The Expert Meeting addressed a comprehensive agenda related to NTBs and was attended by numerous government officials at the senior and expert level from developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition, by leading academics, and by representatives of intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The meeting´s focus was primarily on technical and research issues (such as classification and quantification of NTBs) and on forming and strengthening partnerships with relevant international organizations and other stakeholders to deal with NTBs on a comprehensive and long-term basis.

Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, in his opening statement said that the importance of NTBs as protective and regulatory trade instruments had been increased by the continual decline of tariff rates as the result of eight GATT rounds of multilateral trade negotiations. With such tariff liberalization, NTBs are increasingly becoming front-stage market access concerns. He expressed his intention to shortly establish a Group of Eminent Persons on NTBs drawn from governments, international organizations, academia and civil society.

Dr. Alan Deardorff, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan (United States), delivered a keynote address. He outlined the need to understand systematically the concept (including classification and quantification), measurement and implications of NTBs in the context of supporting UNCTAD´s efforts to strengthen its work related to multiplying gains from the international trading system for developing countries. In his opinion, UNCTAD´s Trade Analysis and Information System (TRAINS) database epitomized the inventory method and provided the most complete data publicly available on known and acknowledged NTBs. UNCTAD should continue its leadership role in the areas of NTBs data collection and dissemination. The TRAINS database was an invaluable resource for addressing various stakeholders´ needs, and it should be updated.

In addition to the experts nominated by member States, 21 persons recognized internationally as authorities on NTBs (including from the WTO, the World Bank, the IMF, ITC, UNIDO, FAO and OECD) served as panellists and made presentations.

The key objectives of the meeting were to:

• Assist developing countries, including LDCs, in building their analytical and statistical capacity to assess NTBs affecting their exports;
  
  
• Provide an international forum for researchers and policy makers involved in NTBs to clarify several key methodological, classification and technical issues, including ways of quantifying NTBs to better understand their impact on international trade;
  
  
• 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 at consensus building for a better understanding of options available in pursuing further trade liberalization after the anticipated decline in importance of classical tariffs and related policy instruments;
  
  
• Discuss a possible inter-organizational "master plan" for the medium and longer term to invest intellectual, technical and financial efforts in substantially improving knowledge of NTBs and research on their impact on international trade;
  
  
• Form partnerships between UNCTAD, other international organizations, the donor community, academia and NGOs to improve the database and upgrade research on NTBs, as well as helping developing countries, including LDCs, to deal with NTBs; and
  
  
• Contribute to UNCTAD´s overarching task of upholding an open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, as underlined by the UN Millennium Declaration, as well as to assuring development gains from international trade and trade negotiations.