Technical Barriers to Trade... 1,167 Cases in Q3, a 30% Surge Year-on-Year

The National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 13th that the number of notifications on Trade Technical Barriers (TBT) issued by World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries from the 1st to the 3rd quarter of this year totaled 3,176, marking the highest record for the same period ever.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the number of notifications remained at the previous year's level until the first half of the year, but the number of notifications in the 3rd quarter (July to September) was 1,167, an increase of about 30% compared to the same period last year.

WTO member countries are obligated under the TBT Agreement to notify the WTO of related trends when they establish or revise technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures, and other technical regulations that have a significant impact on trade.

In the context of strategic competition between the US and China and the trend of major countries strengthening their own-centered trade policies, TBT notifications are rapidly increasing worldwide.

Cargo is stacked on a container ship docked at Busan Port. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Since the 3rd quarter, the number of TBT notifications from emerging African countries has increased significantly. Uganda reported the most with 122 cases, followed by Tanzania (107 cases) and Kenya (104 cases). Rwanda and Burundi (85 cases each) also recorded the fifth highest number of notifications with 94 cases, following the United States. As these emerging countries strengthen domestic regulations on food, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural and fishery products, trading companies have been affected.

The number of TBT notifications in the 3rd quarter from the top 10 export countries, including China and the United States, which account for more than 80% of South Korea's total exports, and the five major emerging countries including India, was 311, down 3.7% (12 cases) from 323 cases last year. By industry, food and pharmaceuticals accounted for the largest share of 16.7% of total TBT notifications in the 3rd quarter, followed by chemicals and ceramics (15.1%) and traffic safety (14.5%).

Jin Jong-wook, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, said, "As our exports to emerging markets continue to increase, difficulties due to technical regulations may also increase," adding, "We will expand overseas technical regulation cooperation channels and provide prompt information and support for domestic companies through consulting and briefing sessions for small and medium-sized enterprises."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.