Talk:Non-tariff barriers to trade/Archives/2020

Clarify the difference between Non-Tariff measures to trade and Non-Tariff barriers to trade

Currently there exists no page on 'Non-Tariff measures to trade'. The current page on Non-tariff barriers to trade starts with:

Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs) or sometimes called "Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs)" are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than the simple imposition of tariffs.

which might give NTBs' definition a wider range of policies than what they are. The MAST Group consisting of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Trade Centre, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UNCTAD, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, World Bank, and WTO, have defined Non-Tariff Measures as '“policy measures other than ordinary customs tariffs that can potentially have an economic effect on international trade in goods, changing quantities traded, or prices or both.” (page v, https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditctab2019d5_en.pdf), while recognizing NTBs as a subset of NTMs, for the word 'barriers' implying a negative impact on trade (page 1, https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditctab2019d8_en.pdf)

The difference between NTBs and NTMs are further explained in Non-Tariff Measures to Trade: Economic and Policy Issues for Developing Countries (https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditctab20121_en.pdf), page 2: “The definition of NTMs encompasses all measures altering the conditions of international trade, including policies and regulations that restrict trade and those that facilitate it. NTMs are often incorrectly referred to as non-tariff barriers (NTBs). The difference is that NTMs comprise a wider set of measures than NTBs, which are now generally intended only as discriminatory non-tariff measures imposed by Governments to favour domestic over foreign suppliers. The cause of this confusion is because in the past most NTMs were largely in the form of quotas or voluntary export restraints. These measures are restrictive by design which explains why the word “barrier” was used. In present times, policy interventions take many more forms and therefore it is preferable to refer to them as “measures” instead of “barriers” to underline that the measure may not be necessarily welfare or trade reducing.”

The WTO Website also mentions NTBs as 'various bureaucratic or legal issues that could involve hindrances to trade', implying the negative impacts of NTBs on trade (https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm9_e.htm)

On the contrary, NTMs cover a much wider range of policies, which can be any policy measures published by any official government agencies which could potentially affect trade. They comprise NTBs, and more.

The OECD defines NTMs as 'a diverse set of measures in terms of purpose, legal form and economic effect. NTMs comprise all policy measures other than tariffs and tariff-rate quotas that have a more or less direct impact on international trade. They can affect the price of traded products, the quantity traded, or both' (https://www.oecd.org/trade/topics/non-tariff-measures/)

The definition of NTMs and its classification are also recognized by the United Nations Statistical Commission with its 193 member states as official (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/classifications/Family/Detail/2015).

Therefore, I would propose to change the definition of NTBs, and from then on to allow the creation of a separate page on 'Non-Tariff measures to trade'.--Mingcong07 (talk) 13:40, 14 August 2020 (UTC)