Reducing transatlantic barriers on U.S.-EU agri-food trade: What are the possible gains?

In recent years, the EU and the U.S. have engaged in discussions to lower trade and investment barriers and strengthen transatlantic integration. For food and agricultural trade, non-tariff measures (NTMs) such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) stand out as significant barriers. This study combines sector-level econometric modeling with an agriculture-focused computable generable equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate various transatlantic liberalization scenarios on U.S.-EU agri-food trade. The simulations quantify the effect from tariff removal and addressing NTMs. The magnitude of the gains depend upon the level of tariff liberalization, the depth of integration, and possible consumer demand changes.     

Moving toward the EU or the Middle East? An assessment of alternative Turkish foreign policies utilizing the GTAP framework

This paper assesses the new orientation in Turkish foreign policy towards the Arab world by analyzing the potential impact of Turkey’s membership in either the European Union (EU) or the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA). We utilize the most recent version of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database, its global Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, and the gravity border effect approach to estimate the ad-valorem tariff equivalents (AVEs) of non-tariff barriers (NTBs). In our overall analysis, we account for 24 various sectors. However, in our evaluation, we focus primarily on the food and agricultural sectors because this sector is characterized by high tariff and non-tariff protection. In the CGE simulation analysis, we consider the removal of tariffs and NTBs simultaneously. After projecting the GTAP framework to 2020, we conclude that Turkey would gain unambiguously from EU membership, whereas Turkey’s gains from GAFTA membership would be more limited. The paper also presents that the welfare gains from the removal of NTBs are of considerable importance and would generally be greater than the gains stemming from the elimination of import tariffs.     

Agricultural market integration in the OECD: A gravity-border effect approach

This paper uses the border effect estimate from a gravity model to assess the level of agricultural market trade integration among 22 OECD countries for the 1994–2003 period. Empirical analysis confirms that the use of a gravity equation derived from theory, in the estimation of border effect, matters. A representative estimate of the border effect shows that crossing a national border within the OECD induces an average trade-reduction effect of a factor 13. This average value masks differences that are quite substantial in market integration, with value for intra-EU trade being higher while that for trade between the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) is lower. The data show a process of strong integration in all the country-trade combinations involving CEECs. However, quite surprisingly, the intra-CEEC and OECD-CEEC integration processes are almost twice as strong as those in the EU-CEEC combination. Finally, the equivalent tariffs implied by the estimated border effects are not implausible compared to the actual range of direct protection measures.     

The impact of the European Novel Food Regulation on trade and food innovation based on traditional plant foods from developing countries

The stringent food safety assessment for novel foods required by the European Union’s Novel Food Regulation (NFR) places a high burden of proof on those bringing traditional food products to the EU market not consumed in the EU prior 1997. The regulation has emerged as a non-tariff trade barrier for heritage foods from developing countries that are viewed as “exotic” from the EU perspective. We show how the regulation has discouraged investment in supply chains and market development, and how this negatively affects income generation and rural poverty alleviation in developing countries. Focusing on plant-derived foods, this paper proposes to recognize traditional exotic foods in current EU law as a food category sui generis with food safety evidence requirements being proportionate to the risks they may pose. We argue that development activities promoting export food chains must increasingly accommodate legitimate food safety concerns about neglected food species in project design and seek to generate data to enhance regulatory acceptance in target markets.     

Standards,trade margins and product quality: Firm-level evidence from Peru

The ongoing debate on whether agri-food (public) regulatory standards are barriers or catalysts to trade is particularly pertinent for developing countries who are often standard-takers. Current evidence on the trade effects of regulatory standards is ambiguous. In this paper, we give a contribution focusing on the firm heterogeneity trade effects of (different) types of agri-food standards, considering firm-level exports from Peru. Particular emphasis is given to standards with different degree of restrictiveness, such as specific trade concerns (STCs) raised on the most stringent NTMs, and to product-quality upgrading. Results show that only the most restrictive NTMs significantly limit agri-food exports for Peruvian firms, affecting the probability to trade, firms’ exit and the export volume. Regular SPSs are found to enhance trade. Importantly, we uncovered relevant heterogonous effects of NTMs on firms of different size, showing that only the most stringent standards result in product quality upgrading.     

入世后我国进口商品贸易特征与战略调整

2001年加入世贸组织后,我国商品进口贸易迅速增长,成为全球贸易中的进口大国。当前,我国进口商品的主要特征是：进口以短缺能源、原材料以及关键设备、高新技术产品为主,进口市场较为集中、进口与出口不对称,一般贸易进口和外资企业进口占主导。因此,应该通过转变轻视进口观念,进口技术产品与自主创新结合,促进进口市场多元化,完善进口税收,建立进口服务体系等措施,积极扩大进口。     

技术性贸易壁垒与合格评定程序

随着WTO和贸易自由化的发展，各国的关税水平大幅度降低，以及配额、许可证等非关税措施的逐步取消，大大促进了国际贸易的发展，技术贸易措施在国际贸易中的地位日益重要。合格评定程序是指任何直接或间接用以确定产品是否满足技术法规或标准要求的程序。合格评定程序是企业扩大对外出口、突破技术贸易壁垒的有效措施。     

Agricultural market access: A moving target in the WTO negotiations?

