Non-tariff measures

Non-tariff measures (NTMs) are an important part of international trade.  All over the globe, businesses need to comply with these regulations when importing or exporting. Most of them are put in place for legitimate purposes, such as on health and safety grounds.

However, there is a lack of transparency on this issue with many traders not having a full understanding on the objectives of the regulations or even which regulations to follow. For their part, policymakers may not be fully informed on the difficulties traders can face with regard to certain regulations.

To help the private and public sectors overcome trade barriers, ITC’s Programme on Non-Tariff Measures:

• Identifies the trade obstacles to support decision makers to effectively reduce trade cost related to NTMs;
• Establishes national mechanisms to solve NTM-related trade obstacles experienced by small and medium sized-businesses in developing countries;
• Provides trainings to companies, trade and investment support institutions (TISIs) and policymakers so they can better understand these trade obstacles and their effect on competitiveness;
• Increases the transparency of trade regulations and related procedures.