Market Access
The U.S. Department of Commerce is engaging East Asian nations in a variety of market access dialogues to improve U.S. competitiveness in this important region. The U.S. Government is looking to gain our ASEAN trading partners’ firm legal commitments to uphold fair and transparent trade practices, through the World Trade Organization discussions, bilateral trade and investment framework agreements (TIFAs) with Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia, bilateral trade agreements (BTAs) with Vietnam and Laos, a negotiated Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore, and FTA negotiations pending with Thailand and Malaysia.
Sometimes, however, U.S. trading partners intentionally or unintentionally impose trade barriers that go against their legal obligations, hindering or blocking completely a company’s access to a given market. The Department of Commerce can offer free assistance to help your company deal with foreign countries not in compliance with their legal commitments-- but the first step is for you, the company, to recognize a potential market access barrier, and contact us.
The following table offers market access questions that may indicate whether unfair trade barriers are affecting your international business dealings. (Click here for a more extensive list of questions.) Learning how to recognize these barriers, adopt preventive measures, and confront market access issues as they arise, will strengthen your ability to take on successful international business pursuits. The following pages present trade policy questions and answers commonly asked by companies like yours, list of the types of action the Department of Commerce may be able to take, and give a sampling of collaborative results achieved. Since no two market access barriers are identical, the Department of Commerce customizes approaches to meet the circumstances presented in individual cases.
| Potential Market Access Issues | Recognizing a Market Access Barrier |
|---|---|
| Tariff and Customs Barriers |
Are you experiencing difficulties with a foreign customs
office that will not clear your goods to
buyer/importer? Are your goods being classified under the wrong tariff schedule heading |
| Service Barriers | Do you experience foreign ownership limitations or limits on the number of company directors or managers in providing your service in overseas markets? |
| Standards, Testing, Labeling and Certification Barriers | Are you facing an export obstacle related to a foreign government’s regulations, mandatory standards or testing requirements? |
| Sanitary and Phytosanitary Barriers | Have your exports been subject to strict health and safety regulations that not being required of domestic producers’ goods? |
| Rules of Origin Barriers | Are you having a problem with a rules of origin certification requirement? |
| Government Procurement Contract Barriers | Are there mandatory domestic content requirements or price preferences in foreign government tenders? |
| Intellectual Property Protection Problems | Is your patent, trademark, or copyright being used illegally in a foreign market? |
| Excessive Government Requirements | Is your ability to export affected by the way your goods are classified in a foreign market? |
| Excessive Testing and Licensing Fees | Is obtaining an import license an inexplicably burdensome process? |
| Investment Issues |
Has the foreign government said that if you use, or promise
to use, local products, it will reduce your taxes, or grant
you some other benefit? Have you been denied or delayed the right to repatriate profits or other monies? |
Trade Policy Questions Businesses Ask
| Questions | Resources |
|---|---|
| How do I know what types of market access trade barriers a foreign market may impose? What should my company look out for? | Sometimes recognizing a trade barrier can be difficult. Here is a list of Common Trade Problems and questions you can ask yourself and your staff to help determine if your company may be facing a trade barrier. |
| To what extent can the U.S. government help me defend my company’s legal rights against unfair, foreign country-imposed barriers to trade? | If you have evidence, or a strong notion, that a country is not upholding its trade commitments/obligations, you can Report a Trade Barrier or call the Trade Compliance Center to be directed to a trade law compliance expert (202) 482-1191. A case team, composed of issue and regional experts, including in-country officers, may be assembled, if a legitimate trade barrier is identified. The case team will work with you to try to resolve your company’s foreign trade barrier matters. |
| Where can I find out what legally binding trade commitments Country X has made? | Scan the collection of documents available online in the Trade Compliance Center’s Trade and Related Agreements collection. |
| What steps can I take to protect my company’s intellectual property? | The Stop Fakes Website provides links to government organizations that can help your company take action to protect its intellectual property, and report counterfeiting activities taking place in other countries. |
| How can I submit comments about a change in the U.S. standards and regulations for product X? | On the regulations.gov site, a company can comment on regulations that are being proposed through the federal regulatory process. |
| How do I learn about new technical regulations and standards for exports as other countries notify them? | Subscribe to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s E-mail Notification Service. Through this free subscription, you will be able to receive updates on technical regulations and standards, as officially notified by the specific countries you express interest in. Updates may include a public comment period. |
| Do the goods I export need to meet special “dual-use” export licensing requirements? | This site on export licenses is designed to give people who are new to exporting, and, in particular, new to export controls, a general understanding of U.S. regulations and how to apply them. |
| Where can I find country-specific information on foreign trade barriers? | The National Trade Estimates on Foreign Trade Barriers is an annual publication released by the Offices of the United States Trade Representative. This report documents foreign trade and investment barriers and U.S. efforts to reduce and eliminate those barriers. |
| Who can I turn to with general exporting questions on tariffs and shipping documentation? | The Trade Information Center offers advice over the phone or via email on all U.S. Federal Government export assistance programs. |
| Is there a body of information that helps U.S. exporters assess markets in other countries? | The U.S. Commercial Service produces Market Research and Country Commercial Guides so that companies can employ a methodical approach when considering their product’s potential in a given market. |
| What obligations are U.S. textile and apparel exports required to meet? | The Office of Textiles and Apparel at the U.S. Department of Commerce serves as a one-stop resource for U.S. exporters of textile and apparel products. |
What steps does Commerce take to try to eliminate foreign trade barriers?
The U.S. Department of Commerce contributes to the trade policymaking process, which strives to create a level playing field for U.S. companies doing business internationally. The Department of Commerce also works with U.S. companies to help them overcome trade barriers imposed by foreign countries--using legal frameworks geared at preventing such barriers. Below is a list of some courses of action Commerce has taken in past cases and a partial list of results achieved. The first step for concerned companies is to report the market access issue you are encountering to the Department of Commerce.
| Possible Courses of Action | Examples of Results Achieved |
|---|---|
Process:
Past action plans include, but are not limited to:
|
Past successes in overcoming foreign trade barriers have
included:
|