Trade Service - World Monitor

Overview

The Trade Service provides comprehensive trade policy intelligence from World Trade Organization (WTO) data sources. Access quantitative restrictions, tariff trends, bilateral trade flows, and non-tariff barrier notifications. Base Path: /api/trade/v1

GetTradeRestrictions

Get quantitative restrictions and export controls. Endpoint: GET /api/trade/v1/get-trade-restrictions

Request Parameters

array

WTO member codes to filter by. Empty = all.

integer

Max results to return (server caps at 100).

Response

array

List of trade restrictions.

Show TradeRestriction

string

Unique restriction identifier from WTO.

string

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 or WTO member code of reporting country.

string

Country affected by the restriction.

string

Product sector or HS chapter description.

string

Measure classification: “QR”, “EXPORT_BAN”, “IMPORT_BAN”, “LICENSING”.

string

Human-readable description of the measure.

string

Current status: “IN_FORCE”, “TERMINATED”, “NOTIFIED”.

string

ISO 8601 date when measure was notified.

string

WTO source document URL.

string

ISO 8601 timestamp when data was fetched from WTO.

boolean

True if upstream fetch failed and results may be stale/empty.

Example Request

curl -X GET "https://api.worldmonitor.com/api/trade/v1/get-trade-restrictions?countries=840&countries=156&limit=10"

Example Response

{
  "restrictions": [
    {
      "id": "WTO-2024-001",
      "reporting_country": "USA",
      "affected_country": "CHN",
      "product_sector": "Semiconductors (HS 8542)",
      "measure_type": "EXPORT_BAN",
      "description": "Export controls on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment",
      "status": "IN_FORCE",
      "notified_at": "2024-01-15T00:00:00Z",
      "source_url": "https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/..."
    }
  ],
  "fetched_at": "2024-03-01T12:00:00Z",
  "upstream_unavailable": false
}

GetTariffTrends

Get tariff rate timeseries for a country pair. Endpoint: GET /api/trade/v1/get-tariff-trends

Request Parameters

string

WTO member code of reporting country (e.g. “840” = US).

string

WTO member code of partner country (e.g. “156” = China).

string

Product sector filter (HS chapter). Empty = aggregate.

integer

Number of years to look back (default 10, max 30).

Response

array

Tariff data points ordered by year ascending.

Show TariffDataPoint

string

WTO member code of reporting country.

string

WTO member code of partner country.

string

Product sector or HS chapter.

integer

Year of observation.

number

Applied MFN tariff rate (percentage).

number

WTO bound tariff rate (percentage).

string

WTO indicator code used for this datapoint.

string

ISO 8601 timestamp when data was fetched from WTO.

boolean

True if upstream fetch failed and results may be stale/empty.

Example Request

curl -X GET "https://api.worldmonitor.com/api/trade/v1/get-tariff-trends?reporting_country=840&partner_country=156&years=5"

Example Response

{
  "datapoints": [
    {
      "reporting_country": "840",
      "partner_country": "156",
      "product_sector": "ALL",
      "year": 2019,
      "tariff_rate": 3.4,
      "bound_rate": 3.5,
      "indicator_code": "MFN_AVG"
    },
    {
      "reporting_country": "840",
      "partner_country": "156",
      "product_sector": "ALL",
      "year": 2020,
      "tariff_rate": 19.3,
      "bound_rate": 3.5,
      "indicator_code": "MFN_AVG"
    },
    {
      "reporting_country": "840",
      "partner_country": "156",
      "product_sector": "ALL",
      "year": 2023,
      "tariff_rate": 19.3,
      "bound_rate": 3.5,
      "indicator_code": "MFN_AVG"
    }
  ],
  "fetched_at": "2024-03-01T12:00:00Z",
  "upstream_unavailable": false
}

GetTradeFlows

Get bilateral merchandise trade flows. Endpoint: GET /api/trade/v1/get-trade-flows

Request Parameters

string

WTO member code of reporting country.

string

WTO member code of partner country.

integer

Number of years to look back (default 10, max 30).

Response

array

Trade flow records ordered by year ascending.

Show TradeFlowRecord

string

WTO member code of reporting country.

string

WTO member code of partner country.

integer

Year of observation.

number

Merchandise export value in millions USD.

number

Merchandise import value in millions USD.

number

Year-over-year export change (percentage).

number

Year-over-year import change (percentage).

string

Product sector or HS chapter.

string

ISO 8601 timestamp when data was fetched from WTO.

boolean

True if upstream fetch failed and results may be stale/empty.

