The US said on Tuesday it would expose “troublesome” foreign trade barriers in a strategy to prize open markets for doubling US exports to ease an unemployment crisis at home.
It will also push for greater access for US companies to operate in countries under a Trans-Pacific deal, negotiations for which will be launched next week.
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said his office would publish a new report this month on trade barriers erected by countries on US exports.
They include “unfair” non-tariff barriers linked to health and pest issues imposed on US farm exports.
“This month, we will introduce a new, comprehensive report that will help us to identify and address troublesome technical barriers to trade and unfair restrictions on agricultural exports known as sanitary and phytosanitary barriers,” he said in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.
“As tariff barriers fall, these non-tariff barriers are becoming some of the most difficult challenges our exporters face,” he said. “And we will use those reports to guide our work in seeking to address each problem with an appropriate solution.”
US exports last year totaled US$1.553 trillion, falling from US$1.827 trillion in 2008.
US officials have complained about foreign rules governing poultry sanitation, restrictions on pork and pork products in response to the H1N1 virus, barriers on the import of US beef, and regulations governing some genetically modified food products.
In the EU, Japan and elsewhere, the officials say, certain regulations and enforcement actions are inconsistent with scientific evidence and internationally accepted guidelines.
Kirk also said that the US expected greater market access through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) linking the US with an initial group of seven countries — Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Negotiations for the TPP deal will be launched in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday and Kirk said discussions would center on export opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses and promoting innovation and competitiveness.
He also said the US was working to further increase market-access opportunities within the 10 Southeast Asian countries that make up ASEAN, the fifth-largest US trade partner.
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