On February 20, 2025, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that it is seeking public comments on any unfair trade practices and non-reciprocal trade arrangements implemented by foreign trading partners. The comment period is currently open and the deadline for submitting comments is March 11, 2025.
According to the Federal Register notice, comments can be submitted through a portal accessible at https://comments.ustr.gov/s/, under docket number USTR-2025-0001. USTR will accept comments from any interested party, including businesses, individuals, and trade associations, among others. Interested parties are able to include business confidential information in their submissions, which will not appear in the public version of their comments.
USTR’s announcement also stated that the public comment process is not the only opportunity to provide information to the agency on these issues, and that USTR “welcomes ongoing engagement with and information from any interested party.”
This comment period offers a new opportunity for U.S. exporters to seek the Administration’s potential support in eliminating foreign market access barriers. If you are interested in submitting comments to USTR as part of this process, Covington can assist in the preparation and transmission of these comments. We would also be happy to assist in crafting a broader strategy for engaging USTR and other relevant agencies on these or other trade-related issues.
Background
USTR’s launch of this public comment process follows the issuance of the “America First Trade Policy” memorandum by President Trump on his first day in office, which directed USTR to lead a review of unfair foreign trade practices and to recommend appropriate remedies. USTR also linked the comment process to President Trump’s “Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs” memorandum issued on February 13, which directed USTR and the Commerce Department to investigate “the harm to the United States from any non-reciprocal trade arrangements adopted by any trading partners” and to recommend actions in response. Covington’s alert on this memorandum is available here.
Scope of Requested Comments
USTR has invited comments on a country-by-country basis (or also on an economy-wide basis in the case of the European Union) regarding (i) “any unfair trade practice by a foreign country or economy”; or (ii) “any non-reciprocal trade arrangements.” USTR has defined unfair trade practices broadly, to include “policies, measures, or barriers that undermine or harm U.S. production, or exports, or a failure by a country to take action to address a non-market policy or practice in a way which harms the United States.” USTR has also requested that comments quantify the harm caused by such practices—ideally with a corresponding dollar amount—and to explain the underlying methodology used to calculate that figure.
USTR also noted that—while it is concerned about the practices by all trading partners—it is particularly interested in the practices of the largest trading economies (such as the G20 countries), and those countries and economies with which the United States has the largest trade deficits in goods. USTR specifically identifies as countries of interest Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (to include individual member states), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam—which collectively cover 88 percent of total goods trade with the United States.
Future Tariffs or Other Trade Actions
USTR’s notice emphasizes that, even though it is inviting the public to submit comments regarding unfair trade practices and non-reciprocal arrangements through March 11, it might still take action in furtherance of the America First Trade Policy memorandum or the Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs memorandum in advance of these submissions, and that other investigations USTR has been directed to complete under the America First Trade Policy memorandum—including reviews regarding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, other free trade agreements, and China’s compliance with the “Phase One” Agreement—will proceed in parallel.
If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this client alert, please contact the members of our Trade Policy practice.
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