The aim of the paper was to present main premises of using non-tariff instruments of trade policy and prevalence of administrative barriers in agriculture sector. Those premises are due to economic, political and social influences. The literature review notes that prices and income in agriculture are the basis of those premises and are aimed at both protecting the agriculture sector and strengthening the internal market. The data by the WTO on scale and scope of the trade defense instruments shows that the most common instruments are sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) as well as technical barriers to trade (TBT). It also shows that the continent with the greatest use of the non-tariff instruments of trade policy is Asia.