CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE

March 7, 1968

Page 5696

NON-TARIFF BARRIERS

Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the official trade policy of the United States, as embodied in the Trade Expansion Act, is directed toward the reduction of tariff barriers and the encouragement of free trade between nations. The administration applied that policy in the negotiations leading to the trade concessions under the Kennedy round in Geneva.

I have mixed feelings about the application of our trade policy. In a number of instances I do not think our policymakers and trade negotiators have given sufficient weight to the problems confronting our industries which face floods of low-wage imports. In addition, I have wondered about the impact of non-tariff barriers on our capacity to sell our goods overseas. Negotiations have tended to focus on the visible tariff barriers and to ignore invisible barriers which may be much more formidable.

To assist me in making a judgment on tariff laws and their effects on our economy, I requested from Mr. William Roth, special representative for trade negotiation in the Executive Office of the President, an inventory of the non-tariff barriers imposed by the various countries of the world. I believe this information will be of interest to my colleagues. Although the data are not complete, these listings reflect the non-tariff barriers on industrial products imposed by 52 of the 79 countries that adhere to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Mr. Roth has advised me that his office is revising the inventory and is "endeavoring to obtain information on non-tariff barriers for all the GATT countries." He has promised to forward that information as soon as possible.

On March 25, 1968, Mr. Roth will begin a public hearing on the future of U.S. trade policy. He has noted:

One of the topics on which we are encouraging interested parties to submit their views is measures that may constitute non-tariff barriers to trade. There is much to be done in this area and we are very concerned about this serious problem.

I am gratified by Mr. Roth's interest and concern with this facet of trade policy.

I ask unanimous consent that the preliminary inventory of the nontariff barriers be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF NON-TARIFF TRADE BARRIERS BY COUNTRY

The attached Tables 1 through 52 are an initial attempt to list the more important non-tariff trade barriers on industrial products imposed by the 52 countries listed below. They were compiled on the basis of reports and complaints received by Government agencies from the business community and other information relating to non-tariff trade barriers. This preliminary inventory does not purport to be either comprehensive or accurate in all respects.

As indicated above, this preliminary inventory is limited to industrial products. With the exception of certain processed goods, such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, agricultural products are not included. The information presented is divided into three general classifications for each of the countries covered: "Non-Agricultural Quantitative Restrictions", "Health, Sanitary and Safety Restrictions", and "Other Restrictions".

The tabulations are included in Tables 1 through 52, as follows:

[Tables omitted]