International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

EC 4.3 4.1 100.0
Japan 3.1 2.9 99.6
South Korea 11.3 16.0 94.7
Mexico 12.5 34.9 100.0
Chile 6.0 (uniform) 25.1 100.0
Argentina 11.2 32.0 100.0
Brazil 13.6 31.4 100.0
Thailand 9.1 25.7 74.7
China 9.95 10.0 100.0
Egypt 17.0 36.8 99.3
Philippines 6.3 25.6 66.8
India 15.0 49.7 73.8
Kenya 12.7 95.7 14.6
Ghana 13.1 92.5 14.3
Table 1.4 "Bound versus Applied Average Tariffs" reveals the following things worth noting:
1. More-developed countries tend to apply lower average tariffs than less-developed countries (LDCs).
2. Average bound tariff rates are higher for less-developed countries. This means that the WTO agreement has not
forced LDCs to open their economies to the same degree as developed countries.
3. The less developed a country, the fewer tariff categories that are bound. For the most developed economies, 100
percent of the tariff lines are bound, but for Ghana and Kenya, only 14 percent are bound. This also means that the
WTO agreement has not forced LDCs to open their economies to the same degree as developed countries.
4. For LDCs, applied tariffs are set much lower on average than the bound rates. These countries have the flexibility to
raise their tariffs without violating their WTO commitments.
5. China has lower tariffs and greater bindings than countries of similar wealth.
6. Since the most developed economies have applied rates equal to bound rates, they cannot raise tariffs without
violating their WTO commitments. WTO-sanctioned trade remedy actions can be used instead, however.
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