Enhancing Agriculture Market Access for Developing and Least Developed Countries: A Case for Tariff Simplification

Contrasting with the simplicity of ad valorem tariffs usually applied to industrial goods, agricultural products are often subject to more opaque non-ad valorem duties (NAVs) which have generated unpredictability for developing country agricultural exporters. Although efforts at the WTO to simplify NAVs have long been challenging, a new proposal has emerged in the run-up to this year’s ministerial conference. This note provides a historical recollection of NAV tariffication efforts, before analysing the proposal currently on the table.