During the last few decades, multilateral and regional trade negotiations and unilateral liberalization have substantially reduced tariff rates. Non-tariff measures (NTMs), however, represent a growing challenge for exporters and policy makers. The ability to gain and to benefit from market access depends increasingly on compliance with trade regulatory measures such as sanitary requirements and goods standards. UNCTAD has been actively involved in research and activities on issues related to NTMs. In 1994, UNCTAD began to collect and classify NTMs. While the UNCTAD Trade Analysis and Information System (TRAINS) database remains the most comprehensive database on NTMs, it has required substantial improvements to keep up with the increasing complexity of and need for NTM data. To develop a strategy to reduce the transparency gap, in 2006, UNCTAD established the Group of Eminent Persons on Non-tariff Barriers, composed of leading economists from international organizations. A Multi-agency Support Team provided substantial support. As a result, the Transparency in Trade initiative (TNT) was launched by UNCTAD, the African Development Bank, the International Trade Centre and the World Bank. UNCTAD leads the international effort on official NTM data collection.

Collection of data on NTMs requires the classification of legal documents (regulations, directives, rules, and the like) to appropriate predefined NTM codes. These codes are provided in the publication Classification of Non-tariff Measures.1

The classification of NTMs was developed and agreed by several international organizations in the context of a multi-agency initiative on NTMs led by UNCTAD. The classification is designed to facilitate the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on NTMs, with the final objective to increase transparency and understanding about the subject.

A recurring problem for data collectors is that legal documents and regulations on NTMs are often based on legal and/or technical terms which may render it difficult to univocally assign the most appropriate code. For data collectors, some interpretation is often required when classifying the measures described in the legal documents and regulations according to the predefined NTMs codes.

The purpose of this manual is to provide guidelines to data collectors to harmonize the NTM data collection process  and to minimize uncertainty during the process of categorization and classification. In doing so, the manual presents the logic behind the classification of NTMs, and it explains how to choose the most appropriate code. This manual provides a large set of examples, and it is regularly updated to respond to queries and questions emerging during the data collection exercise.

This manual has been created with the intention of covering as many cases as possible. However, if uncertainties still persist, data collectors are encouraged to submit their questions to trains@ unctad.org providing also a copy of the legal text and stating the proposed code.

Have you found this information useful ?
Please share your feedback below and help us improve our content.