Voluntary export restraint

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A voluntary export restraint (VER) or voluntary export restriction is a measure by which the government or an industry in the importing country arranges with the government or the competing industry in the exporting country for a restriction on the volume of the latter's exports of one or more products.^[1]

By this definition, the term VER is a generic reference for all bilaterally agreed measures to restrain exports.^[1] They are sometimes referred to as 'Export Visas'.^[2] The restraint could be a preset limit, a reduction in the exported amount, or a complete restriction.^[3]

Typically VERs arise when industries seek protection from competing imports from particular countries. VERs are then offered by the exporting country to appease the importing country and deter it from imposing explicit (and less flexible) trade barriers.

The implementation of VERs was prohibited in 1994 under modifications to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Article 11).^[4]