Trade and Public Policies A Closer Look at Non-Tariff Measures in the 21st Century

摘要

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) World Trade Report2012 takes a fresh look at non-tariff measures (NTMs). NTMs are nothing new, they have existed since countries started to trade and been subject to General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade disciplines since 1947. As tariffs have come down, however, NTMs have acquired growing importance. At the same time, changes in the trading environment have brought about a transformation of NTMs, raising new challenges in the multilateral trading system. This transformation and the challenges it raises are the topic of this year's World Trade Report.