Trade barrier

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Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. [1] According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency.

Contents

Most trade barriers work on the same principle: the imposition of some sort of cost (money, time, bureaucracy, quota) on trade that raises the price or availability of the traded products. If two or more nations repeatedly use trade barriers against each other, then a trade war results. Barriers take the form of tariffs (which impose a financial burden on imports) and non-tariff barriers to trade (which uses other overt and covert means to restrict imports and occasionally exports). In theory, free trade involves the removal of all such barriers, except perhaps those considered necessary for health or national security. In practice, however, even those countries promoting free trade heavily subsidize certain industries, such as agriculture and steel.

Overview

High-income countries tend to have fewer trade barriers than middle income countries which, in turn, tend to have fewer trade barriers than low income countries. [2] Small states tend to have lower trade barriers than large states. [3] [4] [5] The most common trade barriers are on agricultural goods. [2] Textiles, apparel and footwear are the manufactured goods which are most commonly protected by trade barriers. [2] Tariffs have been declining in the last twenty years as the influence of the World Trade Organization has grown, but states have increased their use of non-tariff barriers. [2]

According to Chad Bown and Meredith Crowley, world trade is "probably" vastly more liberal in current times than was the case historically. [2] According to Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O’Rourke, "for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries trade barriers and transport costs were the most important barriers to trade". [6] They also write, "during the mercantilist era price gaps were as likely to be due to trade monopolies, pirates, and wars as to transport costs and tariffs, which are more easily quantifiable." [6]

Georgetown University Professor Marc L. Busch and McGill University Professor Krzysztof J. Pelc note that modern trade deals are long and complex because they often tackle non-tariff barriers to trade, such as different standards and regulations, in addition to tariffs. Due to steadily decreasing tariff barriers since World War II, countries have become increasingly likely to enact trade barriers in forms other than tariffs. National firms often lobby their own governments to enact regulations that are designed to keep out foreign firms, and modern trade deals are one way to do away with such regulations. [7]

The barriers can take many forms, including the following:

Impacts of trade barriers on business

Trade barriers are often criticized for the effect they have on the developing world. Because rich-countries are able to set trade policies, goods, such as crops that developing countries are best at producing, still face high barriers. Trade barriers such as tariffs on food imports or subsidies for farmers in developed economies lead to overproduction and dumping on world markets, thus lowering world prices to the disadvantage of farmers in developing economies who typically do not benefit from such subsidies. The Commitment to Development Index measures the effect that rich country trade policies actually have on the developing world.

Trade barriers are mostly a combination of conformity and per-shipment requirements requested abroad, and weak inspection or certification procedures at home. The impact of trade barriers on companies and countries is highly uneven. One particular study showed that small firms are most affected (over 50%). [9]

Another negative aspect of trade barriers is that they result in a limited choice of products and would therefore force customers to pay higher prices and accept inferior quality.[ opinion ] [10]

Trade barriers obstruct free trade. Before exporting or importing to other countries, firstly, they must be aware of restrictions that the government imposes on the trade. Subsequently, they need to make sure that they are not violating the restrictions by checking related regulations on tax or duty, and finally they probably need a license in order to ensure a smooth export or import business and reduce the risk of penalty or violation. Sometimes the situation becomes even more complicated with the changing of policy and restrictions of a country. [ vague ] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free trade area</span> Regional trade agreement

A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and to increase trade of goods and services with each other. If natural persons are also free to move between the countries, in addition to a free trade agreement, it would also be considered an open border. It can be considered the second stage of economic integration.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis."

A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and policy that taxes foreign products to encourage or safeguard domestic industry. Protective tariffs are among the most widely used instruments of protectionism, along with import quotas and export quotas and other non-tariff barriers to trade.

Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist and left-wing political parties generally support protectionism, the opposite of free trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protectionism</span> Economic policy of regulating trade between states through government regulations

Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. Proponents argue that protectionist policies shield the producers, businesses, and workers of the import-competing sector in the country from foreign competitors and raise government revenue. Opponents argue that protectionist policies reduce trade, and adversely affect consumers in general as well as the producers and workers in export sectors, both in the country implementing protectionist policies and in the countries against which the protections are implemented.

Dumping, in economics, is a form of predatory pricing, especially in the context of international trade. It occurs when manufacturers export a product to another country at a price below the normal price with an injuring effect. The objective of dumping is to increase market share in a foreign market by driving out competition and thereby create a monopoly situation where the exporter will be able to unilaterally dictate price and quality of the product. Trade treaties might include mechanisms to alleviate problems related to dumping, such as countervailing duty penalties and anti-dumping statutes.

