RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Discussion forum: World Trade
Report 2012
Trade and public policies: A closer look at non-tariff measures in the 21st century
The aim of this discussion forum is to encourage debate on the topic of the 2012 World Trade Report: Looking beyond international cooperation on tariffs. You are invited to submit short articles (of no more than 1,000 words) on this topic and to submit your views on the articles submitted by others.
Disclaimer
This forum seeks to promote an informed debate on the topic of the World Trade Report 2012. Documents
posted on the forum are the sole responsibility of their authors. They
have no legal effect on the rights and obligations of WTO members, nor
do they imply any judgement on the part of the WTO Secretariat regarding
the consistency of any policy with the provisions of the WTO agreements.
See also:
> World Trade Report 2011
> Discussion forum: World Trade Report 2011
Background
Non-tariff measures (i.e. policy measures, other than tariffs, that can potentially affect trade in goods) and services regulations are less transparent than tariffs. Some of them are in place for legitimate reasons (i.e. to allow countries to pursue legitimate policy goals). Others are mainly used to protect domestic producers. Most non-tariff measures (NTMs) affect the fixed costs for exporters of entering foreign markets, rather than their variable costs of servicing these markets. Addressing obstacles raised by regulations may involve some form of regulatory convergence and may require a multi-layered governance structure. For these reasons, NTMs and services regulations raise particular challenges for international co-operation on trade. Understanding these challenges is crucial to determining what the WTO’s future agenda on such measures should be.
Submission of articles
Please send your articles to [email protected]
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Recently submitted articles
27/03/2012 | Trade, FDI, Growth and Biodiversity: an empirical analysis for the main OECD countries. by Roberta de Santis — LUISS University, Rome |
15/03/2012 | African Countries and the New Generation of Non-Tariff Barriers: “Standard-takers”, “Standard-Compliers” and “Standard-Victims” by Henri J. Nkuepo, Research Scholar, Law School — University of Iowa (USA), Associate Fellow, CISDL — McGill University (Canada) |
15/02/2012 | Using Supply Chain Analysis to Examine the Costs of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and the Benefits of Trade Facilitation by Michael J. Ferrantino — U.S. International Trade Commission |
19/01/2012 | Trade Costs and Regulation in Services Sectors by Sébastien Miroudot, Jehan Sauvage, and Ben Shepherd |
16/12/2011 | Private standards as NTBs: the case of carbon labels by Shane Baddely and Robert Wolfe |
18/11/2011 | What will the World Trade Report 2012 be about? by Marc Bacchetta and Cosimo Beverelli, WTO Secretariat |
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