Below are 2011 reports.
2011 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets
The Notorious Markets review identifies markets that are particularly prominent examples of notorious markets in each category, and does not constitute an exhaustive list of all notorious markets around the world. Inclusion in the Notorious Markets List does not reflect a finding of a violation of law or the United States Government’s analysis of the general Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and enforcement climate in the country concerned; such analysis is contained in the annual Special 301 Report. However, the United States urges the responsible authorities to intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting in these and similar markets, and to use the information contained in the Notorious Markets List to pursue legal actions where appropriate.
2011 Trade Policy Agenda and 2010 Annual Report
In 2011, the Administration’s trade policy will continue to provide leadership for the global economy and help American manufacturers, service providers, farmers, and ranchers sell more goods and services around the world, supporting more jobs here at home.
The President’s Trade Policy Agenda for 2011 outlines an ambitious scope of work to meet these goals. Across the global stage, we will advance market-opening negotiations with our trading partners and bolster existing ties. We will continue to actively enforce U.S. rights under our trade agreements. We will conduct these efforts based on high standards that reflect American values on labor and on the environment, and on public engagement and transparency.
National Trade Estimate Report
The 2011 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is the twenty-sixth 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.
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Report)
This year the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its second annual Report on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Report). This report was created to respond to the concerns of U.S. farmers, ranchers, producers, and workers who are running into SPS trade barriers as they seek to export high‐quality American 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.
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Report)
This year the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its second 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 primary concern.
Results of the 2011 Section 1377 Review of Telecommunications Trade Agreements
This 2011 Review addresses several general themes: increases in fixed and mobile call termination rates in Ghana, Jamaica, Tonga; problems relating to access to major supplier networks in Chile, Germany, India and Mexico; issues relating to licensing, transparency and regulatory requirements in China, Costa Rica, and India and issues affecting the telecommunications equipment trade in Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, India, Israel, and Mexico. Although several of the issues in the 2011 Review have been discussed in past Reviews, USTR considers it appropriate to continue to raise these issues and encourage our trading partners to implement appropriate solutions. The 2011 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 resolve to encourage and maintain effective IPR protection and enforcement worldwide. It identifies a wide range of concerns, including 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 Canada, Spain, Italy and Russia, and the ongoing, systemic IPR enforcement issues presented in many trading partners around the world.
USTR is pleased to announce a new initiative in the 2011 review, whereby it invites any trading partner appearing on the Special 301 Priority Watch List or Watch List to negotiate a mutually agreed action plan designed to lead to that trading partner’s removal from the relevant list. This initiative is further described in Section I below. Through action plans and other engagement in the coming year, USTR looks forward to working with U.S. trading partners to address both emerging and continuing concerns, and to building on the positive results achieved thus far.
The Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (HOPE II) affords preferential treatment to imports of apparel, textiles, and other goods from Haiti, provided that Haiti’s government takes certain steps to assess participating producers’ compliance with core labor rights and improve the government’s capacity to enforce national labor laws. HOPE II calls for the President to submit a report to Congress no later than June 18, 2009, and every year thereafter, regarding certain aspects of the operation of the Technical Assistance Improvement and Compliance Needs Assessment and Remediation (TAICNAR) program. The President has authorized the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to produce this report.
This report is to include an explanation of the efforts of the Government of Haiti, the President, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to carry out the TAICNAR program. The report also is to include a summary of ILO biannual reports regarding the operation of certain aspects of the TAICNAR program, identifications by the President of producers failing to comply with core labor standards and relevant Haitian law, and determinations regarding changes in the application of preferential treatment to articles of such producers. This is the third annual report.
2011 Report to Congress On China’s WTO Compliance
This is the tenth 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).
Like the prior reports, this report is structured as an examination of the nine broad categories of WTO commitments undertaken by China. Throughout the report, USTR has attempted to provide as complete a picture of China’s WTO compliance as possible, subject to the inherent constraints presented by the sheer volume and complexity of the required changes to China’s trade regime and transparency obstacles. The report identifies areas where progress has been achieved and underscores areas of concern, as appropriate, with regard to the commitments that became effective upon China’s accession to the WTO as well as those commitments scheduled to be phased in over time.
Ninth Report to Congress on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
The U.S. trade preferences programs for the Central American and Caribbean region, known collectively as the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), continue to generate important benefits for the beneficiary countries. Expansion of CBI benefits through enactment of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) in 2000, the provisions included in the Trade Act of 2002, the HOPE Act of 2006, the HOPE II Act of 2008, and the HELP Act of 2010, represents an important affirmation of the ongoing U.S. commitment to economic development in the Caribbean Basin, by expanding duty-free access to the U.S. market for CBI goods.
