Trade Restrictions Research Articles

Flexibility provision in the Swiss integrated power, hydrogen, and methane infrastructure

The renewable energy transition hinges on balancing energy supply and demand across seasons. This paper investigates the potential flexibility of Switzerland’s integrated power, hydrogen, and methane infrastructure to balance temporal mismatches while complying with national energy policies for sustainability and security. It develops an optimization method for energy system expansion and operation planning, filling crucial research gaps by (1) explicitly modeling power and gas transmission networks to guide technology placement and pinpoint network expansions, and (2) incorporating flexibility in power demand via shedding and shifting and in hydrogen and methane demands via price elasticity. The findings suggest that a 6.7-fold capacity expansion of variable renewables (i.e., photovoltaic, wind, run-of-river) by 2050 offsets nuclear phase-out and demand growth. The winter power gap is filled by power imports, hydropower generation, and gas turbines fueled by cost-effective hydrogen or methane imports. However, fuel embargoes escalate winter hydrogen and methane prices, reducing demand by 3.8%–10.4% and increasing domestic fuel production from biomass and excess renewable power in summer. To bridge the seasonal hydrogen and methane supply–demand gaps, up to 1.9 terawatt-hours of gas cavern storage is deployed in geologically viable locations, while costly tank storage plays a minor role. Power-to-gas requirements and power trade restrictions necessitate further renewable expansion, including 8.0 to 9.5 gigawatts of wind installations.

Review: Impact of food safety on global trade.

Food safety encompasses the supply and assurance of safe, high-quality food for consumers. It is a crucial aspect of food security, gaining greater global attention due to the increasing number of widespread foodborne incidents. International trade is expanding as countries increasingly rely on each other to secure a sufficient and diverse food supply. Beyond this, concerns about food safety have become more prevalent due to various factors. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the effects of food safety-associated risks on the international trade of food and related products. A total of 37 published studies retrieved using different search engines were included in this review. This review revealed that because of rapid population growth and rising food demand in developing nations, agricultural intensification is growing. It has been found that foodborne illnesses and associated discrepancies can impede the international trade of food commodities. Trade bans due to the fear of foodborne illnesses are growing. The consequences of foodborne diseases are multifaceted and include financial losses from trade restrictions, medical costs for prevention or control, resource depletion and a decline in food production. The overall effects are increased international trade tensions and livelihood vulnerability to poverty, notably for small-scale livestock producers. Potential food contaminants include microbes, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, heavy metals and fraudulent such as improper food processing, mislabelling, poor packaging, adulteration and substitution. Hence, countries are encouraged to harmonize the rights and duties set by the World Trade Organization under sanitary and phytosanitarys to maximize their advantages in global markets. Based on this evidence, we recommend that each country develop and integrate regulations that would ensure the safety of both domestic and international food production systems. Furthermore, the global community should either revise the current functioning food regulatory and monitoring body or establish a more genuine collaborative network.

The Silent Threat: Unraveling the Impact of Rabies in Herbivores in Brazil.

Rabies, a zoonotic viral disease, poses a significant threat due to its adaptability to diverse environments. Herbivore rabies, predominantly affecting cattle, horses, and goats in Brazil, remains a concern, results in substantial losses in the livestock industry, and poses risks to public health. Rabies virus transmission, primarily through hematophagous bats in Latin America, underscores the need for effective strategies, and vaccination plays a crucial role in controlling herbivorous rabies, with systematic vaccination beingly the primary method. Efforts to control rabies in herbivores include vaccination campaigns, public awareness programs, and the enhancement of surveillance systems. Despite these initiatives, rabies persists and imposes an economic burden and a significant health risk. Economic impacts include losses in the livestock industry, trade restrictions on livestock products, and financial burdens on governments and farmers owing to control measures. Despite the considerable costs of campaigns, surveillance, and control, investing in rabies vaccination and control not only safeguards livestock, but also preserves public health, reduces human cases, and strengthens the sustainability of the livestock industry. Mitigating the impact of herbivorous rabies in Brazil requires integrated approaches and continuous investments in vaccination, surveillance, and control measures to protect public health and ensure the sustainability of the livestock industry, thus contributing to food and economic security.

