High Tariffs Research Articles

The effects of freer trade on global agriculture

AbstractIntransigency among developed and developing countries to reduce trade‐distortive policies—domestic subsidies, export subsidies, and import tariffs—created deadlock in the Doha Round negotiations. Because of this impasse, many countries continue to heavily subsidize their agricultural production and high import tariffs continue to persist in the world market. This study empirically quantifies the benefits of a global free trade agreement utilizing a large‐scale computable general equilibrium model. The results show that a global trade agreement increases welfare by $60 billion as commodity production and consumption adjust to reflect their comparative advantage patterns, accentuating the benefits of completing a global free trade agreement.

China's Accession to the WTO as a Shock to Residents' Health-A Difference-in-Difference Approach.

The impact of regional trade shocks on population health has been a topic of interest in health economics in recent years. Unfortunately, there are few studies directly discussing the impact of regional trade shocks caused by China's WTO accession on the health of Chinese residents, which is essential to explore the connection between a country´s opening to international trade and the health of its residents. Taking China's accession to the WTO as a quasi-natural experiment, based on the micro individual samples of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1993 to 2011, this paper, for the first time, studies the impact of regional tariff uncertainty caused by China's accession to the WTO on the health of Chinese residents and its mechanisms by adopting the Difference-in-Difference (DID) model. The study finds that compared with the areas initially facing low tariff uncertainty, the areas with high initial tariff uncertainty have a greater negative impact on the health of residents after China acceded to WTO, which means that the trade shock caused damage to the health of residents. After a series of tests on the effectiveness and robustness of DID, this conclusion is still valid. The impact of the trade shock on residents' health varies with the type of residence, gender, and geographical location, and there is a nonlinear relationship. Further mechanism tests show that the trade shock has worsened the health status of residents through rural migration channels, working hours channels, and pollution emission channels. This study provides micro evidence for objectively evaluating the health effects of trade shock and has important implication for considering the health loss of Chinese residents in the process of trade liberalization.

Electric Vehicles and Vehicle–Grid Interaction in the Turkish Electricity System

Electric vehicles and energy storage systems are technologies in the stage of intensive development. One of the innovative ways to use electric cars is the Vehicle to Grid (V2G) concept. V2G charging points are characterized by the ability of bidirectional energy flow while charging EV/BEV (Electric Vehicles/Battery Electric Vehicles). In periods of low energy consumption and the presence of the highest shares of renewable sources, the cleanest electricity is drawn from the grid at the lowest prices and stored in a “mobile warehouse”, which is an electric car. During the reported peaks in electricity demand and the presence of high tariffs, the previously stored energy may be sold back to the distribution network operator. Thanks to this application, the technology determines the highest profitability of the system and assigns EV/BEV the ability to manage electricity flows, while improving the energy balance of the economy. The prospects for the spread of V2G have increased along with the growing requirements for domestic economies, closely related to the significant share of renewable energy sources. The vision of connecting EV/BEV with the power grid creates completely new ways of managing energy and makes it possible to build smart agglomerations in line with the Smartcity idea. Especially since Turkey is one of the countries promoting this idea. The scientific aim of the study is to maximize the aggregator’s profits for V2G by creating a coalition with renewable energy producers and combining the capacities of many EVs and offering their total capacities to the electricity markets. The subject of the research was to obtain extensive knowledge about the vehicle–grid interactions taking place in the Turkish power system. For this purpose, an analysis is conducted to determine the optimal preferred operating points and the amount of regulation proposals that maximize the profit of the EV users while satisfying the constraints of each stochastic parameter. The results show the system benefits from the implementation of the algorithms are significant to optimal bidirectional V2G impacts on distribution systems with high penetration of EVs. The research can find practical applications in assessing the role of electric vehicles and their integration in the vehicle–grid system in power systems. At the same time, pointing to the benefits related to the implementation of such solutions for Turkey and other countries in the field of electromobility, stability of energy systems, and energy independence through the possibility of achieving the desired synergy effect.

