Economic Sanctions as a Tool of Non-Tariff Regulation

The development of international trade is accompanied by a change in the instruments used to protect the domestic market and national producers. The WTO's aim at reducing the level of tariff protection have led to an increased use of non-tariff measures, which are not always declared as a protective tool. In particular, in recent years the use of such a tool as economic sanctions has increased significantly. The purpose of the paper is to gain an understanding of the role of economic sanctions in international trade. Analyzing approaches to the classification of non-tariff measures proposed at different periods of time, the author identifies their advantages and disadvantages, and also assesses the possibility of using such classifications to identify economic sanctions. It is noted that nowadays the key feature of economic sanctions is their political motivation. The work examines the main aspects of economic sanctions applied against Iran, North Korea and Russia. It is emphasized that, due to the high level of globalization, modern sanctions affect all participants in international trade, regardless of their relationship to the conflict that served as the reason for the application of such protective measures. An example of the impact of economic sanctions on third parties not involved in the conflict are secondary sanctions. The author suggests that the creation of an international independent body dealing with issues of challenging secondary sanctions could contribute to the formation of a similar body whose powers would cover issues of all types of economic sanctions. The barrier to the creation of such a body is the persisting protectionist tendencies in international trade. The author comes to the conclusion that the analysis of economic sanctions is highly significant for the current stage of development of international trade.