Non-tariff measures

Non-tariff measures (NTMs) are becoming more and more relevant in their influence on global trade patterns as the reductions in tariff rates over several rounds of multilateral tariff negotiations have diminished the impact of tariffs. There is no officially agreed definition of NTMs. However, a widely accepted definition is the one from the Group of Eminent Persons on Non-Tariff Barriers: “NTMs are policy measures, other than [ordinary] customs tariffs, that can potentially have an economic effect on international trade in goods, changing quantities traded, or prices or both”.