联合国贸易发展委员会-气候行动的贸易法规：来自全球非关税措施数据库的新见解（英）-2023-32页_8mb

Executive Summary

This report examines global non-tariff measures (NTMs) related to climate change mitigation, analyzing their prevalence, impact, and costs. Using data from the UNCTAD TRAINS database, 2,366 climate-related NTMs were identified, affecting approximately 26.4% of global trade (>$6.5 trillion). These measures disproportionately target high-emission sectors such as motor vehicles, electricity, and fuels, as well as countries with large CO2-intensive import baskets, particularly high-income nations. While technical barriers (TBT) are the most common measure (61%), regulatory divergence creates unnecessary trade costs, disproportionately affecting developing countries, SMEs, and women traders. Though overall economic costs are relatively low (0.22% of manufacturing trade), they can be significant (5-10%) for regulated products. The findings highlight the need for international cooperation to harmonize regulations and reduce compliance burdens.

Key Findings

3.1. Trade Coverage and Sectors

• Climate-related NTMs cover 26.4% of global trade, impacting sectors like:
  • Motor vehicles (83% of trade regulated, $2.3 trillion)
  • Electricity/heating devices (45% of trade)
  • Motor fuel (37% of trade)
  • Plastics/microplastics (35%)
  • Timber/paper products (42%)

3.2. Geographic and Income Disparities

• High-income countries regulate a higher share of imports (average >30%), driven by high import volumes of climate-intensive goods.
• Low-income countries have a higher share of climate-related NTMs (4% vs. 2-3%) relative to their total NTMs, despite lower trade coverage.

3.3. Regulatory Complexity

• The most common NTMs are TBT measures (61%), followed by quantitative restrictions (16%) and export-related measures (17%).
• Regulatory complexity increases with the level of economic development, burdening SMEs and developing nations disproportionately.

3.4. Economic Impacts

• Total economic costs are approx. 0.22% of global manufacturing trade.
• Compliance costs range from 3-10% for heavily regulated sectors.

Conclusions

The study underscores that climate change mitigation through NTMs is growing but inconsistent globally. High-income countries dominate regulatory efforts due to larger imports of climate-intensive goods. A lack of international coordination exacerbates trade costs, especially for developing nations. Recommendations include strengthening multilateral dialogue on standards, sharing best practices, and reducing compliance barriers to achieve equitable and efficient climate action.