Impacts of non-tariff measures on trade What are the effects of other countries' non-tariff measures (NTMs) on EU trade? An EU project was established to find out and thus aid EU exporters. Industrial Technologies © Thinkstock Greater freedom in international trade has seen a reduction in tariffs, though barriers to trade still remain in the form of NTMs. Typically seen as import standards, NTMs may affect prices and import quantities, yet arguments about their exact effects have little basis in empirical research. The NTM-IMPACT project was initiated to address this information gap. The project ran from April 2009 to September 2011, with an EU-funded component of EUR 2.4 million. The consortium included 19 members — 7 from the EU, and the remainder from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. Analysis about NTMs would answer questions about how foreign NTM standards affect EU exporters of food and agricultural products. The analysis would compare requirements of the EU's competitors against EU standards, broken down into six main action areas. The project's results consisted mainly of 24 working papers, discussed separately in the project reports, and available online. The papers cover numerous broad categories, including heterogeneity of trade, policy implications from trade case studies, and private standards in fruit and vegetable trade. Other categories covered export supply chains, compliance with standards, and impact on smallholders and workers. Dissemination activities were carried out in the form of a web-based project management platform and the creation of two project brochures. Project members participated in international meetings, and presented its results to the European Commission several times. The project's analyses can be used to underpin future trade negotiations, to the benefit of European trade. The project's dataset showed the differences in NTMs between countries, concerning certain food categories, and their impacts. The project also compiled data on countries outside its scope in terms of EU market access. Apart from targeted benefits to the EU, the project's results will also benefit international policy dialogue in general.
