At the congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) in Zurich, LEI, part of Wageningen UR, organised a session 'Non-tariff measures: new data and new findings'. The session brought together research experts on non-tariff measures (NTMs), in particular on standards and regulations which constitute the import requirements exporters have to comply with in order to supply foreign markets. Although benefits are acknowledged, NTMs are often considered to be trade barriers.
The topic of NTMs has attracted much attention, mainly due to their increased importance in the light of trade liberalisation and facilitation. Several studies aim to quantify the effects by some kind of measure to reflect the respective NTM, for example by counting the number of measures or complaints of exporters. Main analytical challenges relate to the accounting, measurement and comparability of standards and regulations. Most importantly, their impact can be rather diverse and depends on the perspective taken. This makes the analysis of standards and regulations such as NTMs complex and more complicated than the usual analysis of tariffs and other more traditional trade policy measures.
The papers at the organised EAAE session presented new NTM research and recent initiatives of collecting data about NTMs initiated by different groups and organisations. In addition to organising the session, LEI contributed to the presentation of the EU project NTM impact.
Programme of the organised session 'Non-Tariff Measures: New Data and New Findings'
NTM research by LEI was also presented at the workshop Non-Tariff Measures in Food and Agriculture: which road ahead, jointly organised by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC).