Exporters face more non-tariff

  Speaking yesterday at the Asian launch of the World Trade Report 2012 in Bangkok, Cosimo Beverelli, economist at the WTO’s economic research division, said the report examined why and how governments use NTMs, including domestic regulation of services. Such measures can serve legitimate public-policy goals, such as protecting the health of consumers, but they may also be used for protectionist purposes.
“It’s difficult to distinguish between legitimate public policies and trade protectionism,” he said.
When it comes to public policies, governments have no incentives to be transparent, he said.
The report highlights technical barriers to trade (TBT) regarding standards for manufactured goods, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures concerning food safety and animal/plant health, and domestic regulation of services.
Exporters in developing countries have experienced such measures although tariffs have reduced substantially. The trend of TBT and SPS is on the rise, Beverelli said.
The report finds that agricultural products face higher trade restrictions than manufactured goods. The existence of standards often has a positive effect on trade in the latter, especially in high-technology sectors.
Evidence from International Trade Centre business surveys suggested that TBT and SPS measures were the most burdensome for developing countries’ exporters. In 2010, almost half of the non-tariff measures perceived as burdensome by exporting firms were TBT or SPS, according to the report.
Beverelli has called for closer cooperation among the members of WTO to prevent the rise of trade protectionism.
Apiradi Tantraporn, executive president of the International Institute for Asia Pacific Studies, Bangkok University, said some countries such as the United States and Australia imposed trade restrictions without any good reason.
She pointed to a previous ban on shrimp exports on environmental grounds, while the Australian government imposed unreasonable safety conditions on Thai chicken, she said.
Moreover, as Thai manufacturers participate in value-chain production, they also face private standard measures imposed by importers, she said.
Apiradi said that Asean countries were also facing difficulty in harmonising rules and regulations to lessen non-tariff barriers, because of diverse stages of economic development.
A Thai trade negotiator who asked not to be named said some of the country’s exporters preferred higher tariff rates to TBT and SPS, since tariffs were more transparent.