II.

Market Access
• Market access simply means the right which exporters have to access
a foreign market.
• In practice “market access” refers to the ways in which that protection
can be implemented.
• In the WTO framework it is a legalistic term indicating the
government-imposed conditions under which a product may enter a
country and be released for free circulation within that country under
normal conditions.
• A tariff is a trade barrier that takes the form of a government tax
imposed on goods (usually imports and occasionally on exports) when
they cross borders.
• Tariffication is the process of conversion of all non-tariff market
protection measures into the tariff equivalent.
• The tariff equivalent to a non-tariff barrier is the difference between
the average domestic price and the average world market price.
• A tariff-rate quota (TRQ) is a two-levelled tariff whereby the tariff
rate charged depends on the volume of imports.
• TRQs usually generate a “quota rent”. In fact, the right to import
within the quota results in a profit over and above the profit available
in normal trade.
• A Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) would allow developing
countries to impose additional safeguard duties in the event of an
abnormal surge in imports or the entry of unusually cheap imports.
• The special safeguards provisions for agriculture differ from the
general safeguards. In agriculture, unlike with normal safeguards:
i. higher safeguard duties can be triggered automatically when
import volumes rise above a certain level, or if prices fall
below a certain level; and
ii. it is not necessary to demonstrate that serious injury is being
caused to the domestic industry.
• The special agricultural safeguards can only be used on products that
were tariffied.
 III. Export Subsidies
• These can be in the form of subsidy on inputs of agriculture, making
export cheaper or can be other incentives for exports such as import
duty remission.
• Food Aid – General and specific commitments to prevent or minimize
potential for food aid to displace trade and domestic production.
• Export Credit – Export credit guarantee, insurance and reinsurance
programs should be self-financing and cover long term operating costs
and losses.