An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an exporter; the foreign buyers is an importer. Services that figure in international trade include financial, accounting and other professional services, tourism, education as well as intellectual property rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trade justice</span>

Trade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations, plus efforts by other actors, to change the rules and practices of world trade in order to promote fairness. These organizations include consumer groups, trade unions, faith groups, aid agencies and environmental groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-tariff barriers to trade</span> Type of trade barriers

Non-tariff barriers to trade are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than the simple imposition of tariffs. Such barriers are subject to controversy and debate, as they may comply with international rules on trade yet serve protectionist purposes.

The Australia – United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) is a preferential trade agreement between Australia and the United States modelled on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The AUSFTA was signed on 18 May 2004 and came into effect on 1 January 2005.

Trade can be a key factor in economic development. The prudent use of trade can boost a country's development and create absolute gains for the trading partners involved. Trade has been touted as an important tool in the path to development by prominent economists. However trade may not be a panacea for development as important questions surrounding how free trade really is and the harm trade can cause domestic infant industries to come into play.

International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns and consequences of transactions and interactions between the inhabitants of different countries, including trade, investment and transaction.

A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur when two countries agree to loosen trade restrictions between the two of them, generally to expand business opportunities. Multilateral trade agreements are agreements among three or more countries, and are the most difficult to negotiate and agree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market access</span> Ability to sell goods and services across borders

In international trade, market access refers to a company's ability to enter a foreign market by selling its goods and services in another country. Market access is not the same as free trade, because market access is normally subject to conditions or requirements, whereas under ideal free trade conditions goods and services can circulate across borders without any barriers to trade. Expanding market access is therefore often a more achievable goal of trade negotiations than achieving free trade.

The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on 1 January 1995.

A voluntary export restraint (VER) or voluntary export restriction is a measure by which the government or an industry in the importing country arranges with the government or the competing industry in the exporting country for a restriction on the volume of the latter's exports of one or more products.

Success in export markets for developed and developing country firms is increasingly affected by the ability of countries to support an environment which promotes efficient and low cost trade services and logistics. Trade facilitation and economic development policies reflect the idea that trade can be a powerful engine for accelerating economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.

In economics, a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) is a two-tiered tariff system that combines import quotas and tariffs to regulate import products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial policy</span> Governments policy governing international trade

A commercial policy is a government's policy governing international trade. Commercial policy is an all encompassing term that is used to cover topics which involve international trade. Trade policy is often described in terms of a scale between the extremes of free trade on one side and protectionism on the other. A common commercial policy can sometimes be agreed by treaty within a customs union, as with the European Union's common commercial policy and in Mercosur. A nation's commercial policy will include and take into account the policies adopted by that nation's government while negotiating international trade. There are several factors that can affect a nation's commercial policy, all of which can affect international trade policies.

Strategic trade theory describes the policy certain countries adopt in order to affect the outcome of strategic interactions between firms in an international oligopoly, an industry dominated by a small number of firms. The term ‘strategic’ in this context refers to the strategic interaction between firms; it does not refer to military objectives or importance of a specific industry.

References

  1. ↑ "What is trade barrier? definition and meaning". BusinessDictionary.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bown, C. P.; Crowley, M. A. (2016-01-01). Staiger, Kyle Bagwell and Robert W. (ed.). Handbook of Commercial Policy. Vol. 1, Part A. North-Holland. pp. 3–108.
  3. ↑ Easterly, William; Kraay, Aart (2000-11-01). "Small States, Small Problems? Income, Growth, and Volatility in Small States". World Development. 28 (11): 2013–27. doi:10.1016/S0305-750X(00)00068-1.
  4. ↑ Rodrik, Dani (1998-10-01). "Why Do More Open Economies Have Bigger Governments?" (PDF). Journal of Political Economy. 106 (5): 997–1032. doi:10.1086/250038. ISSN   0022-3808. S2CID   11380043.
  5. ↑ "The Size of Nations". MIT Press. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  6. 1 2 "Commodity Market Integration, 1500–2000" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Yes, the TPP agreement is over 5,000 pages long. Here's why that's a good thing". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  8. ↑ The Wall Street Journal of Europe, October. 11, 2011 p. 6
  9. ↑ The Invisible Barriers to Traded. Geneva, Switzerland: International Trade Center. 2015.
  10. ↑ Mühlbacher, Hans; Leihs, Helmuth; Dahringer, Lee (1999). International Marketing: A Global Perspective. Thomson Learning. p. 7. ISBN   9781844801329.
  11. ↑ Demetrios Marantis (2013). National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (PDF) (Report). p. 132. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

Databases on Trade Barriers

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