The Expert Meeting will aim to clarify methodologies for defining and classifying NTBs according to their nature and source, including clusters of NTBs that are already subject to WTO disciplines, and discuss options on how to deal with NTBs in terms of analysing their relative restrictive impacts on trade. The Expert Meeting will provide an ample opportunity to review econometric and quantification approaches to calculating NTBs that could be applied to improve overall understanding of NTB impacts on trade. The Meeting will also look at experiences of other international organizations in dealing with NTBs, including the World Bank, WTO, ITC, OECD and other relevant international organizations. In this context, the meeting will also try to identify ways to improve, in terms of both country coverage and data quality, the non-tariff barriers (NTB) database contained in the UNCTAD Trade Analysis and Information System(TRAINS).
The Meeting will also provide a forum: (a) to assist developing countries in building their analytical capacities to assess NTBs affecting their exports; (b) to exchange ideas among researchers and policymakers involved in NTBs to clarify several key methodological, classification and technical issues, including ways of quantifying NTBs to better understand their impacts on international trade; (c) to contribute to the Doha round´s Negotiating Group on non-agricultural market access (NAMA), particularly by concentrating on NTBs of concern to developing countries and by aiming to build consensus for a better understanding of options available in pursuing further trade liberalization after the anticipated decline in importance of classical tariffs; and (d) to open up possibilities to form partnerships between UNCTAD, other international organizations, the donor community, academia and NGOs aimed at further improving and upgrading research on NTBs.
