Trade Barriers in the 21st Century: The Case of the Norwegian Defense Industry

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this thesis is to investigate the extent to which Norwegian products encounter trade barriers in foreign markets; to measure the relative frequency and severity with which barriers occur; and explore the potential effects on producers and the broader economy. Because trade barriers vary widely across markets and industries, I have chosen to focus on the case of the Norwegian defense industry vis-à-vis the US market.

Data was collected trough a business survey and was used to assign each barrier two quantitative data points; one related to frequency, and another related to severity. Finally, the frequency measure and the severity measure were combined to provide a measurement of overall impact.

The data from the survey allowed for a ranking of the barriers that revealed the following insights: 1. In certain cases, there seems to be a discrepancy between regulations and reality. 2. High-impact barriers can be a bi-product of (more or less) unrelated regulations 3. Informal barriers are of great importance

The analysis of the survey data also revealed that companies with different levels of involvement in foreign markets assign trade barriers different overall impact. The data showed that it is companies with the most direct involvement in the US that encounter barriers most frequently, and that it is the same group that find them most challenging to deal with.