WTO Releases Publication Analyzing Export Control Trends
The World Trade Organization on Sept. 15 released a new publication covering export controls. The report looks at "how WTO members have used different international agreements" beyond the trade body as grounds to set export regulations to support initiatives in "environmental protection, hazardous waste management, weapons control and combating illegal drugs trade."
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At the WTO, members are required to submit notice of all their quantitative restrictions (QRs) in force. The report looks at these notices to analyze trends in export controls and restrictions. For instance, the top non-WTO agreements used as the basis for the restrictions include the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, with 44 notifications; the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, with 32 notifications; and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, with 23 notifications.
Chemical products are the most highly targeted products, "followed by optical and measuring instruments, and different types of machinery and pharmaceuticals," the WTO said. The most cited WTO basis for export control QRs was the "General Exception" part of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade under Article XX.