Reports
Azevêdo says rise in trade restrictions “cause for concern”
08/12/2014
Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, in introducing his annual
report “Developments in the International Trading Environment” to the Trade
Policy Review Body on 8 December, said that “the stock of trade restrictions
introduced by WTO members since 2008 continues to rise”. He said that “in a
climate of economic uncertainty the continued accumulation of trade-restrictive
measures poses a clear risk”.
- This report shows that the stock of trade restrictions introduced by WTO Members since 2008 continues to rise. Remaining uncertainties in the global economy underline the need for Members to show restraint in the imposition of new measures and to effectively eliminate existing ones.
- Of the 2,146 trade restrictive measures introduced by Members since October 2008, only 508 (24% of the total measures) have been removed. The total number of restrictive measures still in place now stands at 1,638 (76% of the total measures).
- Members applied 168 new trade-restrictive measures during the period between mid November 2013 and mid-October 2014. This equates to over 15 new measures per month, compared with 14.6 in the previous period.
- Greater transparency is needed from Members in order to improve the understanding of the operation and effects of non-tariff barriers to trade. These behind-the-border measures include regulatory measures and subsidies.