United Nations agency: Non-tariff measures increase the cost of trade.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released a trade report on the 7th, stating that non-tariff measures such as technical regulations, mandatory standards, or product requirements significantly increase trade costs, especially affecting developing countries. The report points out that developing countries and the least developed countries face a double pressure of rising tariffs and meeting complex regulatory requirements. Some regions are facing almost doubled tariffs, and meeting non-tariff measure requirements is also costly. Due to their inability to meet non-tariff measure requirements, the least developed countries have lost about 10% of their exports to Group of Twenty (G20) markets. The report believes that increasing transparency, helping businesses understand the rules, can reduce trade costs related to non-tariff measures. Strengthening regulatory cooperation and other methods can also help reduce trade costs while maintaining standards.