There is some evidence that trade has become more development-friendly since 2000, if at a slow
pace. Around four fifths of developed country imports from the developing world are admitted
duty free, up from closer to two thirds in 2003.8
While the proportion of goods from LDCs
admitted duty free has remained fairly static at around 80% since 1996, more of those imports are
admitted through LDC preference than was the case in 1996. There has also been a slow decline
in tariffs faced by developing countries and LDCs on those goods that are not tariff-exempt.
Outside of a few sectors including agriculture, industrial country tariffs are no longer a major
barrier to (merchandise) export-led growth in developing countries –they are below 6% in most
OECD countries (see Figure 12). The average tariff even on some of the most protected sectors
including agriculture, clothing and textiles has declined below 10%.
At the same time, there is no evidence of a trend-break around 2000 in this decline and
agricultural support in OECD countries totaled $407 billion in 2011 –around three times the size