On February 20, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued a request for public comment on "unfair" trade practices by US trading partners. The USTR intends to use the information provided to develop recommendations to the President on initiating investigations into unfair and "non-reciprocal" trade and actions to "remedy" such practices, consistent with US law and the President's January 20, 2025 Memorandum on [an] America First Trade Policy and February 13, 2025 Memorandum on Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs. Comments must be filed by March 11, 2025.
The notice defines "unfair trade practices" as including any policy, measure, or barrier that undermines or harms US production or exports, as well as any country's failure to take action to address a non-market policy or practice in a way which harms the United States. Comments must be made on a "country-by-country" basis and include the following:
- the foreign country or economy concerned;
- the practice or trade arrangement of concern;
- a brief explanation of the operation of the practice or trade arrangement;
- an explanation of the impact or effect of the practice or trade arrangement on the interested party or on US interests; and
- actual cost or opportunity cost (in dollar amounts, if possible) to American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs and businesses from the practice or trade arrangement of concern.
The notice stated that while its review covers all countries, it is particularly interested in identifying unfair and non-reciprocal trade arrangements with the largest US trading partners, such as G20 countries. Additionally, USTR signaled its attentiveness to unfair trade practices with economies that have the largest trade deficits in goods with the United States, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
USTR welcomed ongoing engagement with and information from any interested party regarding unfair foreign trade practices of any foreign country or economy, and explained "this request for comment should not be understood as the sole opportunity for an interested party to provide such information."
Additional information on the President's Memorandum on Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs from Steptoe can be found here. Please contact a member of Steptoe's trade policy team if you have questions.
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