The Brics trade bloc – comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – currently accounts for the lion’s share of the total import trade restrictions imposed by all G20 countries. South Africa’s share of restrictive measures implemented by the G20 now stands at 7%, according to the European Union’s Barbara Barone. She said the increasingly protective trade approach reflected the Brics countries’ ongoing economic downturn. “Since 2008, Brics countries have increased their restrictive measures against imports by 50%,” said Barone. She pointed out that there had been a recent shift in focus around trade protectionism, with the latest restrictions not being in the form of import tariffs but through non-tariff barriers (NTBs) such as import quotas, restrictive product standards, and subsidies for domestic goods and services. “This shows that while countries are reducing the obvious barriers to trade, like tariffs, they are still pursuing stealth forms of trade protectionism through nontariff barriers,” commented Barone.
