose. “We respect the sovereign right of the United States to govern in the public interest and to regulate for legitimate public policy reasons,” Trade Representative Catherine Tai said in a statement.

The USTR says the changes consider trade barriers with foreign countries from the perspective of each country's sovereignty, rather than from a U.S. perspective, and U.S. multinationals will have minimal say in the matter. It is claimed that there is.

“By dropping U.S. challenges to trade violations, USTR is giving foreign governments permission to raise barriers to U.S. exports or discriminate against U.S. companies,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement about USTR's editorial changes. There is a danger of giving.”

Technology companies in particular are furious about this inaction, especially the removal of barriers to what they call “digital trade.”

“In the past, USTR has identified regulations such as the European Digital Markets Act, the EU’s AI Act, data localization requirements in Indonesia and Vietnam, and online news taxes in Australia and Canada as trade barriers. has not been identified as a problem and is significantly smaller than last year,” the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a technology industry group, said in a statement.

USTR views the move as a return to the original format of the National Trade Estimates (NTE) report, which the agency says places greater emphasis on national sovereignty.

“Over the years, NTE reports have expanded from statutory purposes to include actions that may or may not be valid exercises of sovereign policy authority,” the agency said in a release.

Businesses are reeling from the change in direction of U.S. trade policy under the Biden administration and the U.S.'s continued withdrawal from formal multilateral trade agreements such as those at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America (PhRMA), a trade group representing pharmaceutical companies, highlighted in comments submitted to NTE in October “how USTR policies fail to protect American innovation abroad.” and criticized the licensing agreements in many countries as being contrary to PhRMA's requirements. They said it was hurting business.

“Historically, Republican and Democratic administrations alike have sought to address these barriers by promoting trade policies and agreements that value innovation, protect intellectual property, and promote open trade. “Unfortunately, the Biden administration has significantly departed from that approach,” PhRMA said in October.

The group described Biden's trade policies as “not ambitious,” and the same language was used regarding agricultural exports in a letter sent by Republican senators to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai earlier this month. suggested.

The senators said the USTR is pursuing a “less ambitious U.S. trade strategy that fails to meaningfully expand market access or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade.” denounced.