Multilateral Cooperation behind the Trade War Headlines : How Much Trade Is Freed Up?

This paper highlights the importance of multilateral cooperation as an avenue for tackling technical barriers to trade (TBTs). These non-tariff barriers are some of the most prevalent affecting global trade. While the US-China trade war and its tariff escalation was grabbing headlines, multilateral cooperation was happening behind the scenes. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) TBT Committee has spent the past decade removing €80 billion worth of unnecessary trade costs affecting EU exports. This paper advocates the need for a renewed multilateral impetus in addressing TBT concerns as part of our post-Covid global recovery