Form ITA-4150P Survey of Non-Tariff Trade Barriers to the U.S. Environm

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Office of Energy and Environmental Industries
www.environment.ita.doc.gov

Survey of Non-Tariff Trade Barriers to the U.S. Environmental Industry

The U.S. Department of Commerce seeks your assistance in identifying non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs) that affect U.S. exports of environmental goods and services. The information you provide will be used to seek the elimination of these barriers. NTBs occur in many forms; examples include: quotas, licensing requirements, customs procedures, and limits on delivery of professional services.

Company Information

Name: Title:
Company Name:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
Phone Number: Fax:
E-mail:

Regions of Interest:

Is the information supplied in this survey business confidential? Yes No


Freedom of Information Act: Information submitted to the government may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. However, all confidential commercial information will be protected from disclosure to the extent permitted by law. You will be notified in advance if any such information submitted by you becomes subject to release pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Type of Company (check all that apply):

Architectural	Construction	Consulting	Distributor	Engineer
Federal Agency	Finance	Legal	Manufacturer	Media
Minority/Female Owned	Service Provider	State Agency	State Enviro Bus Assoc	Trade Association
Trade Center	Trade Show Firm	University/Academic	U.S. NGO	Utility
Other

Industry (check all that apply):

Air	All	Energy	Finance	Hazardous Waste
Incineration	Instrumentation/Monitoring	Medical Waste	Oil Cleanup	Pollution Prevention
Recycling	Remediation	Sanitation	Services	Solid Waste Eqp.
Solid Waste Serv.	Water/Wastewater Eqp.	Water/Wastewater Serv.	Other

Annual Sales (check one):
Under $1 million $1-$5 million $6-$50 million $51-$75 million Over $75 million Unknown

Non - Tariff Barriers Survey

Please check the non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs) that your company has experienced. Provide as much information as possible for each barrier cited. Following each item checked, please include specific laws, regulations, etc... of the country that adversely affect the importation of your products and services, and in each instance, name specific countries. For example: “In country X, regulations (cite regulations) do not allow the establishment of foreign owned engineering companies. For every construction project in country Y, it is necessary to get design approval from local institutes that do not publish transparent design specifications.”

1.) Subsidies:
Internal subsidies for local producers or service providers
Cheap financing and tax holidays for local manufacturers
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


2.) Quotas and Quantitative Restrictions:
Limits on number of service suppliers in a market
Limits on how many units/dollars of products can be imported
Cut-off dates during calendar year for entry of products
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


3.) Sanitary and Phythosanitary (SPS) Measures:
Onerous licensing procedures
non Science-base regulations
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


4.) Restrictions on Who Can Import:
Only state sanctioned trading companies may import
Govt./Quasi Govt. organizations only are permitted to import
Govt. organizations are sometimes/always exonerated from paying duties
Govt. organizations can have preferential access to foreign exchange
Private firms with accumulated "export credits" can have preferential access to foreign exchange/import permits
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


5.) Labeling, Packaging, & Documentation Requirements
Date of expiration of chemical requirements
Pallet/packaging fumigation requirements
Conflicting hazardous material labeling requirements and packaging between countries of origin & destination
Conflicting requirements of support documentation for hazardous materials (i.e.- MSDS documentation)
Labeling indicating certification of requirements of importing country
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


6.) Standards
ISO certifications required to supply products or services- ISO 14000 environmental standards must be met
Requirements for periodic proof of instrument calibration
Emissions compliance requirements
Safety requirements for grounding and other hazards
Off-standard electrical requirements (90-120 VAC/60hz etc )
Unclear quality regulations or those based on unique or outdated standards
Use of metrological certification boards to determine if instrumentation is designed to standard(s)
Milling mixing or other processing regulations
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


7.) Intellectual Property Requirements
Inadequate protection
Inadequate enforcement
Arbitrary rulings on patent or trademark rights forcing time consuming court reviews
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


8.) Harassment of Imports:
Onerous licencing or qualification requirements
Embargoes (political or economic)
Arbitrary values on goods for duty purposes including shipping charges
National boycotts
Currency fluctuations adversely affecting importers
Delays resulting from competitor's influence on susceptible officials (corruption/bribery)
Cumbersome customs formalities/requirements
Restrictive customs procedures that promulgate complexities and regulations for classifying and valuing commodities making compliance difficult and expensive
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


9.) Restrictions on Distribution, Logistics, and Banking Services:
Foreign exchange restrictions
Access to hard currency
Advanced deposit on import requirements
National carrier preferences
Foreign carrier restrictions
Prohibition of collection-basis sales
Govt requirements to withhold/reduce commission payments to distributors
Arbitrarily short periods in which to apply for import licenses
Pre-shipment inspections required prior to exportation from source country
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


10.) Restrictions on Marketing:
Advertising restrictions
Complicated bidding requirements
Requirements for local surety and performance bonds
Proof of % of national content requirements
Letters of authorization to sell (or resell) product or service requirements
Requirements for extended or extraordinary warranty coverage for product or service
Arbitrary rulings on patent or trademark rights forcing time consuming court reviews
National state or municipal requirements to use specific distribution channels at the wholesale and retail level
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


11.) Restrictions on Investment & Nature of Commercial Relationships
Restrictions on foreign ownership of companies
Restrictions on foreign management of companies
Commercial relationships such as partnerships are not permitted
Percentage of local workforce required
Percentage of local content required
Better treatment provided to home country investors or third party investors
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


12.) Discriminatory Devices:
Unfair competition from local state-owned enterprises
Competition from third-country exporters who enjoy subsidies monopolies or state-organization status
Discriminatory government purchasing practices
Discrimination resulting from bilateral trade agreements or barter agreements
Discrimination arising from special relationships including ex-colonial status customs unions commonwealth preferences or currency areas
Disguised tariffs such as "surcharges" revenue duties and consumption taxes levied against only imported goods
Turnover equalization taxes ostensibly to put imports on the footing as local products
Countervailing duties (offsets to subsidies)
Arbitrary interpretations of anti-dumping laws
Impact psychological or direct of "buy home products" policies
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


13.) Restrictions on the Cross-Border Supply of a Service:
Limitations on movement of personnel to supply a service
Restrictions on what services can be sold cross-border
Local presence requirements that must be met before service can be supplied cross-border
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


14.) Transparency:
Non-transparent regulations
Unequal enforcement of regulations
Regulations imposed without prior notice or input from interested parties
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-


15.) Recognition:
Licencing or certification requirements unevenly applied to professionals
Other

Explain: Specific Examples-



Privacy Statement

Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be 10 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this collection of information are voluntary, and will be provided confidentially to the extent allowed under the Freedom of Information Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Reports Clearance Officer, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, Room 4001, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

NOTE: You may also return this survey via e-mail, fax, or regular mail. Please also provide this survey to your agents or distributors in foreign countries. We need as much information as possible to help U.S. exporters!

Todd DeLelle or Maureen Hinman
U.S. Department of Commerce
Room 4053
Washington, DC 20230
Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

Tel: 202-482-5225

Fax: 202-482-0170

URL: www.environment.ita.doc.gov

OMB No: 0625-0241
Expires: 06/30/2013