Trump Administration Releases 2025 National Trade Estimate

Last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, an annual report that provides a comprehensive overview of foreign trade barriers that affect U.S. exporters. The report classifies foreign trade barriers in 14 categories that cover measures and policies that restrict, prevent, or impede the international exchange of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, or U.S. electronic commerce.

The 14 categories are:

• Import policies, including tariffs and other import charges, quantitative restrictions, import licensing, and customs barriers;
• Technical barriers to trade, including unnecessarily restrictive standards;
• Measures that unnecessarily restrict trade without furthering safety objectives;
• Government procurement such as “buy national” policies;
• Intellectual property protections;
• Services barriers;
• Electronic commerce and digital trade barriers;
• Investment barriers;
• Subsidies, including export subsidies;
• Anticompetitive practices such as private firms restricting the sale or purchase of U.S. goods or services in the foreign country’s markets;
• The existence of state-owned enterprises;
• Labor matters, including concerns with government failures to protect internationally recognized worker rights; and
• Environment matters, including concerns about government environmental protection, unsustainable stewardship of natural resources, and more; and
• Other barriers or distortions that are not covered by the categories above.

For each country, including China, the report explores barriers faced by U.S. industrial metals companies. Read the full report at this link.