Brussels, 17/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The WTO's World Trade Report 2012 flags up an increase in non-tariff barriers, such as regulatory standards which affect manufactured goods and agricultural produce, measures which can have a considerable impact on trade. For WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, non-tariff measures have less to do with protecting producers from competition from imports than attaining a broad range of public policy objectives.
Non-tariff barriers are an alternative to customs duties as a way of putting the brake on imports. While they may be legitimate measures to protect consumers, non-tariff barriers may also be disguised protectionist measures. The dividing line between the two is blurred and often complex, it is conceded by the WTO. According to its report, which focuses on technical barriers to trade and standards for manufactured goods, health and plant health measures relating to food safety and animal/plant health, and domestic regulation in services, it is the agricultural sector that is most affected by these safety and environmental and social protection measures.
The WTO is concerned in particular about the effect of the rise in non-tariff barriers on the exports of developing countries which have more limited resources, faced with the costs of certification and less full knowledge of each country's rules. The financial crisis, health risks and climate change are all combining to increase imposition of non-tariff barriers. The WTO, though unable to provide swift solutions to unfair measures - its dispute settlement body took several years before coming to a decision in 2009 on a dispute between the EU and Brazil, which refused, for environmental reasons which ultimately the organisation ruled excessive, to open up its market to European retreaded tyres - has opened a debate. Lamy has offered some avenues for consideration, such as improving the transparency of non-tariff measures through harmonisation and mutual recognition of standards, definition of more effective criteria to identify why measures are used, and greater regulatory convergence in production chains. (EH/transl.rt)