ABSTRACT
Nontariff barriers have gained considerable public attention over the last few years. It is now generally recognized that nontariff barriers have a significant impact on the formulation of corporate strategy in overseas markets. In particular, these barriers affect decisions concerning the location of R&D and manufacturing, investment, product design, and marketing approach. The most common among nontariff barriers are technical barriers to trade. Standards have become a contentious issue because of the difficulty in distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate barriers. A plethora of standards has been fostered by the wide range of concerns they address, ranging from health and safety to product quality and protection of the home market. American firms have found the transition to export more difficult because of the existence of nonconforming and trade-restricting standards. Of particular concern was the incompatibility of the European CCITT standards for telecommunications equipment with US standards for the same equipment.
