2025 Annual USTR Report Resurrects Corporate Wishlist, Attacking Climate, Health, and Digital Regulation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday’s annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report marks a troubling regression in the shameful tradition of using U.S. trade policy to undermine democratic policymaking by labeling other countries’ legitimate public interest policies as “trade barriers.”
Among the policies in the report’s crosshairs are:
- Climate protections, including Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard, the European Union’s Deforestation-Free Supply Chain Regulation, and Japan’s renewable energy incentives — all of which are aligned with global climate commitments.
- Public health regulations aimed at protecting consumers, preserving biodiversity, and preventing long-term health risks.
- Regulations that promote competition in the digital ecosystem, laws that impose digital services taxes on Big Tech firms, place conditions for cross-border data transfers, promote fairness in the digital economy, and laws that regulate emerging technologies such as AI.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, commented on the report:
“It is clear that the Trump administration is wasting no time in reversing the modest but meaningful progress the Biden administration made in combating corporate attacks on digital privacy, online safety, and digital competition policies.
“Whatever steps had been taken previously to move away from using trade policy as a tool for corporations to exploit have been undone by Donald Trump. In their place is a dangerous, retaliatory agenda that threatens democratic policymaking here and abroad.
“Countries have the sovereign right to pursue policies that advance the public interest and protect access to medicines. Yet, the US government continues to promote the adoption of overly stringent IP policies that can restrict access to medicines in developing countries.
“It’s open season on democratic policymaking. Climate rules, consumer protections, and digital trade are back on the chopping block.”