US says EU, Japan, China regulations thwart global trade

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WASHINGTON, April 1 (AFP) - The United States on Tuesday chided major trading partners, including the European Union, Japan and China, for regulations and laws that it says thwart expanded global trade.

"American workers, businesses, and farmers expect a level playing field abroad," said US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick in the annual assessment of the practices of US trading partners.

The 422-page report, known as the 2003 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, summarizes the US view on trade policies of some 56 trading partners.

It comes on the heels of a setback in negotiations for the new round of global trade talks launched in Doha, Qatar in 2001 that are slated to be completed by 2005.

The USTR said that the EU's de facto ban on genetically modified foods has hindered US exports of corn and threatens exports of soybeans.

"Biotechnology continues to be more of a political than a scientific issue in Europe and prospects for improvement remain dim," the report stated.

In recent weeks, Zoellick has said he hopes President George W. Bush's administration will "soon" take formal action to challenge the EU on its position in the WTO.

"The Bush administration is committed to identifying unfair barriers to US exports and to working aggressively with our trading partners to eliminate those barriers," Zoellick said in a statement released with the report.

The US again called on Japan to revive its sluggish economy through increased deregulation that it said impedes "economic growth and restricts market access for US companies."

"Japan still has much work to do," the report said, adding "in large part because it has not moved more aggressively to deregulate, the Japanese economy remains mired in stagnation -- output has grown by only 0.5 percent since 1998."

And it called on the Japanese government to reduce its overall capacity of its domestic steel market and cited allegations that Japanese steelmakers were involved in price-fixing schemes.

"With respect to Japan's domestic market, it has been alleged that Japan's integrated producers have coordinated output, pricing, and market allocation goals," the report said.

"In addition, it has been alleged that Japanese mills have entered into arrangements with foreign counterparts to regulate bilateral steel trade," the report said.

The US said imports of Japanese steel are down as a result of President George W. Bush's steel tariffs imposed in March 2001. Those tariffs were ruled inconsistent with global trading rules by a WTO panel of experts last month.

The US praised China's entry into the WTO and said that "in the long run," it will "promote the rule of law throughout China."

"Nevertheless, China's membership in the WTO will not remove all commercial problems," the report stated.

Specifically, the report said US firms have had trouble obtaining patents for pharmaceuticals and that its insurance market is not growing as quickly as its potential.

"A wide range of foreign firms also emphasized that China's regulations remain vague and do not reflect fully China's WTO commitments," the report said.

The report was especially harsh on the question of agricultural trade barriers.

"US agricultural producers are among the most competitive in the world ... yet US agricultural exports would be even greater without the NTBs (non-tariff barriers) that are used against them," it said.

The EU moratorium, it said, has led to a 55 percent drop in US corn exports to EU nations while US poultry exports to Russia have decreased by almost 45 percent since import restrictions imposed by Moscow.

The report also cited Chinese tariff-rate quotas on many grains and farm products, Mexican anti-dumping duties on beef, rice, pork, and apples; and other measures by Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Venezuela.