ITA Did Not Effectively Resolve Foreign Trade Barriers

The objective of our audit was to assess ITA’s progress and actions to prevent, reduce, and remove foreign trade barriers. To address this objective, we assessed ITA’s process for (1) identifying and resolving trade barriers; (2) receiving, recording, and monitoring foreign trade barriers reported by U.S. companies; and (3) selecting trade barrier cases for reporting to stakeholders. We found that ITA did not effectively prevent, reduce, and remove foreign trade barriers to increase exports of U.S. goods and services and to ensure American businesses and workers have an equal opportunity to compete within foreign markets. Specifically, we found that ITA does not strategically manage trade barrier cases to ensure resources are effectively used to meet the needs of U.S. businesses; ITA did not ensure the completeness and accuracy of data reported in Salesforce; and ITA performance measures do not accurately report its efforts to assist U.S. companies in resolving trade barriers.