The World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) issued the 2020 edition of World Tariff Profiles – a statistical yearbook that provides comprehensive information on the tariffs and non-tariff measures imposed by WTO members and other economies. The “new special topic” for the issue is market access for medical goods and COVID-19 medical supplies.

The report titled, ‘World Tariff Profiles 2020,’ compiles the main tariff parameters for each of the 164 WTO members, as well as other countries and customs territories where data are available. Each one-page tariff profile contains information on tariffs imposed by each economy on its imports, with disaggregation by sectors and duty ranges, and includes an analysis of the market access conditions each economy faces in its major export markets.

The publication features summary tariff and trade statistics for all countries and territories for all products, including a breakdown into agricultural and non-agricultural products, and information on non-tariff measures such as safeguards and anti-dumping measures, which, the report notes, “are of increasing importance in international trade.” Statistics for all countries and territories are presented in standardized tables, which, the report states, allows for easy comparisons between economies, between sectors, and, specifically for WTO members, between bound and applied tariffs.

The “special topic,” which presents a new subject in each edition, deals with market access for medical goods and COVID-19 medical supplies. The report notes that the COVID-19 pandemic “has highlighted the importance of easy access to affordable medical products” and that shortages of essential products and increased prices “have made it all the more challenging for countries to combat the crisis.” The relevant chapter discusses the bound and applied tariffs for medical products such as medicines and medical technology, critical for the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, the average tariff applied by WTO members to all medical products is 4.8%, with the highest tariffs (11.5% on average) being applied to personal protective products. [Publication: World Tariff Profiles 2020] [Publication Landing Page] [WTO Data Portal] [WTO Webpage on COVID-19 and World Trade]

The WTO has highlighted a range of COVID-19 impacts on world trade in recent reports on, inter alia: the COVID-19 pandemic and trade-related developments in least developed countries (LDCs); helping micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) navigate the COVID-19 crisis; trade in services in the context of COVID-19, discussed during a recent meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Services; and e-commerce, trade, and the COVID-19 pandemic.