National Trade Estimate Report
Every year on or by March 31, the U.S. Trade Representative releases an annual review of trade partners’ “significant trade barriers” as mandated by statute 19 U.S. Code § 2241, compiled from information within USTR, other government agencies, trade advisory committees, and supplemented by public comments submitted to a Federal Register notice.
The National Trade Estimate report (NTE), at its core, is a value judgment – a proclamation to the world about what U.S. public policy priorities are and what they are not. For years, the NTE report has included not just policies that explicitly discriminate against U.S. companies, but has labeled a variety of other countries’ public interest policies related to public health and the environment, food-labeling and privacy laws, and even kosher and halal faith-based dietary standards as illegal trade barriers.
A trade policy that prioritizes the interests of workers and consumers must be premised on what is in the public interest. Below is a list of Public Citizen’s NTE report submissions and related commentary.
2026
- Map: Trump Administration Doing Big Tech’s Bidding in Targeting Digital Regulations Worldwide
- Trump’s “Special Book” Doubles Down on Corporate Hit List, Attacking Global Climate, Health, and Digital Regulations
- Statement for the Record: The President’s 2026 Trade Policy Agenda
2025
- Comments to USTR on the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
- 2025 Annual USTR Report Resurrects Corporate Wishlist, Attacking Climate, Health, and Digital Regulation
- Trump’s Deals with Latin American Countries Advance Big Tech’s Global Agenda
2024
- Comment to USTR on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for the 2025 NTE Report
- The 2024 National Trade Estimates Report: Examining the USTR’s new approach to identifying trade barriers
- Annual USTR Report Another Step Toward Biden’s Worker-Centered Trade Approach
2021
2013