The WTO and Technical Barriers to Trade

Edited by Spencer Henson, Associate Professor, University of Guelph, Canada and John S. Wilson, Lead Economist, Transport and Urban Development Department, The World Bank, US

This authoritative volume brings together for the first time the foremost research and commentary on technical barriers to trade. It explores the major theoretical issues associated with analysis of the impact of technical measures on trade in goods and the challenges associated with attempts to quantify impacts on trade flows. Previous empirical analyses of the impact of technical barriers on trade in goods in general are then presented. This is followed by in-depth coverage of the trade effects of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, an area where analysis is particularly challenging. Finally, the volume concludes by exploring institutional efforts to overcome the impact of technical barriers, including harmonization of standards and the role of the WTO.

‘Restrictions on international trade now extend far beyond tariffs and quotas to include standards and other technical barriers to trade. The increased involvement of the World Trade Organisation in these issues has coincided with a range of high-profile international disputes, over genetically modified organisms, hormones in beef, and eco-labelling. This collection of readings, mostly very recent and many from less accessible sources, is an invaluable guide to a vast literature. It includes theoretical and empirical papers as well as reviews of legal and institutional aspects of some key topics. Scholars and practitioners who want to keep abreast of this rapidly changing field will find it invaluable.’
– J. Peter Neary, University College Dublin, Ireland