Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #trade-barriers, aggregated by home.social.
EU’s Carbon Tax on Steel Invites Disaster, Warns Piyush Goyal at Berlin Global Dialogue
The European Union (EU) is “inviting disaster” by imposing a carbon tax on its steel produ…
#Economy #anti-deforestation #businesscompetitiveness #carbonemissions #carbontax #cbam #cleanenergy #climatefinance #EconomyofEU #EconomyoftheEU #EUeconomy #EUregulations #Europe #globalmarkets #importduty #indiaexports #non-tariffbarriers #PiyushGoyal #STEELINDUSTRY #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/3325810/
https://www.europesays.com/3325810/ EU’s Carbon Tax on Steel Invites Disaster, Warns Piyush Goyal at Berlin Global Dialogue #AntiDeforestation #BusinessCompetitiveness #CarbonEmissions #CarbonTax #cbam #CleanEnergy #ClimateFinance #Economy #EconomyOfEU #EconomyOfTheEU #EUEconomy #EURegulations #Europe #GlobalMarkets #ImportDuty #IndiaExports #NonTariffBarriers #PiyushGoyal #STEELINDUSTRY #TradeBarriers
India-EU FTA may be operational in January-March, says Piyush Goyal | Economy & Policy News
India’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) may come …
#Economy #BerlinGlobalDialogue #CarbonBorderAdjustmentMechanism #CarbonCreditTradingScheme #cbam #EconomyofEU #EconomyoftheEU #EUeconomy #EUsteeltariffs #Europe #EuropeanUnion #FreeTradeAgreement #IndiaEUtradeagreement #IndiaEUtraderelations #India-EUFTA #PiyushGoyal #steelexports #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/3325514/
https://www.europesays.com/3325514/ India-EU FTA may be operational in January-March, says Piyush Goyal | Economy & Policy News #BerlinGlobalDialogue #CarbonBorderAdjustmentMechanism #CarbonCreditTradingScheme #cbam #Economy #EconomyOfEU #EconomyOfTheEU #EUEconomy #EUSteelTariffs #Europe #EuropeanUnion #FreeTradeAgreement #IndiaEUTradeAgreement #IndiaEUTradeRelations #IndiaEUFTA #PiyushGoyal #SteelExports #TradeBarriers
Standards as Barriers
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — October 20, 2026
The Mechanism Being Examined
Not all barriers to trade are tariffs or quotas.
Some are technical, procedural, and framed as neutral regulation.
This essay examines standards, certification, and compliance regimes used as tools to control market access while maintaining the appearance of lawful trade governance.
Standards matter. But who writes them, who enforces them, and how flexibly they are applied matters more.
How Standards Normally Function
In well-functioning markets, technical standards exist to ensure:
They are typically:
Compliance is demanding, but the rules are clear.
What Changes in Practice
In China, standards and certification requirements have often operated differently.
Foreign firms have reported:
Failure to comply does not always result in rejection. More often, it results in delay.
Delay becomes leverage.
Why Delay Is Powerful
Technical compliance regimes allow pressure without confrontation.
Delays:
A firm can meet every written requirement and still fail to receive approval on time.
The absence of a clear “no” makes resistance harder.
Standards and Industrial Policy
Standards are rarely neutral when aligned with industrial policy.
When domestic firms:
they gain structural advantage.
Foreign competitors must adapt repeatedly, often at high cost, while domestic firms move forward under stable expectations.
Who Bears the Cost
The cost of standards-based barriers falls on:
Over time, standards reshape markets as effectively as subsidies or tariffs.
Why This Matters for the Philippines
The Philippines relies on access to:
When standards become discretionary, predictability disappears. Planning becomes guesswork.
For smaller economies, compliance uncertainty is often more damaging than outright exclusion.
Why This Fits the Pattern
Bad faith does not require rule-breaking.
It often operates through rules applied strategically.
Standards that appear neutral can function as filters—admitting favored firms while exhausting others.
This essay documents how that filtration works.
What Comes Next
The next essay will examine data localization and information control—how digital rules shape power in modern trade and infrastructure.
The record continues.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.
References (APA)
International Organization for Standardization. (2021). International standards and global trade. ISO.
Office of the United States Trade Representative. (2023). Report on technical barriers to trade. USTR.
World Trade Organization. (2022). Technical barriers to trade agreement: Annual review. WTO.
