Foreign Trade Barrier Examples

Though there are many different ways that foreign governments can discriminate against U.S. exports and investment, the following are the most common foreign government-imposed trade barriers that U.S. companies encounter abroad:

• High or Unfairly Applied Tariffs
• Classification and Customs Barriers at the Border
• Burdensome Rule of Origin, Certificate of Origin, or Import licensing Requirements
• Technical Barriers to Trade - Unfair Standards, Testing, Labeling, or Certification Requirements
• Unfair Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) – Animal and Plant Welfare – Measures
• Discrimination in Government Procurement
• Intellectual Property Rights Protection Problems
• Excessive or Unfair Government Requirements Related to Investment or Taxation
• Import licensing
• Concerns about Corruption
• Barriers to Services Provision
• Discriminatory Competition Laws or Unfair Competition from State-Owned Enterprises

If unsure whether you’re facing a foreign trade barrier, ask yourself these questions.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be facing an unfair trade barrier. contact us today to report it so that the United States Government can begin working with you to remove the unfair treatment and restore your access to the market.