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A trade barrier is a government-imposed restriction on the international exchange of goods or services. Barriers to trade are often called “protection” because their stated purpose is to shield or advance particular industries or segments of an economy.

When a country feels another country is “dumping” products into their market unfairly, it can impost import duties/tariffs to offset the discount and protect its domestic suppliers.

Categories of trade barriers:

• Import policies
• Government procurement policies
• Export subsidies
• Lack of intellectual property protection
• Services barriers
• Investment barriers
• Government-tolerated anti-competitive conduct of state-owned or private firms
• Trade restrictions affecting electronic commerce