#certification #china #globalTrade #industrialPolicy #technicalStandards #tradeBarriers #WPSNews
India and Canada Accelerate Efforts to Finalize Trade Pact by Year-End
India and Canada are stepping up efforts to expand bilateral trade, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian…
#Canada #aviationinfrastructure #bilateralrelations #bilateraltrade #CEPAagreement #commercialagreements #economiccooperation #indiacanadatrade #Indo-Pacificties #investmentopportunities #marketaccess #ModivisitCanada #TeamCanadamission #technologysector #tradebarriers #tradenegotiations
https://www.europesays.com/canada/251646/
Stellantis CEO Says U.S. EV Market Was a “Regulation-Driven Bubble” — BigGo Finance
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said on the 13th that while the pace of electric vehicle (EV) adoption in…
#France #FR #Europe #EU #Stellantis #AntonioFilosa #electricvehicles #JointVentures #NorthAmericanautomarket #ParisMotorShow #RangeExtender #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/france/94007/
https://www.europesays.com/africa/466854/ Gen Mbadi Calls for Action on Trade Barriers at Uganda-Kenya Joint Technical Committee #Kenya #MinisterWilsonMbadi #SoftPower #SoftPowerNews #TopUgandaNews #TradeBarriers #Uganda
https://www.europesays.com/africa/466825/ Gen Mbadi Calls for Action on Trade Barriers at Uganda-Kenya Joint Technical Committee #Kenya #MinisterWilsonMbadi #SoftPower #SoftPowerNews #TopUgandaNews #TradeBarriers #Uganda
https://www.europesays.com/africa/466800/ Gen Mbadi Calls for Action on Trade Barriers at Uganda-Kenya Joint Technical Committee #Kenya #MinisterWilsonMbadi #SoftPower #SoftPowerNews #TopUgandaNews #TradeBarriers #Uganda
Toronto board of trade calls for zoning and building code reform
The trade board proposes developing a provincial zoning code that gives every municipality the same framework and the…
#Canada #Toronto #GilesGherson #housingmarket #municipalhousing #provincialgovernment #TorontoRegionBoardofTrade #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/canada/232819/
Don’t sacrifice Canadian farms’ competitiveness to diversify trade
Canadian farmers and ranchers produce some of the best food in the world. They work hard, invest in…
#Canada #CETA #Conservatives #diversification #EuropeanUnion #exportmarkets #JohnBarlow #politics #Tariffs #Trade #TradeAgreements #tradebarriers #Tradedispute
https://www.europesays.com/canada/223025/
https://www.europesays.com/africa/439443/ East African horticulture players push for regional trade reforms #ClementTulezi #HorticultureCouncilForEasternAfrica #HorticultureIndustry #JacquelineMkindi #KenyaNews #star #StarNews #StarNewsKenya #StarNewspaper #StarNewspaperKenya #Tanzania #TheStar #TheStarKenya #TheStarNewspaper #TradeBarriers
‘Diversify but avoid deglobalisation, decoupling traps’: Expert outlines way ahead for India & Brics
As the Global South finds itself caught in the middle of the US-China trade war, India must use…
#NewsBeep #News #Economy #AU #Australia #BRICSSummit2026 #Business #criticalminerals #globalsouth #IndiaChinarelations #NarendraModi #Supplychaindiversification #tradebarriers #XiJinpingIndiavisit
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/890179/
40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News
PM Modi will fellow Brics leaders in New Delhi NEW DELHI: Noting that the Brics grouping now represents…
#Economy #breakingnews #BricsBusinessForum #business #globalGDP #googlenews #India #indianews #Indianewstoday #India'sBricspresidency #pmmodi #todaynews #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/3246337/
https://www.europesays.com/3246337/ 40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News #BreakingNews #BricsBusinessForum #business #Economy #GlobalGDP #GoogleNews #India #IndiaNews #IndiaNewsToday #India'sBricsPresidency #PmModi #TodayNews #TradeBarriers
40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News
PM Modi will fellow Brics leaders in New Delhi NEW DELHI: Noting that the Brics grouping now represents…
#NewsBeep #News #Economy #Breakingnews #BricsBusinessForum #Business #globalgdp #Googlenews #India #Indianews #Indianewstoday #India'sBricspresidency #PMModi #Todaynews #tradebarriers #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/767838/
40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News
PM Modi will fellow Brics leaders in New Delhi NEW DELHI: Noting that the Brics grouping now represents…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Economy #BreakingNews #BricsBusinessForum #Business #globalgdp #Googlenews #India #Indianews #Indianewstoday #India'sBricspresidency #pmmodi #Todaynews #tradebarriers