Example Request

curl -X GET "https://api.worldmonitor.com/api/trade/v1/get-trade-flows?reporting_country=840&partner_country=156&years=3"

Example Response

{
  "flows": [
    {
      "reporting_country": "840",
      "partner_country": "156",
      "year": 2021,
      "export_value_usd": 151065,
      "import_value_usd": 505470,
      "yoy_export_change": 21.4,
      "yoy_import_change": 17.8,
      "product_sector": "ALL"
    },
    {
      "reporting_country": "840",
      "partner_country": "156",
      "year": 2022,
      "export_value_usd": 153834,
      "import_value_usd": 536806,
      "yoy_export_change": 1.8,
      "yoy_import_change": 6.2,
      "product_sector": "ALL"
    },
    {
      "reporting_country": "840",
      "partner_country": "156",
      "year": 2023,
      "export_value_usd": 147789,
      "import_value_usd": 427249,
      "yoy_export_change": -3.9,
      "yoy_import_change": -20.4,
      "product_sector": "ALL"
    }
  ],
  "fetched_at": "2024-03-01T12:00:00Z",
  "upstream_unavailable": false
}

GetTradeBarriers

Get SPS/TBT barrier notifications. Endpoint: GET /api/trade/v1/get-trade-barriers

Request Parameters

array

WTO member codes to filter by. Empty = all.

string

Filter by measure type: “SPS”, “TBT”, or empty for both.

integer

Max results to return (server caps at 100).

Response

array

List of SPS/TBT barrier notifications.

Show TradeBarrier

string

Unique barrier notification identifier.

string

Country that notified the measure.

string

Title of the notification.

string

Measure classification: “SPS” or “TBT”.

string

Product description or affected goods.

string

Stated objective of the measure.

string

Status of the notification.

string

ISO 8601 date when notification was distributed.

string

WTO source document URL.

string

ISO 8601 timestamp when data was fetched from WTO.

boolean

True if upstream fetch failed and results may be stale/empty.

Example Request

curl -X GET "https://api.worldmonitor.com/api/trade/v1/get-trade-barriers?measure_type=SPS&limit=5"

Example Response

{
  "barriers": [
    {
      "id": "G-SPS-N-EU-832",
      "notifying_country": "EU",
      "title": "Maximum residue levels of pesticides in food",
      "measure_type": "SPS",
      "product_description": "Agricultural products (HS 01-24)",
      "objective": "Food safety, Protection of human health",
      "status": "Final",
      "date_distributed": "2024-01-20T00:00:00Z",
      "source_url": "https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/..."
    }
  ],
  "fetched_at": "2024-03-01T12:00:00Z",
  "upstream_unavailable": false
}

Trade Barrier Types

SPS Measures

Sanitary and PhytosanitaryMeasures to protect human, animal, or plant health from risks such as pests, diseases, toxins, and additives.

TBT Measures

Technical Barriers to TradeStandards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures that may create obstacles to international trade.

WTO Member Codes

WTO member codes are typically 3-digit numeric codes. Common examples:

840: United States
156: China
276: Germany
392: Japan
826: United Kingdom

Some endpoints also accept ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country codes (e.g., USA, CHN, DEU).

Data Source

Trade data is sourced from:

WTO: World Trade Organization
Integrated Database (IDB): Tariff and trade data
I-TIP Services: Trade policy information
SPS & TBT Information Management Systems: Non-tariff barrier notifications
Updates vary by dataset (daily to quarterly)

Use Cases

Trade Policy Analysis

Monitor tariff changes, trade restrictions, and non-tariff barriers to assess trade policy impacts on specific industries or countries.

Supply Chain Risk

Track export controls and trade restrictions that could disrupt global supply chains and affect business operations.

Market Entry Strategy

Analyze tariff rates and trade barriers when evaluating new market opportunities for international expansion.

Compliance Monitoring

Stay informed about new SPS and TBT measures that may affect product compliance requirements in target markets.

​Overview

​GetTradeRestrictions

​Request Parameters

​Response

​Example Request

​Example Response

​GetTariffTrends

​Request Parameters

​Response

​Example Request

​Example Response

​GetTradeFlows

​Request Parameters

​Response

​Example Request

​Example Response

​GetTradeBarriers

​Request Parameters

​Response

​Example Request

​Example Response

​Trade Barrier Types

SPS Measures

TBT Measures

​WTO Member Codes

​Data Source

​Use Cases

Overview

GetTradeRestrictions

Request Parameters

Response

Example Request

Example Response

GetTariffTrends

Request Parameters

Response

Example Request

Example Response

GetTradeFlows

Request Parameters

Response

Example Request

Example Response

GetTradeBarriers

Request Parameters

Response

Example Request

Example Response

Trade Barrier Types

WTO Member Codes

Data Source

Use Cases