US Targets Japan, Other Trade Partners on Unfair Trade ChargesThe US government on Monday put Japan, Brazil, South Korea and other trade partners on notice that they could face American trade sanctions unless they remove objectionable trade barriers to US products.The notification is part of an annual review in which the Office of the US Trade Representative releases its priority negotiating targets for the year based on an assessment of harm being done to US exporters. The trade partners cited on the Super 301 list were Brazil, Mexico, India, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Israel, Malaysia and the European Union (EU). The Super 301 report, a section of U.S. trade law, allows the United States to seek trade sanctions against individual trade partners if intensive negotiations fail to remove the offending trade barriers. Argentina, EU and 14 other trade partners were targeted for review under sections of law requiring the administration to protect US copyrights and patents and to make sure American firms are treated fairly by foreign governments when they bid for foreign contracts. Publication of the new report does not automatically mean that unfair-trade cases will be brought against the trade partners in the World Trade Organization, a step that could ultimately lead to sanctions if the United States prevailed. But the report does put US trade partners on notice concerning what US negotiating priorities will be in the coming year. |
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