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/844671/
https://www.europesays.com/uk/1199487/ 40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News #BreakingNews #BricsBusinessForum #Business #Economy #GlobalGdp #GoogleNews #India #IndiaNews #IndiaNewsToday #India'sBricsPresidency #PMModi #TodayNews #TradeBarriers #UK #UnitedKingdom
40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News
PM Modi will fellow Brics leaders in New Delhi NEW DELHI: Noting that the Brics grouping now represents…
#NewsBeep #News #Economy #breakingnews #BricsBusinessForum #Business #CA #Canada #globalgdp #Googlenews #India #Indianews #Indianewstoday #India'sBricspresidency #PMModi #Todaynews #tradebarriers
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/892372/
https://www.europesays.com/ie/684474/ 40% of global GDP is here: PM Modi | India News #BreakingNews #BricsBusinessForum #Business #Economy #Éire #GlobalGDP #GoogleNews #IE #India #IndiaNews #IndiaNewsToday #India'sBricsPresidency #Ireland #PMModi #TodayNews #TradeBarriers
https://www.europesays.com/africa/412998/ Uganda presses Kenya to open borders further and cut flight costs ahead of key economic summit #AirTravel #CrossBorderTrade #Headlines #Kenya #news #tourism #TradeBarriers #Uganda #UgandaPressesKenyaToOpenBordersFurtherAndCutFlightCostsAheadOfKeyEconomicSummit
Trump trade chief warns Canada walked away from ‘the best deal’ to trigger 50% U.S. tariffs
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada walked away from “the best deal” to preserve its trade barriers…
#Canada #Americangoods #JamiesonGreer #MarkCarney #tradebarriers #tradenegotiations #tradetalks
https://www.europesays.com/canada/178945/
Iran, Uzbekistan discuss removing barriers to bilateral trade
TEHRAN- Samad Hassanzadeh, the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, spoke at a…
#Conflict #Conflicts #War #ICCIMAheadsamadhassanzadeh #Iran #Iran-Uzbekistantrade #middleeast #middleeastcrisis #Tehran #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/3184695/
Iran, Uzbekistan discuss removing barriers to bilateral trade
TEHRAN- Samad Hassanzadeh, the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, spoke at a…
#EuropeSays #Headlines #News #Europe #Europa #EU #Tehran #ICCIMAheadsamadhassanzadeh #Iran #Iran-Uzbekistantrade #tradebarriers
https://www.europesays.com/iran/242300/
https://www.europesays.com/3184695/ Iran, Uzbekistan discuss removing barriers to bilateral trade #Conflicts #ICCIMAHeadSamadHassanzadeh #Iran #IranUzbekistanTrade #MiddleEast #MiddleEastCrisis #Tehran #TradeBarriers
"A large literature anticipated substantial long‑run costs of leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union (HM Treasury 2016, IMF 2016, Van Reenen et al 2016). Early ex‑post work using macro data also pointed to a sizeable hit to UK GDP and trade (Born et al. 2019, Dhingra and Sampson 2022, Springford 2022, Haskel and Martin 2023, Freeman et al. 2025). VoxEU has been an important forum for this research and debate. Our contribution is to revisit the question now that almost a decade has passed since the referendum, bringing together macro and micro evidence in a single framework and comparing actual outcomes to the profession’s pre‑referendum forecasts.
In a new paper (Bloom et al. 2025), we combine micro data collected through the Decision Maker Panel (DMP), a survey of UK firms, with publicly available macro data to estimate the impact of Brexit. Our three main findings are:
- Brexit has had a large and persistent effect on the UK economy. By 2025, we estimate that UK GDP per capita was 6–8% lower than it would have been without Brexit. Investment was 12–18% lower, employment 3–4% lower, and productivity 3–4% lower.
- These losses emerged gradually. The impact was hard to see in 2017–18, but accumulated steadily over the subsequent decade as uncertainty persisted, trade barriers rose, and firms diverted resources away from productive activity.
- Economists were roughly right on the magnitude of the impact, but wrong on the timing. The consensus pre‑referendum forecast of a 4% long‑run GDP loss turned out to be close to the actual loss after five years, but too optimistic about the longer run."
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/brexits-slow-burn-hit-uk-economy
How many more Americans would live below the poverty line if the US government were to ban all imports of consumer goods?
