Policy issues in international trade and commodities, Study series no. 12
This paper examines the landscape of border protection remaining after the Uruguay Round. It is unique in many respects. First, it uses both applied and bound rates. Second, it examines the structure of protection from the perspective of both the importer and exporter. The general conclusion of the paper is that significant levels of protection still need to be addressed. The paper examines the degree to which preferential agreements will have an effect on the tariff structure and finds that in the specific context of least developed countries (LDC) market access into developed countries there is a large difference between the preferential and the most favoured nation (MFN) rates. The paper concludes with some suggestions for improving the literacy level of the policy debate on trade policy, by improving the quality and accessibility of protection and trade data. We would like to thank Suja Rishikesh Mavroidis for the original idea to write a joint paper and Aki Kuwahara for performing the additional data computations. A draft of this paper was presented at the WTO Seminar on Tariff Matters hosted by the WTO Market Access Committee, where we received helpful comments and suggestions from many delegates.