Assessment of the regulatory framework in view of effectiveness and distributional effects in the context of small-scale PV—The German experience

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a regulatory framework based on feed-in tariffs to promote small-scale PV on basis of empirical data for Germany between 2000 to 2021. We show that feed-in tariffs have so far failed to exploit the technical small-scale PV potential evenly across regions. This implies significant differences in the allocation of regulatory benefits and costs associated with the promotion of renewable energy sources, leading to a situation of increasing socioeconomic inequality: few counties benefit strongly and many counties bear the costs. Over the past 20 years, in addition to margin effects due to disproportionately high feed-in tariffs, this inequality has increasingly been driven by steadily rising self-consumption. This leads, on average, to differences of over 40 percent in effective electricity costs between households with and without PV. We conclude that the current regulatory framework is insufficient to bring solar PV up to the needed level and to distribute the associated benefits and costs equitably across households. Based on this, we derive guiding principles of a future regulatory framework that enables more effective scaling of small-scale PV.

Injustices in rural electrification: Exploring equity concerns in privately owned minigrids in Tanzania

Access to electricity is vital for many basic needs, but it is often unaffordable. Since 2008, there has been an increase in private companies providing electricity access in rural areas through solar minigrids in Tanzania. This paper focuses on the different tariffs used in projects in Tanzania and how they distribute costs. Data were collected over eight months of fieldwork in 2019/2020 from six rural communities through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and directly from minigrid companies. I have found that by private companies treating electricity as an economic good communities experience energy injustices. Under many tariffs poorer households pay more per unit than those with higher incomes. Poorer households are less likely to be able to connect and under some tariffs self-disconnect from their electricity service. Barriers such as lack of participation in project development, high tariffs, and high connection fees limit the benefits of rural electrification.

Net metering and tax incentives for distributed generation in Brazil: Economic impact analysis for swine biogas

To investigate the efficiency of policy schemes to attract renewable energy investments, it is essential to analyze the impacts on returns and risks with consideration of the circumstances that affect the projects. The present study aimed to evaluate the impacts of net metering, tax incentives, and subsidized loans on the return and risk of the distributed generation (DG) of electricity from swine farm biogas in three different locations in Brazil. In the academic literature, studies exist that focus on the economic feasibility of different biogas substrates and their economic and operational aspects, but these studies do not include an integrated approach with a stochastic analysis of the modeling of the uncertainties along with an investigation of the impacts of the regulatory context. The main study contribution is to present a holistic approach that allows for the comparison of risks and returns under the following uncertainties and conditions: the uncertainty present in each stage of the swine cycle that directly impacts biogas production; the uncertainty in modeling of energy tariffs, which have different behaviors in each location analyzed, the assessment of the impact of the different tax incentive levels offered in each location, and the identification of the effect of the subsidized loan offer on the return and risk results of these investments. To compare these, the project was dimensioned, and the specific uncertainties and tax incentive conditions for each analyzed scenario were modeled in the posterior. Through Monte Carlo simulation, the stochastic net present values of the scenarios for each location was estimated, and statistical tests compared the returns and risk between the scenarios. The results showed that a greater probability of high energy tariffs along with greater tax incentives result in high returns and low risk for investments in swine biogas DG. However, when tax incentives are low, risks increase, and the relevance of subsidized loans becomes more significant, indicating that there is a complementarity between incentives and subsidies to the net metering scheme.

Case study: Coastal shipping in sub-Saharan Africa

The development of coastal shipping (CS) in Africa has been identified as a way to bolster the continent’s freight transport network. Thus, our study examined the recent CS experiences of three regional shipping lines in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)—Ocean Africa Container Lines, Adom Mbroso Transport and United Africa Feeder Line—operating respectively in Southern, West and East Africa. We employed an in-depth case-study approach involving semi-structured interviews with senior managers, which enabled us to discover and understand the real-life phenomenon of successfully operating CS services in SSA today and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the three companies. Our study revealed gaps that need to be addressed in order to develop maritime transport in Africa’s subregions, namely by clarifying the predicted appropriateness and credibility of different policies and which elements are more likely to generate positive behavioural change in regional shipping lines. It also revealed major barriers for CS, including customs, a lack of intra-regionally traded cargo and high tariffs and low efficiency at port. Although the establishment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy have clearly had positive effects, African states need to implement the policies in concert as well as improve the performance of ports. Last, concerning the pandemic, COVID-19-related restrictions have decreased transport demand for CS in SSA and limited crew changes, shore leaves and cargo operations. Although business viability has been negatively affected as a consequence, freight rates have increased across SSA and thus improved the sustainability of CS.

