The Main Approaches To Assessing The Impact Of Non-Tariff Measures On International Trade

The article deals with analysis of the main approaches to assessing non-tariff measures of government foreign trade regulation on foreign trade indicators. The article lists the factors which make it difficult to solve the problem: diversity of non-tariff measures, their using not only at the border but also within the country, effect uncertainty and frequent lack of quantification of such measures. It is also noted that non-tariff measures effects are usually determined by assessing changes in volumes and terms of trade with various methods. The frequency analysis method defines the coverage of imported goods by non-tariff measures as a share in the volume of imports or in the number of commodity items. The price gap assessment method defines the changes in the in-country prices under the influence of non-tariff measures. Survey method allows to obtain various estimates of these measures effects from business, index analysis method – to calculate index assessments of non-tariff measures effects, including based on survey data. Econometric method estimates the qualitative effects of non-tariff measures, including changes in the volume of exports or imports. The article considers each of these methods with the highlighting of their advantages and disadvantages.