Higher import duties on semi-processed products than on raw materials, and higher still on finished products.

Furthermore, exports from developing to developed countries face tariff escalation: higher tariffs are levied on goods exported at more advanced stages of processing.

Also to be subject to negotiation is ‘tariff escalation’ in which import duties are applied to semi-processed products rather than to raw materials, with even higher tariffs applied to finished products.

In addition, the paper highlights the need to address tariff escalation to encourage the export of processed commodities.

However, the US on Tuesday announced additional tariffs to be levied on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and threatened to adopt further tariff escalation measures.

Other recent policy decisions include reducing tariff escalation for the food industry and a progressive phasing out of milk quotas between 2006 and 2009.

Second, the structure of protection that resource exporters face tends to rise with the stage of processing (tariff escalation).

There is not yet a viable path to existing tariffs declining, and tariff escalation remains a meaningful risk,” the bank said in a note.

Furthermore, tariff escalation on roasted coffee is a real concern for exporters, as it discourages value addition and protects domestic industries in consumer countries.

The old issues addressed in the Tokyo and Uruguay Rounds, such as agriculture tariff peaks and tariff escalations, remain unfinished business.