The Economic Effects of Potential EU Tariff Sanctions on Russia — A Sectoral Approach

As part of its sanctions regime, the United States recently announced the imposition of punitive import tariffs on 570 product groups from Russia. The European Union may follow suit and enact sanctions on Russia that mirror the US sanctions in scale and scope. Using a sector-specific partial-equilibrium model, we quantify the impact of such mirror sanctions. We find they would inflict on Russia welfare losses of at least $996 million per year — at an overall cost of $150 million to EU consumers. Breaking down these totals in a sectoral analysis, we find that mirroring the US action would produce mixed results from the EU’s perspective. On the one hand, tariff sanctions cover a number of sectors whose inclusion would inflict particularly large welfare losses for Russia and/or high welfare gains for the EU. On the other hand, mirror sanctions would bring significant inefficiencies for the EU. For example, in 72 sectors, higher tariffs would inflict greater harm on the EU than on the Russian economy, causing EU losses in excess of $560 million. Thus, consistent with the spirit of international coordination and alignment, the EU may consider adjusting the suite of tariff sanctions rather than simply adopting the US package.

AN INVESTIGATION ON MALAYSIA CONSUMER’S WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR WATER USING INCOME AND USE OF GOODS

It is quite common for people to under value public goods (like water); mainly because they are often provided for the public to use at the discretion of the government (e.g., with subsidy, discount) unlike other economic goods (like commercial products) offered for buyers at market price by practitioners. In Malaysia, the government subsidizes the price of water for the public to ensure they have easy access to drinking water and affordability. With continued increase of water demand, consumption and wastage, low water tariff is suggested as one of many factors contributing towards Malaysian public’s inefficient water use. To curb inefficiency, the government is suggested to practice high water tariff; this however is a sensitive issue since the public views water both as a public (social) good and is a human right. So, the question of how much one is willing to pay (WTP) becomes an important issue to explore. WTP refers to the final decision made on how much cash the consumer is willing to pay for a supply of water. In Malaysia’s case, WTP is linked to whether the public is willing to pay more for water services as they are used to paying less in the past. Ranges of water pricing consumers are willing to pay to get water provision in different countries have been reported in the literature; income and use of the good are the common economic determinants to measure WTP. This study investigates the role played by income and use of goods as components of basic economic model in influencing consumers’ WTP to pay more for water tariff. The online survey was participated by 252 household representatives (paid water users) in Malaysia. From one-way ANOVA tests carried out, this study found that both income and use of goods acted as determinants of WTP.

Impacts of Trade Friction and Climate Policy on Global Energy Trade Network

The trade impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have raised questions about the role of trade and climate policies in energy security and global emissions. This study updates a widely used integrated assessment model (IAM), MESSAGEix-GLOBIOM, to represent complex trade networks to explicitly draw energy flows from their origins to their destination. It then examines the effects of (1) energy trade tariff policies, such as import tariffs, as a proxy to represent an unfriendly trade environment and (2) a global carbon emissions tax on the global energy trade network. Results indicate that trade tariff policies have marginal effects on the trade network, i.e., the size of trade and importing-exporting regions do not change significantly. While high import tariffs significantly reduce emissions due to reduced fossil fuel imports in the importing region, this effect does not translate to significant emission reductions globally, as trade policies only impact downstream of the energy supply chain. However, a carbon emission tax dramatically alters the trade network, by (1) reducing its size by up to 50% and (2) forming trade linkages that allow for a more complex and diverse network of suppliers. This diversity under the emissions tax scenario improves the energy security of major energy-importing regions. Moreover, under an emission tax scenario, a friendly trade environment reduces the energy system costs globally. However, trade friction, such as sanctions or high import tariffs, will increase the energy supply cost significantly, especially for energy-importing regions such as Europe, East and South Asia.

