The World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have released the 2020 edition of World Tariff Profiles, a statistical yearbook that provides comprehensive information on tariffs and non-tariff measures imposed by WTO members and other economies. The “new special topic” for the theme is market access for COVID-19 medical products and medical supplies.
The report entitled "Global Tariff Profiles 2020» compiles the main tariff parameters for each of the 164 WTO members, as well as for other countries and customs territories where data are available. Each one-page tariff profile contains information on the tariffs imposed by each economy on its imports, broken down by sector and tariff range, and includes an analysis of the market access conditions each economy faces in its main export markets.
The publication presents summary statistics on tariffs and trade for all countries and territories for all products, including a breakdown into agricultural and non-agricultural products, and information on non-tariff measures such as safeguards and anti-dumping measures, which the report says are “of increasing importance in international trade.” Statistics for all countries and territories are presented in standardised tables, which the report says allow for easy comparisons between economies, between sectors and, specifically for WTO members, between bound and applied tariffs.
The "special theme» deals with the Market access for medical products and medical supplies COVID-19. The report notes that the COVID-19 pandemic “has highlighted the importance of easy access to affordable medical products” and that shortages of essential products and rising prices “have made it even more difficult for countries to combat the crisis.” The relevant chapter discusses bound and applied tariffs for medical products such as medicines and medical technology, critical to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, the average tariff applied by WTO members to all medical products is 4.8%, with the highest tariffs (11.5% on average) applied to personal protection products.
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