How do I report an RE&EE trade barrier?
U.S. exporters of RE&EE goods and services face a range of barriers caused by attempts of foreign governments to protect their domestic “clean energy” companies. Examples include high tariffs, investment restrictions such as local content requirements, weak enforcement of intellectual property rights, non-transparent regulations and licensing regimes, and burdensome certification requirements not required of domestic manufacturers.
Additional trade barriers and unfair practices that exporters generally face across all sectors include the following:
- Non-uniform application of customs procedures
- Lack of competitive bidding for foreign government tenders
- Provision of direct or indirect subsidies by a foreign government in favor of its domestic suppliers
- Restrictions on the range of services offered by foreign services providers
- Influence peddling – interference of a corporate entity or country with fair trade practices at another company’s expense
- Bribery, corruption and requests for payoffs – when foreign bribery prevents you from competing fairly on the basis of price, quality, or service
Read more about these examples and some potential solutions on Export.gov.
If your company is experiencing these problems, chances are high that others in your sector are as well. Trade associations can report barriers on behalf of their members to indicate that the problem is not isolated to one company.
U.S. Government agencies work together to resolve trade concerns with foreign governments through commercial and policy advocacy, as well as through enforcement of existing trade agreements or forging of new agreements.
If your company is in the field of bioenergy, your market barriers might be related to agricultural products. The U.S Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) can address trade issues concerning feedstocks. The FAS strives to improve the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace by partnering with appropriate industry organizations to build and enhance foreign-market access.
RE&EE exports in action
The examples below illustrate how U.S. government services can help U.S. RE&EE companies enhance their ability to export.
- At the 2009 Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), the United States – led by the U.S. Department of Commerce – convinced the Chinese government to remove its 70 percent local content requirement on wind turbines. The requirement had been a major trade barrier preventing U.S. wind turbine manufacturers from doing business in China. China installed more wind turbines than any other country in 2009 and 2010, and is targeting more than 100 gigawatts of wind power by 2020. The removal of this local content requirement because of JCCT discussions will allow U.S. companies to compete more fairly in the Chinese market.
- Distilled Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) are an excellent high-protein animal feed that are a co-product of corn-based ethanol production. With help from the FAS Market Access and Foreign Market Development programs, U.S. exports of DDGS have grown steadily from 787,000 MT in 2004 to 5.64 million metric tons in 2009. Recent successes include the development or expansion of markets for U.S. DDGS in Canada, Chile, Egypt, Mexico, and Southeast Asia.
Where do I start?
If you feel your company’s exports or foreign bids have been or may be adversely affected by a trade barrier or unfair business practice, you may file a complaint electronically to the Trade Compliance Center, the U.S. government’s focal point for monitoring foreign compliance with trade agreements to see that U.S. firms and workers get the maximum benefits from these agreements.
If you have information that a foreign government is subsidizing your foreign competitors, the Subsidies Enforcement Office can help you to identify the tools at your disposal to address unfair foreign trade practices.
If your company is bidding on a foreign contract, the Advocacy Center can help level the playing field.
Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other member countries. Sign up for Notify U.S., a free, customizable service, to receive emails about opportunities to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations that can affect your access to international markets.
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