Global trade is shifting from traditional protectionism toward a new era of “mercantilist” economic warfare—where nations use aggressive regulations as weapons to drain wealth from foreign competitors. While countries have long used barriers to shield their own markets, a new tactic—the non-tariff attack—now specifically targets the American technology sector. By masking discrimination as “regulation,” foreign governments are systematically draining resources from U.S. firms and undermining the very innovation that secures America’s economic and national future.

What is a Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB)?

A non-tariff barrier (NTB) is a non-financial policy that restricts the flow of foreign goods and services into a domestic market. While tariffs use taxes to discourage imports, NTBs rely on administrative hurdles like licensing requirements, product labeling obligations, or rigorous safety standards. Governments typically justify these barriers as essential protections for public health and safety, though they primarily serve to shield domestic industries from foreign competition.

What is a Non-Tariff Attack (NTA)?

A non-tariff attack (NTA) is a strategic policy or regulation that deliberately targets specific foreign firms or industries to undermine their competitiveness, extract their resources, or assert control beyond standard regulatory norms. While an NTB sets general rules to protect an entire market, an NTAs attacks the capabilities of foreign firms in ways that benefit the country implementing it.

How Do NTAs Differ from NTBs?

The difference lies in intent and scope:

NTBs act as a general filter; they apply to all foreign players to protect the home market.

NTAs act as a surgical strike; they single out specific competitors to penalize those firms.

Which Countries or Regions Are the Worst Offenders?

The European Union is the primary architect and worst offender, pioneering discriminatory regulations that extract billions in fines from U.S. tech companies while systematically exempting European competitors. This model has spread to Asia-Pacific nations—including South Korea, Japan, and India—which now implement similar regulations specifically calibrated to capture American firms. Other countries, such as Brazil and Turkey, are also adopting similar frameworks, targeting American tech leadership to protect their domestic players. These countries employ "neutral" criteria that, in practice, only apply to U.S. companies while protecting their own domestic players.

Why Has the U.S. Tech Industry Become the New Battleground?

Foreign governments recognize that by handicapping American tech firms, they can forcibly tilt the global digital economy in favor of their own national champions. The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) serves as the template for this strategy, using market-value thresholds that initially captured five American firms and almost no others. These policies force U.S. companies to degrade their own services, share proprietary data with rivals, and grant competitors direct access to their systems. Furthermore, many nations now use Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) to extract revenue from large American companies even when no domestic competitor exists.

Why Do Attacks on Leading U.S. Tech Companies Matter?

Non-tariff attacks on American tech companies threaten U.S. national competitiveness by stalling innovation in technologies critical to the economy and national security. Because American tech firms drive progress in AI, semiconductors, and quantum computing, siphoning off their revenue through discriminatory fines leaves them with fewer resources to reinvest in the next generation of breakthroughs. As these attacks spread, they systematically erode the American tech ecosystem, allowing China to gain ground in the very technological domains where the United States and its allies must lead to ensure their future security and economic prosperity.

What Should U.S. Policymakers Do?

Countering non-tariff attacks requires a coordinated, aggressive response across the U.S. government. ITIF's December 2025 report, "Defending American Tech in Global Markets," lays out a strategy built on three pillars.

1. Identify and assess the toll. Policymakers need better visibility into the problem. That means factoring international competitiveness into domestic antitrust enforcement, systematically tracking the economic toll of foreign regulations on U.S. firms, and understanding how these attacks ripple through the broader innovation ecosystem, from startups to venture capital.
2. Negotiate with leverage. The United States should use its immense economic power as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and international partnerships. Digital barrier removal should be a precondition for favorable trade terms, and access to U.S. AI capabilities and development finance should be tied to commitments against discriminatory policies. Countries that want the benefits of partnership with American technology leaders should not simultaneously be attacking them.
3. Counter and deter forcefully. Diplomatic protests alone have failed to stop the proliferation of NTAs. The United States must be willing to push back with credible enforcement, including launching trade investigations into the most egregious offenders, challenging discriminatory policies in multilateral forums, re-engaging in digital trade agreements like the CPTPP, and establishing clear consequences for countries that refuse to change course.

Where Is a List of Non-Tariff Attacks?

ITIF has compiled a knowledge base documenting more than 100 non-tariff attacks against U.S. tech companies. The “Non-Tariff Attack Tracker” is freely available on ITIF’s website, with articles categorized by geographic region, type of policy, and status of the policy.