This article analyzes the impact of multilateral market access liberalization of the Doha Round agricultural negotiations. At the center are the effects of variations in the magnitudes of tariff cuts, different tariff cutting formulas, the tariff capping as well as different numbers and width of tariff bands. The simulations are conducted with an extended version of the GTAP model and the GTAP database (6.0) including bound and applied rates and a module to cut tariffs at the 6-digit tariff line level. The results reveal that the heights of the tariff cuts and the kind of tiered formula applied are most important for the outcome of the Doha Round, while the width of tariff bands and the tariff capping only have a moderate influence on the countries’ trade pattern and welfare. In contrast, the number of tariff bands is not important for the results.     

Private voluntary standards in the food system: The perspective of major food retailers in OECD countries

The paper examines the main economic and institutional incentives which have driven major OECD food retailers in their use of private voluntary standards and discusses their growing role in shaping the agri-food system. It is based on interviews with quality and safety directors of major OECD retailers and a brief survey of retailers’ actual buyer practices. Though not all retailers are included, these firms account for over 70% of retail food sales in OECD countries. We find that the growing voice of civil society, changing legal and institutional frameworks, increased market concentration and buying power as well as their integration with financial markets has provided the setting for development of private standards. While food safety and quality standards are seen as key to maintaining and improving reputation as well as against legal liabilities, additional standards such as labour, environmental and animal welfare are also gaining ground as strategies for customer loyalty and market shares. The grass-roots retailer move in the harmonization of food safety standards is seen as an initial step towards a global approach to managing the food system, with harmonization of other standards likely in the future. Given their buyer power, these developments can be viewed as a way of governing the food system and will be important for both OECD and non-OECD food and agricultural sector evolution in the coming years.     

Product standards and developing country agricultural exports: The case of the European Union

This paper shows that voluntary product standards in EU food and agriculture markets can have significant trade effects. In particular for all countries and for goods that are raw or lightly processed, EU standards can often be trade-inhibiting. However, internationally harmonized EU standards—those that are equivalent to ISO norms—have much weaker trade effects, and in some cases are even trade-promoting. EU standards may have hurt developed countries more than developing countries, but this result is dependent on the sector. At a policy level, the results highlight the importance of dealing with the trade effects of voluntary standards in major markets, not just mandatory public standards.     

地方保护与市场分割:来自中国的经验数据

在中国市场上，存在促进分割和促进融合的两种因素，地方保护主义程度的变化趋势，取决于这两种力量的对比。本文首先简要对国内研究地方保护主义的多种测量方法进行综述．然后运用国际上测量综合贸易壁垒的“边界效应”方法对中国的贸易壁垒分地区分行业进行实证分析。研究表明，根据边界效应方法．1997年中国地方保护相当于欧洲统一大市场内部独立国家之间的情况；具体地，在八个行业部门中，农业保护最为严重。商业运输业其次，紧接着是轻工业、采选业、重工业等。这表明国内市场一体化还很不完善．其中第一、三产业保护较重，第二产业相对较轻。因此有必要针对不同行业特点制定和谐的贸易体制，加快国内市场一体化建设．以保证我国“十一五”期间经济全面协调发展．     

The impact of the Uruguay Round on tariff escalation in agricultural products

Tariff escalation (i.e. higher tariffs on processed agricultural products than on their input commodities) has been one of the obstacles for developing countries in their efforts to establish processing industries for exports. This article assesses the changes in tariff escalation resulting from the Uruguay Round (UR) tariff concessions, examining the agricultural import markets of EU, Japan and the US. The approach consisted of comparing the base and bound tariffs, as listed in the UR tariff schedules, of actual input/output processing relationships, taking also specific tariffs into account. Three main conclusions can be drawn. First, more than half of the commodity pairs have positive tariff wedges (escalating tariffs), about 10 per cent have no tariff wedges (input and output tariffs are equal) and the remaining one-third of the commodity pairs have negative tariff wedges (de-escalating tariffs). These numbers are roughly the same for both base and bound tariff wedges. Second, as a result of the UR tariff concessions more than 80 per cent of the tariff wedges have decreased (in absolute values, i.e. positive wedges have become less positive and negative wedges have become less negative). Convergence towards zero is therefore a common feature. Third, after the full implementation of the UR tariff concessions, high levels of nominal tariff escalation will still remain for a number of commodity pairs, highest in Japan and lowest in US. Considering only the positive tariff wedges, these will average 17 per cent after the implementation of the UR (down from 23 per cent of the base years). Finally, the study has certain methodological shortcomings, and a degree of caution is in order for countries contemplating export diversification and investing in valued-added industries. There are well known problems with “water in the tariffs” and the difference between applied and bound rates of duty that are common to all studies on this subject. In addition, a number of factors that are beyond the scope of this study should also be taken into account when export diversification is considered. These relate, inter alia, to the competitiveness of the export commodities or industries in question, availability of appropriate technologies and infrastructure, product standards, technical regulations and a host of consumer preference issues having to do with brand recognition as well as product characteristics.     

