US Trade Barriers Report Signals Work Ahead

The annual US list of barriers to trade in other countries was published today, with profiles of dozens of trading partners from very large to very small.

The 420-page report from the US Trade Representative’s office, available here, includes more than 30 pages of pointed problems with China, including ongoing censorship, but is noticeably upbeat about recent agreements and commitments made between the US and Chinese authorities with regard to intellectual property rights.

Russia, which this year is joining the World Trade Organization, is also cited for many ongoing problems, including in IP rights. But several key steps are noted, many taken at the end of last year before the December WTO ministerial, such as the November 2011 passage of a civil IP enforcement law that could put Russia’s first IPR-specialised court into effect in 2013.

The report is called the 2012 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.