Agricultural Protection by Nontariff Trade Barriers

Excerpts from the report: Tariffs are well-known means by which governments raise revenue and protect both agricultural and nonagricultural industries. However, much less is known by the general public of the nontariff trade barriers that obstruct commerce. Many countries continue to use import licensing or other controls to regulate foreign exchange payments because of continuing balance of payments problems. Many others, where balance of payments is not a serious problem, nevertheless retain foreign exchange regulations or other nontariff trade controls applicable to imports of farm products. The term nontariff trade controls as used in this analysis includes all forms of import controls applicable to agricultural products, other than (1) import tariffs generally recognized as falling in the category of customs duties, and (2) prohibitions on the importation of unwholesome commodities such as products dangerous to human life, or capable of disseminating disease among domestic plants or animals. This analysis has been made for the purpose of determining the extensiveness of nontariff trade control measures applicable to agricultural products produced in leading exporting and importing countries. No completely satisfactory method of making such a calculation has been found. The method used here is to compare the value of all major commodities or commodity groups produced in each country with the value of production of those items that are covered by nontariff import restrictions. Official publications for each country were used as the sources for production values and the import restrictions.