Trade policy done right bolsters the United States economy and reinforces our
global leadership. That’swhy President Obama has pursued a trade agenda that
promotes economic growth, supports high-paying American jobs, and
strengthens the middle class – because we know that when the playing field is
level,our workers and businesses can compete – and win – in the global
economy.
The United States already has one of the world’s most open economies. But not
all countries are playing by the same rules, and all too often, our workers and
businesses face significant obstacles when they export their goods and services
abroad. Opening foreign markets through smart, high-standard tradeagreements
– and enforcing our existing agreements to ensure that other countries live up to
their commitments – is how we can level that playing field and make trade
deliver for the American middle class.
The 2016 National Trade Estimate (NTE) plays a vital role in our efforts to open
overseas markets for our businesses and workers by identifying and cataloguing
the challenges American exporters face worldwide.
The NTE covers 63 economies – from China, Japan, and the European Union to
India, Brazil, South Africa and more– and addresses thousands of particular
issues in specific markets, from technical barriers to trade affecting U.S. auto
exports and limits on the flow of digital data to steel overcapacity, conformity
assessment procedures and local-content rules. Cataloguing these barriers
helps to facilitate efforts to resolve them. And of course, the Administration
continues to work with Congress and stakeholders to address trade barriers and
policy issues as they emerge, whether or not if they are included in the NTE,
including ongoing issues that have been raised in the context of U.S. trade
agreements.
The status quo is that our workers and businesses face high tariffs and other
complex barriers in many foreign markets. They compete against workers in
some countries that do not protect even the most basic labor rights. And they
are competing against companies that get subsidies or other preferential
treatment from their governments, or that are not required to maintain strong
environmental protections. The questionis, what do we do about it? Do we
accept this status quo, or do we actively work to change it?
The Obama Administration has demonstrated a commitment to shape the global
trading system to reflect our interests and our values, leveling the playing field
for American workers and businesses.
We have worked tirelessly to tear down barriers to Made-in-America exports.
We successfully concluded the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will eliminate
over 18,000 foreign taxes on U.S. exports. Adding up all these gains for
American workers and businesses, the Peterson Institute for International
Economics finds passage of the TPP this year offers the United States
and its workers the prospect of an additional $357 billion in annual exports and
$131 billion in annual national income by 2030.
We are forging ahead with negotiations for a high-standard Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership with the EU, as part of an effort to strengthen the
largest trade and investment relationship in the world.
We are seeking to conclude the Environmental Goods Agreement to reduce
tariffs on environmental technologies like wind turbines and solar water heaters.
We are pursuing the Trade in Services Agreement to create new opportunities
for U.S. exporters in an industry where the United States is a global leader.
We successfully concluded the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the first
multilateral trade agreement in the WTO’s 20-year history, which will improve
efficiency, reduce costs, and ease exports for our businesses and workers.
We finalized expansion of the Information Technology Agreement to eliminate
tariffs and expand exports of information and communication technology goods.
We worked with Congress to secure passage of free trade agreements with
Korea, Colombia and Panama.
President Obama has also made trade enforcement a key part of our strategy
for opening markets for U.S.exports, and we have put in place a robust and
strategic trade enforcement program.
Since 2009, the Administration has filed 20 complaints at the WTO – more than
any other WTO Member during this period – and has won every case decided to
date. We have focused on systemic barriers in key strategic markets for our
exporters, including China, India, the EU, Argentina, and the Philippines. This
has included significantly increasing the rate of cases against China, winning all
seven cases decided to date and reaching a favorable settlement in an eighth.
The NTE report has helped focus these enforcement efforts: for example, an
earlier version of this report identified Chinese export quotas and other restraints
on products like rare earths, tungsten, silicon, and other essential industrial
inputs. Following U.S. victories in WTO disputes on these issues, in 2013 China
in removed export restraints on an array of products of particular interest to U.S.
steel, aluminum, and chemicals industries, and in 2015 announced the
elimination of export restraints on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum.
These victories helped level the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses
that manufacture downstream products in the steel, aluminum and chemical
sectors
This report is both a guide to the significant barriers our exporters face in foreign
markets, and a case study in the value of President Obama’s strategy of
opening markets, enforcing rights, and using trade policy to help promote growth
and support better jobs for Americans. Together, those features help underscore
that American leadership on trade is more important than ever.
Amb. Michael B.G. Froman
U.S. Trade Representative
