Trade barriers: what you need to know

Guide

Last updated 12 August 2024

A trade barrier is something that slows down or stops your company from exporting goods or services to an overseas market.

How to check for trade barriers

Check for barriers to trading and investing abroad to see if there are any trade barriers in your chosen market.

You will be able to see barriers to trade that:

may currently affect you exporting goods, providing services or investing in a specific country
have been resolved

About the Check for barriers to trading and investing abroad service

This is an information only service which does not indicate the ease or difficulty of trading with a particular market.

The trade barriers listed may not stop you from entering a market, you may wish to carry out your own research when making decisions.

A complete list of reported trade barriers is not published, as not all are suitable for publication. Barriers are not published that:

can identify a company
affect imports into the UK
are sensitive, either politically or for security reasons
do not have enough information
need further investigation

Newly reported trade barriers will not appear immediately as they need to be reviewed. The ‘date reported’ on the service is the date trade barriers are added to the internal system.

For more information see the disclaimer.

How to report a trade barrier

Before you report:

check that your problem is a trade barrier - see examples of barriers to goods and barriers to services
see if it has already been reported on the check for barriers to trading and investing abroad service
be ready to include as much information as you can about the barrier

Report a trade barrier online on great.gov.uk.

If you need urgent help with a trade barrier

Consider contacting your local British embassy, consulate or high commission if your barrier requires urgent resolution, for example because you:

have perishable goods or livestock blocked in transit
are at immediate risk of missing a commercial opportunity
are at immediate risk of not fulfilling a contract

They may be better placed to help you because they understand local business practices and have the same local working hours.

What happens next

You’ll get an email from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) within 5 working days of reporting a trade barrier. You may be asked for more information.

DBT might be able to help resolve your barrier. For example, overseas staff could use their relationships with local governments and organisations to find and resolve the cause of the delay.

For longer-term, more complex barriers, DBT may decide to:

explore a diplomatic resolution
discuss strategic barriers at overseas ministerial visits
start government-to-government talks
raise the barrier with the World Trade Organization (WTO)
feed into Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations

What is a barrier to goods

If you’re exporting goods, trade barriers can include:

customs procedures: for example, lengthy procedures that delay goods getting to market
problems with enforcing international rules and regulations: for example, a lack of regulatory measures for products or services, or non-compliance with WTO regulations
environmental, safety or quality regulations: for example, restricting goods that could be harmful to the local environment
government procurement restrictions: for example, conditions that give local businesses an advantage over foreign competitors in winning government contracts
import quotas or price controls: for example, limits on the amount of goods that can be imported
packaging, labelling or design regulations: for example, overly specific requirements for information that must be on packaging
poor protection of intellectual property rights: for example, failure to respect the legislation of patents, trademarks, industrial design, layout designs of integrated circuits, copyright, geographical indications or sharing trade secrets
requirements for goods to be locally produced: for example, a government demanding that a percentage of goods must be made domestically
restrictions on live animals, or animal and plant products: for example, a ban on a UK meat based on inaccurate ideas about animal health risks
requirements to use local assets, components or workers: for example, being required to train and use local workers
rules of origin issues: for example, problems with requirements for evidence demonstrating where goods were made
state-granted monopolies or exclusive rights: for example, a government granting one or more private companies the sole right to operate in a particular market
testing, inspection and certification procedures: for example, overly complex assessments to show produce complies with technical regulations or standards
unfair use of state help, subsidies or application of competition rules: for example, competition law applied in an unfair way to target foreign firms or protect domestic firms

What is a barrier to services

If you’re exporting services, trade barriers can include:

difficulty accessing data or restrictions on storing or sending data: for example, limits on cross-border transfer of personal information
problems with enforcing international rules and regulations: for example, a lack of regulatory measures for products or services, or non-compliance with WTO regulations
fees that only apply to foreign service suppliers: for example, unnecessary charges on foreign suppliers that give an advantage to domestic suppliers
government procurement restrictions: for example, the host government deliberately creating conditions that give local businesses an advantage over foreign competitors in winning government contracts
poor protection of intellectual property rights: for example, failure to respect the legislation of patents, trademarks, industrial design, layout designs of integrated circuits, copyright, geographical indications or sharing trade secrets
limitations on access to key infrastructure: for example, barriers to foreign service suppliers opening a local bank account or registering websites with a local domain name
local presence requirements: for example, requirements for a service supplier to be a resident or from a local enterprise
price controls: for example, controlling the price of imported services so they don’t have a price advantage over domestic services
qualification requirements: for example, a requirement for foreign suppliers to have local qualifications
restrictions on foreign entry or movement of people: for example, difficulty dealing with visa costs, arranging visas, residency or nationality requirements or restrictions on buying land as a foreign service supplier
restrictions on business structure: for example, requirements to operate under a certain structure as a business, legal entity or joint venture
restrictions on investment: for example, a limit on how much a supplier can invest in the country they’re exporting to
requirements to use local assets, components or workers: for example, being required to train and use local workers
restrictions on business names: for example, restrictions on service suppliers operating under a business name
state-granted monopolies or exclusive rights: for example, a government granting one or more private companies the sole right to operate in a particular market
taxes that protect or favour local suppliers: for example, import duties or taxes, other than tariffs, that favour domestic firms over foreign competitors
testing, inspection and certification procedures: for example, overly complex assessments to show compliance with technical regulations or standards
unfair use of state help, subsidies or application of competition rules: for example, competition law applied in an unfair way to target foreign firms or protect domestic firms
unfair advantages to state-owned enterprises: for example, special rights or privileges, government funding, or exemptions from laws and regulations being given to state-owned enterprises

Further information

Pages to provide additional help:

data.gov.uk: This is the government’s collection of data, here you can download a spreadsheet of all published trade barriers on the check for barriers to trading and investing abroad service.

Check how to export goods: Find information about how to move goods from the UK to the rest of the world, including rules, restrictions, taxes, duties and export documentation.

TRAINS: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD) global database of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) based on official regulations.

ePing notifications: Set up email notifications with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to get early warnings of possible future trade problems.

Find out about harmful international trading practices and how they may affect you when accessing international markets or operating domestically.

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