At a time when the global economy is facing multiple challenges, including food security, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published its annual trade monitoring report on Tuesday (06.12.2022).
According to the report, which covers the period from mid-October 2021 to mid-October 2022, G20 economies introduced an increasing number of export restrictions, particularly on food and fertilizers.
For that reason, the WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala He called on member countries to refrain from adopting new trade-restrictive measures: “As I told G20 leaders at their summit in Indonesia a few weeks ago, lifting these export restrictions is critical to reducing price spikes and volatility and allowing goods to flow to where they are urgently needed.”
In detail, the report indicates that WTO members took a total of 943 trade measures, which includes measures aimed at facilitating trade, trade remedy measures and other trade and trade-related measures, i.e. trade restrictive measures.
It follows that more were introduced trade facilitation measures (376) trade-restrictive measures (214) on goods (not related to the pandemic), with the average number of trade-facilitating measures per month at its highest level since 2012. Most of the facilitation occurred on the import side (68%), while most restrictions were on the export side (10,1%).
Regarding the trade remedy measures are Antidumping registered 353 (131 initiations and 222 terminations), which decreased significantly over the period examined (10,9 initiations per month, the lowest level since 2012) after peaking in 2020 (36,1 initiations per month). Antidumping remains the most frequent trade remedy action in terms of initiations and terminations.
As for the trade measures that restrict trade, 214 were registered in the period analyzed. According to the WTO, it is the For the first time that the number of new export restrictions (129 or 60,3%) has exceeded the number of import restrictions (85 or 39,7%). That is, export restrictions consisted mainly of the imposition of quantitative restrictions and increases in export duties. Import restrictions consisted mainly of increases in import tariffs, and to a lesser extent of the imposition of quantitative restrictions.
About the Trade measures adopted in the context of COVID-19, 443 have been applied. Of this total, 246 (55,5%) were intended to facilitate trade and 197 (44,5%) were trade restrictive.
According to the WTO, pandemic-related measures, and in particular restrictive ones, have been gradually phased out. It notes that, as of mid-October 2022, 134 COVID-19-related trade facilitation measures and 156 trade restrictive measures had been removed.
However, the new WTO report says the pace of implementation of new export restrictions adopted by WTO members has increased since 2020.
WTO reiterates need to "cooperate collectively".Trade Monitoring - WTO Report on Trade-Related Facts)
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
