Most G-20 members have implemented new measures which restrict or potentially restrict trade in the last six months, according to a report published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 18, 2013.

The report identified 116 new trade restrictive measures in the period between mid-May and mid-November, 2013, up from the 109 measures recorded in the previous WTO report on G-20 trade measures, which covered the period from mid-October, 2012 to mid-May, 2013.

The measures mainly consisted of new trade remedy actions, in particular the initiation of anti-dumping investigations, tariff increases and more stringent customs procedures. They affect around 1.1 percent of G-20 merchandise imports, equivalent to 0.9 percent of world merchandise imports.

The report also notes that fewer G-20 members took measures to facilitate trade in the period under review. Around 33 percent of the total recorded measures can be considered as trade facilitating, compared with 40 percent at the time of the previous trade monitoring report. Facilitating measures are mainly in the form of termination of trade remedy actions and tariff reductions. These measures cover around 0.8 percent of G-20 merchandise imports and 0.6 percent of world imports.

Trade restrictions have continued to accumulate, as a result of the new measures being adopted. However, the rate of removal of restrictions put in place since the outbreak of the global financial crisis is slightly higher than in the previous period. Around 20 percent of the total number of trade-restrictive measures taken since October 2008 have so far been eliminated; this compares with 19 percent at the time of the previous report in June 2013.

All import-restrictive measures adopted since October 2008, excluding those that have been reported as terminated up to mid-November 2013, are estimated to cover around 3.9 percent of world merchandise imports, and around 5 percent of G-20 imports.

Source: Tax News