Indonesian Carbon Tax: How Newborn Learn to Jump into The Next Step?

As one of the largest emitting countries globally, Indonesia is a newcomer to carbon tax implementation. However, the carbon tax literature in Indonesian context is still minimal. This study aims to examine the implementation of carbon taxes in various countries, review the roadmap for implementing carbon taxes in Indonesia, and examine various mechanisms in other countries that have previously implemented carbon taxes by conducting literature review. The study results show that several countries have applied a broader carbon tax to several sectors and relatively higher tariffs than Indonesia. The long journey of the carbon tax before finally being scheduled on April 1, 2022, still needs to be improved in term of object, subject, reporting mechanism, and carbon tax rate. The author proposes the transportation sector as a complement to the coal power plant to change consumer behaviour towards products that produce carbon emissions.

Comparative assessment of a stand-alone and a grid-connected hybrid system for a community water supply system: A case study of Nankese community in the eastern region of Ghana

Community water supply systems in Ghana are grid connected which is intermittent leading to breakdown of the systems and causing water shortages. In addition, high electricity tariffs have led these systems into huge debts. This research, therefore, aims to conduct comparative assessment of adopting a hybrid grid-connected and a stand-alone power system for these systems, using HOMER pro software. A daily average of 121.25 kWh was obtained from the chosen site as an input. Two scenarios were considered: a Grid-PV (Scenario 1) and a PV-Genset (Scenario 2) hybrid systems. The grid-connected (Grid-PV) was the best option with a LCOE of $0.0824/kWh while the standalone (PV-Genset) system was $0.309/kWh. Comparing them with $0.233/kWh for the Grid-only system, the Grid-PV system was about 184% cheaper while the PV-Genset system was about 24% more expensive. The PW of the scenarios yielded $58,422 and -$43,371, an IRR of 15.3% and 1.6% and a SPP of 6.21 and 24.13 years respectively. Although Scenario 1 was economically viable for investment, it yielded the highest GHG emission of 12,341.5kg/yr. Scenario 2, on the other hand, was not an economically viable option but yielded the least GHG emission of 4775.57kg/yr. Although this system was relatively expensive from the financial point of view, environmental considerations together with the grid tariff evolution in its life-cycle will make it cheaper.

The Impact of US-China Trade War and Protectionism--In Terms of China

This paper focuses on the consequence of the trade war between China and the US on China's economy under trade protectionism policies. This paper first introduces the history of trade wars, the motives of trade protectionism and the status of the trade war. Based on the above background information, this paper explains that trade deficit is the core reason for the outbreak of sino-US trade war, and introduces in detail a series of economic and technological sanctions adopted by the United States against China. Based on the above information, the paper concludes the impact of the Sino-US trade war on China's economy. The trade war between China and the US has slowed down the development of China's economy, technology industry and financial market through a series of measures, including high tariffs, trade bans and technology monopolies, while also bringing high unemployment to China.

Drivers and Roadblocks for Maquiladoras’ Journey to Sustainability

U.S. manufacturing firms are leaving operations in China because the Covid-19 pandemic, high tariffs, rising labor and transportation costs, and long distance have started to develop a near-shoring trend, making Mexican Maquiladoras their main destination. Consequently, this decision has the potential to significantly harm sustainability in the U.S. and Mexico because currently 10% of worldwide trade pollution and emissions have been produced by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Not only are social stakeholders in the Mexican territory the main recipients of this negative effect, but also are those in the US, given maquiladora proximity to American soil. Because of the limited research on sustainability practices in Maquiladora firms, I investigate what attributes enable or impede the sustainability management practices (SMPs) adoption by Maquiladoras. I offer a conceptual framework of attributes – maquiladora firms’ operational mode, perceived benefits, position in the supply chain, product market destination, and current information communication technologies (ICTs) status – and propositions drawing from neo-institutional and natural resource view theories.

