Export restriction

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Export restriction" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Export restrictions, or a restriction on exportation, are limitations on the quantity of goods exported to a specific country or countries by a Government. Export restrictions could be aimed at achieving diverse policy objectives such as environmental protection, economic welfare, social wellbeing, conversion of natural resources, and controlling inflationary pressures. There are various forms of restrictions on export as defined by WTO's Trade Policy Reviews (TPR), for example, export duties, quantitative restrictions, voluntary export restrictions, export prohibitions and licensing requirements.^[1] Although some countries apply export restriction of various policy purposes, restrictions on exports provide price advantage for the domestic industries because these restrictions create price difference between domestic goods compared to the price of the same goods to foreign investors.^[2] Export restrictions don't always provide benefits for the country and more income for the government. In the field of agriculture and food sector export restrictions are aimed at protecting the domestic food security from international supply.^[3] During the food crises of 2007–2008, more than thirty countries imposed various export restriction measures such as quantitative export restrictions, prohibitions, export taxes, and price controls to protect the domestic food supply. However, this created additional pressures on the food crises by imposing high global prices and affecting the supply of food in the international market.^[4]

Within Environmental protection sector, export restrictions could cause market failure. For example, if a country puts export restriction on exporting minerals, natural resources, or wood stuff, it could cause market distortion that could also affect the distribution of welfare. Due to this, other countries might enter trade division and pause strict export restrictions on their domestic products which eventually constrains the objective of export restrictions that are supposed to provide positive objectives for the imposing country.^[5]