Technical barriers to trade
Conclusions
This report has sought to deepen understanding of the role incidence and effects of non-tariff measures and services measures in the multilateral trading system of the 21st century. Against a background of profound changes in the nature of trade flows and trade patterns institutions social and environmental realities and consumer preferences the Report has identified the challenges that NTMs and services measures raise for international cooperation and more specifically for the World Trade Organization.
The trade effects of non-tariff measures and services measures
This section discusses the trade effects of non-tariff measures and services measures in general before focusing on technical barriers to trade (TBT) sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and domestic regulation in services. It also examines whether regulatory harmonization and/or mutual recognition help to reduce the trade-hindering effects caused by the diversity of TBT/SPS measures and domestic regulation in services.
World trade in 2011: Introduction
The volume of world merchandise trade rose 5.0 per cent in 2011 accompanied by global output growth of 2.4 per cent. This marked a significant slowdown from 2010 when trade advanced 13.8 per cent and output expanded by 3.8 per cent.
Introduction
Non-tariff measures that can potentially affect trade in goods present the multilateral trading system with a basic policy challenge – how to ensure that these measures meet legitimate policy goals without unduly restricting or distorting trade. The same challenge applies to measures that can affect trade in services. This introduction discusses how the motivations for using non-tariff measures and services measures have evolved complicating the policy panorama but not changing the core challenge of how to manage the tension between public policy goals and trading opportunities.
Conclusions
Ce rapport avait pour but de mieux comprendre le rôle l'incidence et les effets des mesures non tarifaires et des mesures relatives aux services dans le système commercial multilatéral du XXIe siècle. Compte tenu des profonds changements dans la nature des flux commerciaux et des structures du commerce des institutions des réalités sociales et environnementales et des préférences des consommateurs le rapport a mis en évidence les problèmes que les MNT et les mesures relatives aux services posent pour la coopération internationale et en particulier pour l'Organisation mondiale du commerce.
The TBT Agreement
The TBT Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1995. It is one of the various WTO agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement. As indicated above the TBT Agreement belongs to the family of multilateral WTO agreements dealing with trade in goods (the GATT and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) are examples of other “goods” agreements).
An inventory of non-tariff measures and services measures
This section reviews available sources of information on non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services measures evaluating their relative strengths and weaknesses. It uses available information to establish a number of “stylized facts” regarding the incidence of NTMs and services measures in general. It looks in particular at technical barriers to trade sanitary and phytosanitary measures and domestic regulation in services.
An economic perspective on the use of non-tariff measures
Governments use non-tariff measures and services measures for a growing number of reasons. This section examines what these are and how they may affect trade. It also analyses the choices available to governments among a variety of policy instruments from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. The section ends with case studies on non-tariff measures in the context of the recent financial crisis climate change and food safety.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2012 was prepared under the general direction of the WTO’s Deputy Director-General Alejandro Jara and supervised by Patrick Low Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. The writing of this year’s report was coordinated by Marc Bacchetta and Cosimo Beverelli. Work on individual sections was coordinated by Alexander Keck Coleman Nee Roberta Piermartini and Michele Ruta.
International cooperation on non-tariff measures in a globalized world
The focus of this section is international cooperation on non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services measures. The section first reviews the economic rationale for such cooperation in the context of trade agreements. It then looks at the practice of cooperation in the areas of technical barriers to trade (TBT) sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and domestic regulation in services. The third part deals with the legal analysis of the treatment of NTMs in the GATT/WTO system and the interpretation of the rules that has emerged in recent international trade disputes. The section concludes with a discussion of the challenges of adapting the WTO to a world where NTMs are a growing concern.
La coopération internationale dans le domaine des mesures non tarifaires dans le contexte de la mondialisation
Cette section se concentre sur la coopération internationale dans le domaine des mesures non tarifaires (MNT) et des mesures relatives aux services. Elle examine d'abord la justification économique de cette coopération dans le contexte des accords commerciaux. Puis elle analyse la pratique de la coopération dans le domaine des obstacles techniques au commerce (OTC) des mesures sanitaires et phytosanitaires (SPS) et de la réglementation intérieure relative aux services. La troisième partie traite de l'analyse juridique du traitement des MNT dans le système du GATT de l'OMC et de l'interprétation des règles donnée dans des différends commerciaux internationaux récents. La section s'achève par un examen des défis de l'adaptation de l'OMC à un monde où les MNT sont une préoccupation croissante.
The basic structure of WTO agreements
Broadly speaking the WTO agreements for the two largest areas of trade — goods and services — share a common three part outline even though the details are sometimes different.
Appendice – Figures et tableaux
La multiplication rapide des accords commerciaux préférentiels (ACPr) a été un élément majeur de la politique commerciale internationale au cours des dernières années. Les ACPr constituent une exception au principe général de la nation la plus favorisée (NPF) inscrit dans les Accords de l’OMC en vertu duquel tous les Membres de l’OMC appliquent entre eux les mêmes droits de douane non discriminatoires. À l’exception de la Mongolie tous les Membres de l’OMC sont parties à au moins un ACPr. L’intérêt pour la négociation d’ACPr semble s’être maintenu malgré la crise économique mondiale. En fait la crise économique elle-même peut inciter les gouvernements à négocier de nouveaux ACPr tant pour préserver l’ouverture des marchés alors que des pressions politiques s’exercent en faveur d’une réduction de l’accès aux marchés que pour instaurer plus d’ouverture. La prolifération des ACPr a suscité parallèlement d’abondantes recherches sur le sujet. Mais le présent rapport apporte des points de vue et des éclairages nouveaux sur ce domaine important de la politique commerciale.