There is one country that imposes more protectionist measures than any other.
It isn't China, Mexico or Japan. It is the US.
That is according to a report from Credit Suisse on globalization. The bank pulled numbers from the Global Trade Alert to show which country has introduced the most protectionist measures. These are policies which restrict trade, often for the sake of helping out local and national businesses by holding back foreign competition.
The report said:
"The regional focus of trade has been accentuated by both tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade that selectively limit trade openness, either amongst countries or in specific commodity categories. Tariffs directly restrict the flow of goods and services by making them less price competitive and were more prevalent prior to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) regime that began in 1995.
"Tariff rates in Eurasia are the lowest, thanks to freer cross-border trade promoted by the European Union. The dawn of the millennium brought with it a preference for non-tariff barriers, as the WTO actively discouraged the levy of tariffs. Non-tariff barriers to trade have the 'charm' of not distorting price dynamics but restricting trade volumes through more qualitative routes.
Although the number of countries imposing nontariff barriers declined during the period of 1990- 2013 (peaked in 2005), the total number of nontariff barriers imposed on trade in fact rose significantly (Figures 18 and 19)-the USA leads here-making global trade not-so free after all."
Credit Suisse Globalization report