Voluntary Export Restraints VERs

Voluntary Export Restraints (VERs):

A quota placed on imports from a particular country, with the agreement of that country’s government. (See quotas for explanation of the likely impact.) They have mainly been applied to developed countries’ imports of manufactures from Asian countries. Their objective is to protect the domestic industry of the importing country. The exporting country may be persuaded to accept them if the alternative is a more damaging trade barrier. They are outside the rules of the WTO . They are not much used at the present time.