《全球贸易动态：政策洞察（2025年3月）》

Monthly publication analizing trade policy and global trade data. The role of tariffs in international tradePolicy Insights K E Y TA K E AW AY S Tariffs remain a keytool in trade policy,butdeveloping countriesface higher duties thatlimit their global marketaccess. High import tariffsraise costs for businesses and consumers,potentially curbing growthand competitiveness. Tariff escalationdiscourages developingeconomies fromexportingvalue-addedgoods, hinderingindustrialization. Understanding tarifftrends is crucial forpoliciesthat fostereconomic transformationand sustainable growth. Tariffs are an important tool in international trade policy. They serve as a mechanism to protectdomestic industries and generate government revenue. While global trends indicate a generaldecline in tariff rates due to trade liberalization, and multilateral and regional trade agreements,developingcountries continue to face higher tariffs.These dynamics shape their tradecompetitiveness and economic development prospects. For developing countries, tariffs play a crucial role in multiple dimensions. First, they serve as a source of revenue, which is particularly important for economieswith limited capacity to generate income through direct taxation. In many cases, tariffscontribute significantly to government budgets, financing essential services such asinfrastructure, healthcare, and education.1 Second, tariffs can act as a policy instrument to support nascent industries. By imposingduties on imported goods, governments can create a more favourable environment fordomestic industries to grow and compete. This form of protection is especially relevant insectors such as agriculture, textiles, and light manufacturing, where developing countrieshave competitive potential but face stiff competition from more established players inglobal markets. Third, tariffs influence market access and trade negotiations. Developing countriesoften navigate a complex system of trade agreements and preferential market accessschemes that determine the tariff rates they face when exporting goods. While manyadvanced economies provide preferential access to exports from developing nations,certain sectors—such as agriculture and apparel—continue to experience high tariffs. Thisrestricts the ability of developing countries to expand their exports and integrate into globalvalue chains. However, high import duties can increase costs for businesses and consumers, potentially stiflingeconomic growth and competitiveness. Furthermore, the general pattern of tariff escalation—where higher tariffs are applied to processed goods and lower ones to raw materials—discourages the export of value-added products from developing economies, thereby reducingvalue addition and hindering their industrialization efforts. In this context, policymakers in developing countries must strike a balance between leveragingtariffs for economic development and integrating into the global economy through tradeliberalization. Understanding the evolving role of tariffs and their implications for market access,competitiveness, and economic transformation is essential for crafting policies that promotesustainable growth and development. Tariffs by sector Agriculture Agricultural products face some of the highest tariffs in international trade. While regionaltrade agreements (RTAs) and multilateral trade negotiations have reduced some barriers,agriculture remains highly protected in many countries (Figure 1). Agricultural exports from developing countries facehigh import duties, averagingalmost 20 per cent under most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment.Many agricultural exports benefit frompreferential accessas a result of RTAs,but these schemes are not always comprehensive, leading to fragmented marketaccess.African, South Asian and East Asian countries tend to apply relatively high tariffs inagriculture, while such tariffs are on average much lower in Latin American countries.Developed countries have relatively low average tariffs, with zero tariff often appliedon raw products that they do not product. However, these countries also have someof the highest tariff peaks with tariffs beyond 100 per cent.Sensitive agricultural products such as dairy, meat, and sugar often experiencetariff peaksexceeding 15 per cent, particularly in South Asia, Africa and developedcountries.Average tariffs vary greatly across sectors, ranging from about 8 per cent forvegetable products to 4 per cent for food products.Processed agricultural goods face higher tariffs than raw agricultural commodities,known astariff escalation, discouraging value addition in developing countries. Manufactured goods experience varying tariff structures depending on the productcategory and the region applying the tariffs.Between2012 and 2023,manufacturing tariffs decreased by approximately1 percentage point due to trade liberalization efforts.Manufacturing tariffs remain high only in the South Asian and Africa regions (about8