The Transparency Principle and an Early Warning

Transparency is a core principle of the World Trade Organization – WTO, which includes the objective to reduce technical barriers to global commerce. Country members of this international organization presume that the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade provide the exporters greater expectation security related to their investments in manufacturing of goods, on account of containing detailed transparency obligations and for requiring notifications of new regulatory measures. This paper results from bibliography and documentary research on technical barriers to trade and on the Brazilian experience. It examines how the flow of information on foreign technical requirements to be complied by exporters is a question of competitive market access. It is expected to contribute to the analysis and identification of market access difficulties and its qualitative impact on competitiveness. It is also hoped that this study increases the knowledge of how the transparency principle can positively affect exports.