Navistar Inc. of Illinois
February 14, 2013
(ITA)
The Company
The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has helped
secure market access for Illinois-based company, Navistar Inc., so it can
continue to sell heavy-duty trucks in Chile. Navistar and other U.S.-based truck
manufacturers faced the possibility of government-imposed trade barriers which
involved overly burdensome emission standards that could have blocked access to
the Chilean market.
Why it Matters
This ITA action helped preserve the Chilean export market for large trucks, like
those manufactured by Navistar, for the foreseeable future. Reducing unnecessary
and overly burdensome regulatory barriers is a key issue for transportation
companies like Navistar as they continue to leverage the benefits of the
U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement and expand sales in foreign markets. If the
United States had not advocated against these trade-restrictive emission
standards under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Technical Barriers
to Trade, Navistar and other American trucks may have become less competitive in
Chile. Navistar sold over 1,000 trucks to Chile in 2011, which helped support
hundreds of American jobs. This number is likely to grow for 2012.
The Problem
In July 2011, Navistar sought ITA’s assistance in confronting a proposed
regulation and potential trade barrier in Chile. The Chilean government proposed
a regulation that would have established an environmental standard for heavy
trucks which could only be met by using an ultra-low sulfur fuel not readily
available in Chile. This could have cut Navistar and other U.S. heavy-duty
trucks out of the Chilean market. The United States believed that alternative
standards were available to meet Chile’s need for strong environmental
regulation while also reducing the potential to restrict trade.
The Solution
Interventions by ITA and other U.S. government representatives, including the
act of raising this issue at the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade Committee,
led Chile to adopt an environmental standard compatible with diesel fuel readily
available throughout the country. This solution protects both the environment in
Chile and secures market access for heavy-duty trucks in the country.
Working closely with U.S. companies, ITA creates, expands, and defends market
access for U.S. goods and services overseas through the Trade Agreements
Compliance Program. “We promote policy that develops a more favorable business
climate for U.S. companies in global markets; we employ commercial diplomacy to
resolve trade barriers; and we leverage our bilateral and multilateral trade
agreements to ensure our trading partners live up to their commitments so that
our businesses can compete on a level playing-field.” - Assistant Secretary for
Market Access and Compliance, Michael C. Camuñez.
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