For the past five years, leaders of the G20 countries have said they would not implement new trade restrictions, WTO-inconsistent export subsidies, or export taxes and quotas. They also promised to "roll back" any crisis-era protectionism that was imposed. Drawing upon nearly 3,800 separate reports of trade-related government measures collected and published by the Global Trade Alert team, this Report contains the most up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of adherence to the G20's "standstill" on protectionism. At a time when the World Trade Organization is in the doldrums, the performance of this non-binding alternative to intergovernmental cooperation on commercial policies takes on greater significance.

This report may be of interest to government officials, scholars, analysts, media experts, and students interested in how the governments of the world's largest economies have mixed trade liberalisation and beggar-thy-neighbour policies as the Great Recession has unfolded. The report contains six new measures of the resort to protectionism and the propensity to unwind it, computed and reported for each G20 member. Such measures, which can be tracked over time, will add to the transparency of the world trading system.

Release date: 3 September 2013