Non-tariff measures such as product standards, licensing requirements and health regulations now impose greater costs on global exports than tariffs for 88% of countries, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The report, titled Invisible Barriers: The Costs of Non-Tariff Measures, said the burden is falling disproportionately on developing economies and least-developed countries as governments worldwide increasingly use trade rules to pursue national security, industrial policy and supply chain objectives.
Global tariffs climbed sharply in 2025, rising 10% for developed economies, 16% for developing nations and 18% for least-developed countries after years of decline, the report said. Still, compliance costs linked to Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), remained the dominant expense for most exporters.
“Trade-related regulations and non-tariff barriers are on the rise and impose greater costs on trade than tariffs,” UNCTAD said in the report.
The Geneva-based agency said technical regulations linked to health, safety and environmental standards have expanded steadily over the past two decades and now outnumber all other trade policy interventions combined. Governments are also increasingly deploying non-tariff barriers such as import licensing systems, quotas and export restrictions.
The shift accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the wave of U.S. tariff increases introduced in 2025, according to the report.
UNCTAD said the United States has signed a series of reciprocal trade agreements with countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Argentina that focus heavily on regulatory recognition for U.S. goods, including vehicles, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products. The agreements also seek to reduce local content requirements and simplify import licensing procedures.
At the same time, the European Union has accelerated trade negotiations with India and Mercosur, emphasizing regulatory cooperation and alignment with international standards as companies seek alternatives to the increasingly costly U.S. market.
Developing economies face what the report described as a “double burden” of rising tariffs and high compliance costs tied to non-tariff measures. Latin American exporters were among the hardest hit, with average tariff rates on exports more than doubling.
Least-developed countries lose about 10% of their exports to G20 markets because they cannot meet non-tariff requirements, according to UNCTAD research cited in the report. Exporters in poorer economies often face additional costs because accredited testing laboratories and certification bodies are unavailable domestically, forcing them to route products through third countries for compliance checks.
The report said transparency failures are compounding the problem. Many governments do not fully notify the World Trade Organization about new technical barriers and sanitary measures, leaving exporters uncertain about market requirements.
UNCTAD cited studies showing that improving transparency could reduce trade costs linked to non-tariff barriers by about 19%, while failure to notify measures can create costs equivalent to a 28% tariff.
The agency called transparency “a low-hanging fruit” for reducing trade costs and urged wider use of platforms such as the Trade Analysis Information System database and the Global Trade Helpdesk to make regulations more accessible to businesses.
The report also highlighted weak participation by least-developed countries in World Trade Organization disputes and negotiations over technical barriers. The share of global exports from least-developed economies stood at about 1.1% in 2024, barely changed from 1.0% in 2010 and still far below the United Nations’ target of 2% by 2020.
UNCTAD said stronger regulatory cooperation could significantly reduce trade costs, particularly in Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area. Aligning technical measures across African countries could cut compliance costs for agricultural and manufacturing trade by between 30% and 40%, according to the report.
