Non - tariff barriers : their prevalence and relevance for African countries
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2005Author(s)/Corporate Author (s)
Mold, Andrew;United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa. African Trade Policy Centre;
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Meaningful market access requires a reduction in all kinds of barriers to trade. In this context, it is commonly argued that ‘core’ non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade fell considerably in the aftermath of the Uruguay Round of the GATT negotiations, ‘core’ NTBs referring to the use of non-automatic licensing, quotas and tariff quotas, voluntary export restraints and price control measures. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of concern about the application of NTBs, especially regarding the use of a ‘new generation’ of import controls by the industrialized nations, such as antidumping measures and phytosanitary, labour and environmental standards. There is a parallel concern that the target of these new generation NTBs is no longer essentially other industrialized nations - now the target would seem to be increasingly developing nations. This is certainly the case with the Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs) and developing countries with enormous export capacity, like China and India. But from the evidence surveyed in this study, it is also increasingly true for the African continent. The objective of this paper is to outline the most important NTBs facing African countries, describe ways of quantifying them, and summarize the empirical evidence. Policy advice is subsequently drawn on the need for African countries to be more vigilant on these issues in future negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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“Mold, Andrew; United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa. African Trade Policy Centre (2005). Non - tariff barriers : their prevalence and relevance for African countries. ATPC work in progress;. No.25, 38 p.. Addis Ababa :. © UN. ECA,. https://hdl.handle.net/10855/25017”Serial Title
ATPC work in progress;Collections
- Africa Sustainable Development Report [5044]
- Africa UN staff news (1973) [5436]
- African Trade Policy Centre [2522]
- Statistical training programme for Africa (STPA) News (1987) [5924]
- Trade [2784]