Essential definitions

Administrative barrier

A rule or procedure that makes importing more difficult or costly.

Technical standard

A requirement for a product’s characteristics, safety or production process.

Trace a rule through the supply chain

Administrative barriers are procedures such as licensing, labelling, product testing and inspections that can make importing harder. An importer must pay compliance costs or wait before selling. Some suppliers may withdraw, and buyers may face higher delivered prices or less choice.

Suppose fresh fruit waits a week for a duplicate inspection. Some spoils, leaving fewer saleable units to cover the shipment's costs. A food processor using the fruit also faces higher input costs. The impact therefore extends beyond the foreign exporter to domestic consumers and firms.

Compare the objective and the design

Standards can protect health, safety or the environment, or provide information buyers cannot verify themselves. A restrictive effect does not by itself establish disguised protection. Ask what risk is being addressed and whether domestic and foreign suppliers face equivalent requirements.

An unnecessarily slow or discriminatory procedure may shelter domestic firms without a matching benefit. Recognising a reliable foreign test or speeding inspection could preserve safety at lower cost. Small exporters may struggle especially with fixed certification costs spread over few sales. There is no single correct curve shift for every rule: identify whether it changes per-unit cost, a fixed cost, delivery time or quantity before choosing a diagram or predicting a price.

Apply and evaluate

• State the assumptions before applying the example to another economy.