Trade Problems & Barriers: General
What constitutes a trade barrier?
While trade barriers and unfair practices take many forms, the most common examples are listed below:
1. Intellectual property infringement - including copyright, patent and trademarks.
2. Customs procedures that are not uniformly applied
3. Lack of competitive bidding for foreign government tenders.
4. The application of direct or indirect subsidies by a foreign government in favor of domestic suppliers.
5. Burdensome certification and testing requirements that are not required by domestic manufacturers.
6. Influence pedaling - A corporate entity or country is interfering with fair trade practices at your expense.
7. Bribery, corruption and requests for payoffs - When foreign bribery prevents you from competing fairly on the basis of price, quality or service.
If you feel your company’s exports or foreign bids have been, or may be adversely affected by a trade barrier or unfair business practice, you may file a complaint electronically with the Trade Compliance Center within the International Trade Administration.
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