The number of technical regulations notified by World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries in 2023 exceeded 4,000 for the first time ever, a record high, showing that technical barriers to trade were rising among countries.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Jan. 14 that the number of technical regulations issued by WTO member countries reached 4,079 in 2023, surpassing the previous record high of 3,966 set in 2021.
WTO member countries have to notify the WTO when they enact or revise technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures that have a significant impact on trade under the TBT agreement. The number of such notifications exceeded 4,000 for the first time in 2023.
In 2023, the United States notified the largest number of technical regulations with 454. Developing countries followed including Tanzania with 420, Uganda with 412, and Rwanda with 361. The European Union (EU) took ninth place with 102.
By sector, food and pharmaceuticals (30.6 percent), chemicals and ceramics (16.8 percent), and agricultural and fishery products (11.7 percent) accounted for the largest share. In particular, technical regulations for the purpose of environmental protection increased at an average annual rate of 58 percent over the past three years, showing a growing awareness of environmental issues.
By purpose, there were 962 cases for providing consumer information, 936 cases for protecting human health and safety, 446 cases for meeting quality requirements, and 376 cases for consumer protection.
There were 1,097 technical regulations (26.9 percent) notified by 15 key countries, which are the countries that are the top 10 export markets of Korea and five emerging countries. These 15 key countries accounted for more than 80 percent of Korea’s exports.
The top 10 export markets were China, the United States, the EU, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, and Australia, and the top 5 emerging countries were India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Chile.
Of the 1097 notifications, the United States (454), India (113), the EU (102), China (70), Chile (69), and Saudi Arabia (55) notified the most technical regulations in the appearing order.
The United States notified 98 technical regulations, mostly related to energy efficiency, while India notified technical regulations in a wide array of fields, soared more than 11 times from 10 in the previous year of 2022. The EU notified 44 technical regulations, mostly related to authorization and restrictions on the use of chemicals.