Controlling electricity storage to balance electricity costs and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings

The optimal management of flexible loads and generation sources such as battery storage systems in buildings is often concerned with minimizing electricity costs. There is an increasing need to managed flexible resources in a way that minimises both costs and carbon emissions. Minimising emissions of grid consumed electricity requires quantification of the carbon emissions intensity of the electricity grid, so first we develop a real-time emission intensity model of the Australian National Energy Market using a power-flow tracing approach. This model reveals that electricity price signals currently do not drive consumers toward using electricity at times of lower emissions. For example, the mean and peak emissions intensity during low electricity tariff periods are the same or slightly higher than those during high tariff periods, while the 30-min wholesale electricity price in each region has no significant correlation with the emissions intensity of electricity consumed in that region. The emissions model is then used to investigate the extent to which controlling a battery storage system to minimise costs under existing electricity tariff structures also leads to minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions for a case study commercial office building. Results show that reducing emissions does indeed come at the expense of increasing costs. For example, annual operating cost savings reduced from 31% to 20% when the battery control was changed from minimising costs to minimising emissions. This has important implications for buildings seeking to reduce emissions as well as for the design of electricity tariffs.

Agroecological practices in combination with healthy diets can help meet EU food system policy targets

Agroecology has been proposed as a strategy to improve food system sustainability, but has also been criticised for using land inefficiently. We compared five explorative storylines, developed in a stakeholder process, for future food systems in the EU to 2050. We modelled a range of biophysical (e.g., land use and food production), environmental (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions) and social indicators, and potential for regional food self-sufficiency, and investigated the economic policy needed to reach these futures by 2050. Two contrasting storylines for upscaling agroecological practices emerged. In one, agroecology was implemented to produce high-value products serving high-income consumers through trade but, despite 40% of agricultural area being under organic management, only two out of eight EU environmental policy targets were met. As diets followed current trends in this storyline, there were few improvements in environmental indicators compared with the current situation, despite large-scale implementation of agroecological farming practices. This suggests that large-scale implementation of agroecological practices without concurrent changes on the demand side could aggravate existing environmental pressures. However, our second agroecological storyline showed that if large-scale diffusion of agroecological farming practices were implemented alongside drastic dietary change and waste reductions, major improvements on environmental indicators could be achieved and all relevant EU policy targets met. An alternative storyline comprising sustainable intensification in combination with dietary change and waste reductions was efficient in meeting targets related to climate, biodiversity, ammonia emissions, and use of antibiotics, but did not meet targets for reductions in pesticide and fertiliser use. These results confirm the importance of dietary change for food system climate change mitigation. Economic modelling showed a need for drastic changes in consumer preferences towards more plant-based, agroecological and local foods, and for improvements in technology, for these storylines to be realised, as very high taxes and tariffs would otherwise be needed.

Environmental Issues and Challenges for Coal/Lignite based Thermal Power Plants and Mitigation Measures

The world is undergoing a massive energy transition. Over the next decades, there will be radical changes in the way we produce and consume energy. The conventional energy infrastructure being set up now would be abandoned ever before their economic life is over. A quarter of India’s population have no access to electricity and our per capita consumption of electricity is very low at almost one third of world average with millions getting power a few hours a day. Surprisingly the plant load factor (PLF) for thermal power plant have steadily declined over the last four years and was only 63.6% in Sep. 2015. Breakthrough in solar plant technology posed a challenge for fossil fuel based thermal power plants. In April 2017, the tariff of utility connected large solar power projects in India hit a record low of Rs.3/kWh. This is the same as the average tariff of coal based power. At this tariff, solar plants are cheaper than a large number of new and old coal fired power plants in India.Stringent pollution norms add to the cost of generation of thermal power. Several projects in the power sector have become unviable on account of states like Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have either cancelled the power purchase agreement or reworking on them. Few more states may follow in cancellation of power purchase agreement (PPA). Distribution Companies (DISCOMS) are reluctant to sign PPA because of high tariff, demand uncertainties, long duration of PPA and need to take the responsibility of fixed charges for the life of PPA. This will lead to creation of non-performing asset (NPA) worth Rs.1.5 lakh crores and to the extent the bank loans will be at risk.Some mitigation measures are suggested to meet the challenges in operation of coal/lignite based thermal power plants.

