Brussels, 25/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - At its 14th conference (on 17-22 July) in Nairobi, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched a new database on 19 July. This lists the nontariff measures 56 countries (including those of the G20) covering 80% of world trade, use in an effort to help developing countries more effectively overcome these barriers that lead to them to lose almost 10% of their exports to G20 countries every year.
Non-tariff measures cover a broad range of legitimate and important policy instruments, including measures to protect the health of a country's citizens and its environments, too. For example, non-tariff measures may limit the use of pesticides in food.
These obstacles have replaced the tariffs, which have fallen to historic lows, non-tariff measures have replaced them as a key brake on faster global trade growth. This trend is expected to continue because the expansion of the middle classes in many countries is expected to increase demand for safer, cleaner products. This, in turn, may require governments to introduce more nontariff measures.
“These kinds of measures are becoming increasingly widespread. For example, measures on the cleanliness and pathogen-free status of food - known as sanitary and phytosanitary measures - cover more than 60 per cent of agricultural trade. Such regulatory measures disproportionately increase trade costs for small and medium-sized enterprises and developing countries, particularly the least developed. We estimate, for example, that the impact of the European Union's sanitary and phytosanitary measures comes to a loss of about $3 billion for low-income country exports. That's equal to 14 per cent of their agricultural trade with the European Union”, explained UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Joakim Reiter.
Reiter added: “We certainly don't expect G20 countries to drop all their non-tariff measures, which serve important policy objectives such as health and safety, but we do need to manage this issue better… better information would reduce the costs of non-tariff measures. It's all about transparency and harmonizing regulations”.
In an effort to enhance transparency on non-tariff measures, UNCTAD launched a database to help policymakers to search by country and product to find out quickly the relevant non-tariff requirements. “This database will improve countries' ability to understand the regulatory requirements, helping them to comply more easily and at less cost,” explained UNCTAD.
UNCTAD also said that policymakers can use the database, for example, to harmonize their regulations and accelerate the growth of regional trade.
Non-tariff measures have a valuable contribution to make in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, by protecting health and the environment.
Non-tariff measures have a valuable contribution to make in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, by protecting health and the environment, emphasised UNCTAD. It did conclude, however, that this should be done, “in a smart way, for example by using international standards to a maximum extent”. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)