Navigate Non-Tariff Measures

Expand Get support for compliance risks when you expand into a new overseas market.

Countries often have laws and regulations on imported goods, in order to protect their consumers from unsafe products. For example, countries usually require food products to be labelled with nutritional information. These Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) usually serve a legitimate function, but may sometimes be used to discriminate against foreign goods.

EnterpriseSG partners with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) to help companies expand into new markets overseas by mitigating cross-border challenges. If you have reason to believe that your exports are unfairly targeted by foreign governments with NTMs, you can seek support here.

Steps to submit a Trade Barrier Report

Step 1: Identify the product that you are trying to export
  • You will require the HS code of the product you are trying to export. If you need help to identify your HS code, you may refer to Singapore Customs (SC) | TradeNet® for assistance.

Step 2: Identify the market barrier that you are facing
  • You will need to know the type of market barrier preventing you from exporting to a particular market.
  • List of Market Barriers
    • Antidumping and/or Countervailing Duties (My product is subject to import duties to offset the value of dumping and/or government subsidies)
    • Customs Procedure (My product is subject to unreasonable delays/impounding by customs)
    • Entry Formalities (My product is subject to excessive/unnecessary paperwork for importation of goods)
    • HS Classification (My product has unclear HS codes in the importing country that complicates import paperwork)
    • Import Quota (My product's HS code is subjected to a quota on the amount that can be imported)
    • Labelling (Importing country requires my product to label unobtainable/difficult to obtain information)
    • Licensing Requirements (My product is subjected to licensing that locally-produced goods are not)
    • Rules of Origin (It is too difficult/complex under a particular FTA to prove that my product comes from Singapore)
    • Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (Imported goods are subjected to different health measures from locally-produced goods)
    • Technical Barriers to Trade (Imported goods are subjected to different technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures from locally-produced goods)

Step 3: Submit a Trade Barrier Report here.

Step 4: SBF, MTI or EnterpriseSG will address your feedback on the market barrier within 20 working days, via email.

Navigate Non-Tariff Measures

Submit report