#protectionism #importsubstitution #mercantilism #autarky #tradebarriers #tradewars #poverty #povertyline #americans #affordabilitycrisis #inflation #tradepolicy #usa #donaldtrump #tariffs #consumergoods #economics #imports
Rethinking internal trade: the urgent need for a harmonized approach
#IndigenousPeoples #Canada #InternalTrade #Economy #TradeBarriers #GDP #InterprovincialTrade #Growth #Politics #Provinces #IndigenousRights #Tariffs #IndigenousEconomies #Reconciliation
https://the-14.com/rethinking-internal-trade-the-urgent-need-for-a-harmonized-approach/
#Cloudflare submitted a #complaint to the #US Trade Representative, arguing that foreign #siteblocking efforts, particularly in Italy, Spain, and France, are becoming significant #tradebarriers for #USbusinesses. Cloudflare claims these measures, intended to combat #piracy, often result in the #overblocking, causing #collateraldamage. https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-tells-u-s-govt-that-foreign-site-blocking-efforts-are-digital-trade-barriers/?eicker.news #tech #media #news
Cloudflare Tells U.S. Govt That Foreign Site Blocking Efforts Are Digital Trade Barriers
👉 #MAGA is the economic perversion of #Reagonomics👈
*#Reagan's 1987 Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade*
(7/n)
...and higher #TradeBarriers, and less and less competition. 👈 So, soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying.
👉 Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.👈 ..."
Contrast...
Labour is creating links with #EU. An ever closer relationship between the EU & UK is urgent. The majority of UK people, BofE Governor, Bloomberg Economics, IFS & virtually all economic forcasts say move closer to EU. The spectre of Trump & #tradebarriers make closer links imperative. #rejoinEU #ForeverEuropean
U.S. Calls Out EU Member States For Piracy Failings in Trade Barriers Report
Like 'trickle-down', the phrase 'trade barriers' - or 'barriers to free trade" to give it's full title - is a doublethink phrase beloved of neoliberals.
Take subsidies on locally produced goods, intended to reduce carbon emissions from transport. Or levies on imported goods that lift the prices to those of local producers, who are held to minimum wage and environmental protection standards. These sorts of things are slammed as 'trade barriers'.
"By 2039, wars were raging simultaneously across Africa, South America, and Asia. In each conflict, the major powers were supporting opposing sides, while ramming into place draconian trade barriers."
#JohnRoche, '2115: The World Social Order, Two Months of Chaos', 2021
All the best #SciFi epics open with draconian trade barriers...
British meat and fish exports to EU slump by half since Brexit | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-food-trade-eu-labour-b2362943.html
#Meat
#Fish
#ExportsToEU
#Exports
#Brexit
#Starmer
#Veterinary
#RedTape
#Coffey
#Labour
#Tories
#Congestion
#Queues
#Dover
#Negligence
#FoodProducers
#UKEU
#TradeBarriers
#Trade
#SPS
#SingleMarket
#CustomsUnion
#DeltapollSurvey
#PostBrexitChecks
Continuing my post from last week in which I made a case for #TradeBarriers against the #Chinese government, I have now explored specific ways Canada can respond to the #Xi government's interference in our #elections, as well as in our other core institutions.
But we also need to *respectfully* let our elected representatives at *all* levels of government know how we feel, so I provide some links to official contact information.
https://wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/how-should-canada-do-about-the-chinese
Continuing my post from last week in which I made a case for #TradeBarriers against the #Chinese government, I have now explored specific ways Canada can respond to the #Xi government's interference in our #elections, as well as in our other core institutions.
But we also need to *respectfully* let our elected representatives at *all* levels of government know how we feel, so I provide some links to official contact information.
https://wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/how-should-canada-do-about-the-chinese
I have long been skeptical of the value of strategic #TradeBarriers and #sanctions, and I still am. But with respect to #China's Xi government and its abuses in terms of #HumanRights, interference in our #elections, and bullying of foreign governments, I believe it is necessary for the Canadian government and its allies to fight back. I make my case here, and I begin by thoroughly arguing this is *not* about people of Chinese descent who deserve no blame for this mess.
https://wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/a-case-for-trade-barriers-with-china-981
I was prepared to publish a post today in which I argued in favour of trade barriers (maybe even economic sanctions) against China, which is unusual for me because I have long been a strong supporter of free trade. But with everything that has come out on the issue lately, I feel like it is incomplete. So I just published a short preview of what is to come next week, which is here.
#China #sanctions #TradeBarriers #economics #policy #Canada #elections #NationalSecurity
https://wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/a-case-for-trade-barriers-with-china