One good place to start for trade barrier data and research is to go to the World Bank web site and investigate the Trade portal. More specifically, the Trade Research section organizes working papers and other research reports by topic. Perhaps most sought is the Data on Trade and Import Barriers page which includes a dozen tables from WB trade research.
World Trade Organization
The International Trade Statistics page on the WTO web site is a rich source of trade statistics. Find the annual International Trade Statistics publication here back to 1998. Also, the Statistics Database includes country trade profiles and time series statistics. See also the Trade Policy Reviews below.
UN Comtrade Database
You will see frequent reference to the Comtrade database from the UN Statistics Division (UNSD), but Carleton does not subscribe to the full resource. When using this site, stick to the free resources and those that are available to registered users (you can register yourself as an individual to get more access). Comtrade contains annual trade flows, reported annually by 140 countries and areas (including commidity by partner detail).
UNCTAD – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNCTAD maintains the TRAINS (Trade Analysis and INformation System), which contains tariff, para-tariff, and non-tariff measures and import flows by origin for more than 140 countries and areas.
- Search TRAINS by product or its Harmonized System code
- What years are included? Check the data coverage table
- Consult the country notes that summarize “summarize the trade control measures adopted by some selected developing countries which affect volume, structure and direction of their trade flows.”
WITS — World Integrated Trade Solution
You may see reference to Comtrade and TRAINS data procured through WITS software. Carleton does not have access to WITS. Read the documentation to learn more.
Trade Policy Review — Country Reports
One half of the WTO’s efforts to assure transparency of trade regulations and policies, the Trade Policy Reviews are regular summaries of individual countries’ trade policies. TPRs consist of two reports, a policy statement prepared by the goverment under review and a detailed report from the WTO Secretariat. This latter report includes sections on the economic environment, trade and investment regimes, trade policies and practices by measure, trade policies by sector, and various tables in the appendix. Frequency of review depends on the size of the country, from the biggest traders who are reviewed once every two years to the smallest traders who are reviewed every six years.
World Development Indicators
The WDI database has many series on trade statistics and a few on trade bariers, including customs and other import duties and taxes on exports.
OECD Factbook
The OECD Factbook contains the following series:
- Share of trade in GDP
- Import penetration
- Trade in goods
- Trade in services
- High, medium and low technology
- Trading partners
- Balance of payments
National Trade Estimates Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
There are two ways to access this report:
- STAT-USA: International Trade Library (library resource)
Follow the link under International Trade Library Highlights, and find the 2006 report broken out by country - Document Library of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (free resource)
Search for the National Trade Estimates Report on Foreign Trade Barriers