Investigating the impacts of time delays on trade

Time delays due to inefficient customs and administrative procedures have become a leading non-tariff barrier (NTB) that restrict international trade and impair social welfare. This paper investigates how time delays affect product quality, product price, trade flow, and social welfare, using data on the days it takes to clear customs in 96 countries. We explore the impacts of time delays on product quality and price with different levels of perishability. We find that longer time delays at the border would significantly decrease highly perishable agricultural products' quality and price. We also find that for highly perishable agricultural products, improved and simplified customs delays would increase trade flows and social welfare of importing countries.     

South Korea's Automotive Labour Regime,Hyundai Motors’ Global Production Network and Trade‐Based Integration with the European Union

This article explores the interrelationship between global production networks (GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) — the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world — and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EU's ‘new generation’ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The article's argument is twofold. First, that HMG's production network and Korea's political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTA's labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMG's domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more insecure and low‐paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multi‐scalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EU–South Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties.     

On the asynchronous approvals of GM crops: Potential market impacts of a trade disruption of EU soy imports

Due to their high protein content, soybeans are important feedstuffs in the European Union (EU). However, the cultivation of soybeans using genetically modified (GM) varieties in non-EU countries is increasing and the EU authorization of GM products takes longer than in other countries, leading to an asynchronous approval between the EU and non-EU countries that might induce soybean trade disruptions. This paper uses an integrated modelling system to simulate Argentina, Brazil and the United States ending soybean exports to the EU. The impact on world trade and on the EU import prices of soy products is analysed with a computable general equilibrium model. EU soy imports are shown to decline, and the import price of soybeans in the EU increases. The effects on EU agricultural markets are analysed based on a partial equilibrium model. Feed costs in the EU are found to increase with poultry and pork the most affected: production and exports decline and imports increase. However, the effects of a trade ban are found to be less profound than in many other studies due to compensating substitution effects at various market levels: increasing imports from third countries, increasing domestic oilseed production and the use of other protein feeds.     

Fruit and vegetable access to EU markets: Dissecting tariffs faced by Mediterranean countries

This paper analyzes the access of Eastern and Southern Mediterranean countries to the EU fruit and vegetables market and provides a measure of the level of preferences from which they benefit. To take into account the complexity of EU protection in the F&V sector, in particular the seasonality of protection and the Entry Price System, we conducted our analysis at a very disaggregated level (eight digits of the nomenclature, monthly data). We showed that, on average, Mediterranean countries do have significant preferences compared to other countries exporting to the EU. However, the magnitude of the preferences differs among countries; Morocco has the highest preference, while Syria and Israel have the lowest. We simulated a multilateral reduction in the MFN tariffs (as planned in the Doha Round) and showed that this would reduce the heterogeneity within the zone by more strongly eroding the preferences of the most advantaged countries. The classification of Entry Price products as sensitive products would either benefit or have no effect on most Mediterranean countries.     

大用户直购电关键问题深度剖析（2）

建立了大用户直购电过网费的计算模型,对其优缺点进行了分析,探讨了大用户直购电对电网经营的影响,讨论了实施大用户直购电的几个重点问题,如发电侧准入、用户侧准入、交易的用电量空间和发电量空间、余缺电量调剂方式等,最后提出了当前开展大用户直购电存在的主要问题,提出了相关措施建议。上述工作对推进我国大用户直购电交易工作具有意义。     

Does bridging the Internet Access Divide contribute to enhancing countries' integration into the global trade in services markets?

This paper examines the impact of countries' distance between their Internet usage and the world' average of the Internet usage intensity on their integration into the world market of trade in commercial services. Using an unbalanced panel dataset of 175 countries over the annual period 2000–2013, the empirical analysis indicates that the narrowing of the Internet-related distance would improve countries' integration into the world trade in commercial services market. Furthermore, it helps those countries that are geographically far from the world market to compensate for the adverse effect of this geographical distance on their integration into the world market of trade in commercial services.     

Assessing the relevance of EU SPS measures to the food export sector: Evidence from a developing agro-food exporting country

This study was undertaken to assess whether SPS measures prevailing in the European Union (EU) have had an effect on the export of fishery and horticultural products from Mauritius. Specific objectives were to assess and compare the importance of EU SPS measures as an export determinant for Mauritian fishery and horticultural products exports, to determine whether these measures have acted as a barrier to trade and lastly to describe the compliance strategy adopted by exporters using firm-level surveys and in-depth interviews with key informants. The results suggest that, most respondents considered that public and private SPS requirements were not an important export determinant in agro-food trade with the EU and were not acting as barriers to exports. The compliance strategy used by the majority of exporters was mainly reactive.     

Alcoholic beverage legislation: Harmonizing EEC laws

This article outlines the range of non-tariff obstacles to intra-EEC trade in alcoholic beverages. It describes the response of EEC institutions vizàviz harmonization of laws and European Court jurisprudence. The implications of the now famous ‘Cassis de Dijon’ court ruling are discussed and the paper concludes with tentative suggestions on the direction of future EEC efforts to create a common market for alcoholic beverages.