Solar energy development in households: ways to improve state policy in Ukraine and Latvia

ABSTRACT The paper investigates state policy to promote solar energy in Latvia’s and Ukraine’s households. Comparing different approaches to stimulating sectors’ development in both countries, the article evaluates the economic efficiency of solar power plants implementation based on the Levelized Cost of Electricity method and investment projects payback periods. The calculations were performed for solar power plants installed capacities ranging from 1 to 30 kW. The results revealed the fundamental differences in solar energy advancement due to the existing support mechanisms in the countries. While high feed-in tariff rates contribute to the rapid deployment of solar power plants in Ukraine’s, Latvia’s net-metering system hinders solar energy development in households. The research forms recommendations for improving policy by adjusting Ukrainian feed-in tariffs to trends in reducing solar energy costs, introducing solar energy in the Mandatory Procurement Component for Latvia, and applying preferential public financing to solar power plants construction in both states. Highlights State policy to promote solar energy in Ukraine’s and Latvia’s homes is analyzed The economic efficiency of small solar power plants is estimated for both countries Feed-in tariff in Ukraine ensures a quick payback period for solar power projects Net metering in Latvia does not provide investment attractiveness of solar plants Both countries need energy policy changes for balanced solar power development

Technical and Economical Evaluation of Solar PV System for Domestic Load in Pakistan: An Overlook Contributor to High Tariff and Load Shedding

Despite the addition of generation sources to the installed capacity, Pakistan is facing frequent load-shedding, electricity interception, and a high tariff rate. Focusing on the said issues, an investigation has been completed of all the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) along with statistics like yearly losses, recovery, and tariff are reviewed to analyze the power network. It is a clear scenario that there is still a gap between supply and demand, and the generation major part is from fossil fuels which result in the high tariff due to unvarying fuel prices and environmental issues. This in fact has become uneconomical for the domestic users to utilize electricity from the power companies. Apart from this, Pakistan is blessed with a high potential for renewable energy resources, which is a good indication from an economic and environmental point of view but unfortunately, its usage is less. Keeping in view all statistics and key issues, this article focusses on the economic and technical evaluation on different cases like load running on Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), load on Solar PV system with backup, load on Solar PV system without backup, and Utility with a generator backup. Various economic techniques are used as Net Present Value (NPV), Payback Period (PBP), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) to analyze and select the cost-effective solution. From the analysis, utilization of load from the Utility company and PV systems were compared. The PV system is the most economical and reliable system when compared with other cases.

PENGARUH KELENGKAPAN ADMINISTRASI DAN KATEGORI IMPORTIR TERHADAP DWELLING TIME PADA PT. ANUGERAH INDO MARITIM SEJAHTERA MEDAN BELAWAN

To ensure imports, or organizations must comply with regulations by the Department of Immigration and External Border Protection of the State and customs. This study aims to determine the effect of administrative completeness and importer category on Dwelling Time at PT. The Indo Maritime Prosperity Award in Medan Belawan. The results showed that the t-test on administrative completeness had a negative effect on residence time. In this regard, the exporter is not careful in issuing commercial invoices and packing lists as filling in the PIB by PT AIMS. The import category based on the t-test has an effect or is in the direction of residence time. In this regard, the OSS application made by the government as a registration requirement in the issuance of API, NIK, NPWP related to the importer category has not been well integrated. The general importer category can only have one API-U for each imported item. The requirements for tax rates for the import category are limited, high tariffs make companies (customers) delay payment of import taxes to the state treasury. In the single agent importer category, quota restrictions for imports of factory-produced goods abroad are an obstacle because goods that are almost at the port due to the new enactment of this regulation make imported goods enter the customs inspection lane because they exceed the quota for imported goods. In the determination test, administrative completeness and importer category only affected 20.2% of residence time and the remaining 79.8% of other factors not examined.