Tariffs applied by WTO members have decreased by a third since 1996

There has been a clear downward trend in tariffs since the WTO was established in 1995.

Since 1996, global trade in goods has more than quadrupled, reaching a total of US$ 20.1 trillion for imports in 2024, compared to US$ 4.6 trillion in 1996. 

Over the same period, available data indicate that the simple average tariff applied by WTO members on a most-favoured nation basis – by which WTO members extend the same trade treatment, including tariff rates and market access, to all other members – has declined by 32 per cent, falling from 13.1 per cent to 8.9 per cent, as shown in Figure 1. 

A similar trend emerges for tariffs applied on a trade-weighted basis, with the average MFN tariff dropping from 7.0 per cent to 3.9 per cent.

Taking into account preferential tariff regimes, including those offered by developed countries to developing and least-developed economies, and those in regional trade agreements (RTAs), an even steeper decline is visible. Between 1996 and 2024, the trade-weighted average of effective applied tariffs – based on the assumption of full utilization of preferential tariffs – dropped from 6.8 per cent to 2.2 per cent. The reason for this larger decrease was the increased trade in products subject to lower tariffs.

Figure 2 illustrates changes by product group between 1996 and 2024. Notably, the tariffs on agricultural products declined more than those of industrial products, which were already low in 1996. For example, the largest decrease in trade-weighted MFN applied tariffs on agricultural goods were observed for: oilseeds, fats and oils; cereals and preparation; and animal products. The tariffs for each of these categories fell by about 50 per cent between 1996 and 2024, while the largest decrease in tariffs on industrial goods was for electrical machinery which declined from 5.1 per cent in 1996 to 1.4 per cent in 2024.