Ensuring Fair Trade
The Commercial Service Japan Market Access and Compliance unit works to identify and overcome trade barriers, resolve trade policy issues, and ensure that Japan fully meets its obligations under its trade agreements with the Unites States. We work with small- and medium-sized businesses to ensure market access by knocking down barriers that prevent U.S. companies from getting open and fair access to the Japanese market. We coordinate efforts with our Commercial Service and other U.S. Government experts in areas such as:
- Standards
- Government Procurement
- Customs
- Intellectual Property and Piracy
- Quotas
- Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards
- Local Content Requirements
- National Treatment
- Transparency
- Subsidies
Is your firm facing unfair or unnecessary barriers to trade in the Japanese market?
- Are unique and burdensome product testing or certification requirements keeping your goods out of the market?
- Are you having problems with product labeling or marking requirements?
- Are local content requirements in Japan shutting your products out of the market?
- Are government procurements being conducted in a way that is favoring a particular local supplier?
- Is a corporate entity interfering with fair trade practices at your expense?
- Is your company experiencing difficulties protecting and/or enforcing your copyrights, trademarks or patents?
- Are direct or indirect subsidies by a foreign government favoring domestic suppliers at your expense?
- Is your firm interested in receiving alerts on changes in Japan’s standards and regulatory environment?
If you believe your company is facing these or other barriers in the Japanese market, contact the Market Access and Compliance unit:
Minae Suzuki
Market Access and Compliance Assistant
Phone: +81 3 3224 5082
Exporter’s Toolbox for Confronting Trade Barriers
Report a trade barrier online to a Department of Commerce team of market access and trade compliance experts.
Review common trade problems experienced by U.S. firms doing business in foreign markets and learn how the U.S. government can help.
Learn how to protect intellectual property through the U.S. Government’s comprehensive portal for combating global piracy and helping American businesses secure and enforce their intellectual property rights around the world.
Problems bidding on a foreign tender? The Department of Commerce Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government resources and authority in order to level the playing field on behalf of U.S. business interests as they compete against foreign firms for specific international contracts or other U.S. export opportunities.
Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail subscription service that offers firms an opportunity to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations and standards in the WTO that can affect your access to international markets.
Other Resources
Learn about how the National Export Initiative is working to support U.S. jobs by improving market access overseas for our manufacturers, farmers, and service providers by actively opening new markets, reducing significant trade barriers, and robustly enforcing our trade agreements.
The Department of Commerce International Trade Administration is responsible for promoting trade, strengthening industry competitiveness and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade agreements.
The Trade Compliance Center is a one-stop shop for getting U.S. government assistance in resolving trade barriers or unfair situations encountered in foreign markets.
U.S. Trade agreements are an important tool for promoting fair competition and encouraging foreign governments to adopt open and transparent rulemaking procedures as well as non-discriminatory laws and regulations.
National Trade Estimate Report is a yearly report by the U.S. Trade Representative highlighting trade barriers in foreign markets faced by U.S. industry.
Surveillance of national trade policies is a fundamentally important activity of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Learn more about the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which includes a comprehensive summary of measures directly affecting exports.
WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement seeks to ensure that technical negotiations and standards, as well as testing and certification procedures, do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.
