In the document at the base of the American narrow on goods and services from abroad, the barriers that Italy and the old continent impose on US companies are enunciated. A “wall” of regulations and bureaucracy that President Trump intends to break down to conquer the market.
Published on 31 March last and brandished by President Donald Trump in the conference of April 2, the “2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program” It is a 397 pages book in which the obstacles that American companies have to face when they want to export their products are indicated for each country. Here are some excerpts from the chapter reserved for the European Union: they contain significant examples of bureaucratic barriers which, objectively, can justify the American position.
Too many customs
“Despite the existence of customs legislation that governs all Member States, the European Union does not administer its laws through a single customs administration. Rather, there are separate agencies responsible for the administration of the EU customs law in each Member State. Therefore, it is difficult for the EU to ensure that its rules and decisions on classification, evaluation, origin and customs procedures are applied evenly in all Member States, and US exports suffer from the uneven and inconsistent application of these requirements. In addition, the union lacks courts or procedures for timely review and EU correction of administrative actions relating to customs issues. Instead, the review is provided in the courts of each Member State, and the rules relating to these revisions vary from one state to another. An operator who meets a different treatment in several Member States must submit a separate appeal in each Member Country whose agency has issued an unfavorable decision ».
Hormones
“Despite the scientific evidence that this meat is safe for consumers, the EU maintains various measures that require prohibitions and restrictions on the meat produced using hormones, beta-agonists and other growth promoters approved for use in the United States. US producers cannot export meat or products based on it in the EU unless they participate in an expensive and heavy verification program to ensure that hormones, beta-agonists or other growth promoters have not been used in their production “.
GMO. “Decades of data and experiences demonstrate the security of genetically modified crops in addition to the benefits of their use in the reduction of the use of pesticides and impact on non -target bodies, while increasing the health of the soil, the yields of the crops and incomes of farmers. Despite these positive characteristics, the lack of predictability, the excessive data requirements and delays in the EU GMO crops approval process have prevented the export of products to the EU, although these products have been approved and cultivated safely in the United States and in other countries for many years “.
Health certificates
“Since January 2022, the EU has published at least 14 versions of the health certificate required for US agricultural exports of fish, meat, dairy products, transformed products and animal by -products. US exporters are concerned about the export of products of animal origin in the EU market and in the markets of third countries that require transit through the EU due to the unpredictability of the requirements of the health certificate “.
Privacy
“Due to the affirmation of the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the GDPR, the General Regulation on the protection of data by the EU, as well as the large impact of it on many areas of the economy, the US companies have expressed concerns about the fact that the need for clear and consistent guidelines remains in the implementation and application of the aforementioned regulation”.
Investment obstacles in Italy
«The US companies complained that unwittingly and long delays have hindered their ability to request and obtain licenses or permits for energy and infrastructure investment projects in Italy. Once the licenses or permits were granted, the US companies had to face legal and bureaucratic obstacles that have hindered their ability to obtain concessions “.
Drugs and hospitals in Italy
“The subjects of the US pharmaceutical industry face an unpredictable commercial environment in Italy, which includes the highly variable implementation by the Italian government of complex prices of prices and reimbursements. And they raised worries about delays in reimbursements for pharmaceutical products and payments for medical devices. The average time used by Italian public hospitals to pay medical devices suppliers continues to exceed the maximum period allowed by EU law. The interested parties of the US industry continue to ask the Italian government to face these issues “.
