FREE TRADE AND REGULATORY PROTECIONISM: NECESSITY, RELEVANCE AND INSTRUMENTS OF REGULATORY LIBERALIZATION

In spite of strong resistence,international trade becomes frier of any kind ofbarriers. Both by multilateral and regional andbilateral preferencial trade arrangements, tariffs asmost direct barrier to free trade have been alreadyeliminated on most products or considerablylowered there where they exist. Non-tariff barriersare, as a rule, directly in contrast to rules andprinciples of international trade and as such theyare subject to continuous surveillance andelimination. In such situation, technical barriers, ortehnical regulations and standards as well asproduct conformity assessement remain a centralbarrier to international trade. Although tehnicalregulations are about making market moreefficient, they also create additional costs tointernational trade. However, contrary to otherbarriers to trade, their elimination is not possible incontemporary state of international political andeconomic relations. Thus, diminishing theirnegative impact is one of the greatest challenges ininternational trade.By free trade agreements with countries fromthe region, EU and Turkey, Bosnia andHerzegovina liberalised most of its internationalexchange in form of elimination or reduction oftarriffs and quantitative restrictions on mostproducts. However, due to nonconformity oftechnical regulations as well as inadequateinfrastructure in this field, in the first place withEuropean requirements, BiH has not yet realisedall potential deriving form free trade.