Trade barriers
Barriers to trade can take many forms. They can relate to:
- tariffs
- customs procedures
- administrative burden
- import licencing
- standards and conformity assessment
- labelling or packaging requirements
- unjustified trade defence measures
- inadequate protection of intellectual property rights
- discriminatory treatment compared to national treatment.
Have you encountered a problem in a third country market? Do you think it could be a barrier to trade?
1. Please check our registered trade barriers in third countries. If the problem is already registered, we are already working to solve it. However, you are always welcome to provide information on existing issues using the contact form.
If your problem is not yet registered in our database:
2. You can submit a complaint directly to the Single Entry Point using the complaint form. Please feel free to contact us directly at trade-single-entry-point@ec.europa.eu if you have any questions or need assistance in making a complaint.
3. We will assess your complaint together with our experts. Once this is complete, we will let you know the outcome of the assessment. If we conclude that your problem constitutes a barrier to trade, we will register it on the Access2Markets' barrier page and work to solve it.
The EU has two main tools to tackle trade barriers:
- diplomatic action
- dispute settlement.
To better address and resolve all barriers, the Commission works together with Member States and business associations, including in third countries around the world, in a structure we call the Market Access Partnership.
Member States, chambers of commerce and industry as well as your national or European business association are also there to help you. See our useful links for more information.