ЦИФРОВОЕ СЕЛЬСКОЕ ХОЗЯЙСТВО: ОПЫТ РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНОВ

The article is devoted to certain aspects of digitalization of the Russian agro-industrial complex in the regional context. The task of increasing the efficiency of agricultural activities and the transition to import-substituting food production is key in modern conditions of sanctions pressure and trade restrictions. One of the effective solutions to this task is the large-scale digitalization of the agro-industrial sector in all regions of Russia. The article reveals the most popular digital solutions currently used by Russian agricultural enterprises. Among them are precision agriculture, precision animal husbandry, agricultural robotization, artificial intelligence, and drone technologies. Precision agriculture and precision animal husbandry are considered in the context of individual regions. It is proved that the leading positions in the field of application of precision farming elements belong to such Russian regions as the Krasnodar Territory, the Voronezh Region and the Belgorod Region. Krasnodar Region is also one of the leaders in the use of digital elements in the livestock sector. Along with it, the leading regions for the use of precision livestock farming solutions are the Udmurt Republic, the Altai Territory, and the Sverdlovsk Region. As a result of the study, it was concluded that an increasing number of agricultural enterprises use digital solutions in their practice. This, on the one hand, allows agricultural producers to receive additional benefits associated with increased productivity and efficiency, and on the other hand, creates new problems in terms of high costs for the introduction of digital technologies and a shortage of qualified IT agri-specialists. Each agricultural enterprise has to independently find a compromise between the possible benefits and costs of digitalization.

Shadowboxing: The People’s Republic of China’s Use of Informal Trade Restrictions as a Rising Power

ABSTRACT Since 2010, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has intermittently imposed informal trade restrictions on third countries following political disagreement. These occurrences reveal that the PRC increasingly sees the economic domain as a vector to assertively pursue its political interests as a rising power. At the same time, maintaining a favourable international environment to support its continued economic rise remains a key objective of the PRC’s grand strategy. An informal approach to trade restrictions offers the PRC the possibility to engage in coercive influencing while safeguarding its ability to stay connected to the global economy and its main protagonists. This is achieved through deniable and selective coercive measures that avoid raising already acute generalised threat perceptions within and among target states in order to prevent firm balancing responses from emerging. However, as recent experience with the PRC’s initiatives highlights, coercive measures have limitations as a wedge strategy. Most notably, rather than dividing targets, they may serve to strengthen ties between them.

Insider trading restriction enforcement, investor protection, and innovation

Insider trading restriction enforcement, investor protection, and innovation

The impacts of policy restrictions on trade in services

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to estimate how different types of policy restrictions affect trade in services. We employ the Service Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) database and the International Trade in Services Statistics (ITSS) provided by the OECD to compile a sample encompassing 15 service sectors across 48 countries for the period from 2014 to 2018. The estimated results indicate that more restrictive regulations impede international service trade in terms of both the value of trade (intensive margin) and the probability of trade (extensive margin). We also find that the negative impact of policy restrictions on trade does not always increase with increasing restrictiveness. While moderate policy restrictions can facilitate international trade in services, stricter regulations impede it. Finally, the impact of policy regulations on service trade depends on the type and objective of restrictions. Regulations that are discriminatory or target foreign firms tend to reduce trade values, whereas non-discriminatory regulations related to policy transparency enhance service trade between countries.

Russia and China: Motives, Opportunities, and Risks of Technological Partnership

After external trade restrictions were imposed on Russia and China in recent years, their access to foreign technologies decreased. This created new incentives for scientific and technological partnership between the two countries. In addition, an analysis of strategic documents indicates that the US and the EU are likely to increase economic and technological pressure in the future. This article analyzes China’s experience in shoring up technological sovereignty under sanctions, an exercise which can be instructive for many countries. China’s long-term scientific and technological policy follows a catch-up development model, which has enabled a transition from borrowing simple technologies via specialized institutions (joint ventures, special economic zones, etc.) to global leadership in R&D and technologies that has been made possible through developing human capital and applying preferential treatment to local innovative businesses. Although Russia is one of the world’s leading scientific and technological centers, to some extent it lags in developing high-tech businesses and exports. Moreover, for some time it has been importing advanced products and technologies, some of which are now being quickly replaced by Chinese versions as Western companies have exited. The article applies a SWOT analysis to Russian-Chinese scientific and technological cooperation in order to highlight the benefits of this collaboration, especially concerning machine tools, microelectronics, and aerospace. The benefits from such partnership will materialize for most high-tech industries over the long run by means of joint scientific research. However, one cannot ignore the risks for Russia due to increased technological dependence on a single partner and the potential outflow of personnel and technology, as well as risks for China related to potential secondary sanctions.

Analyzing the Negative Impact of Supply Chain Regionalization

In response to increasing global trade, IKEA implemented a more efficient supply chain strategy and introduced a new policy in 2011 to localize its supply chain. The objective of this inquiry was to examine the alterations in supply chain management. Following the transition from centralized to regionalized supply chains, corporations faced adverse consequences such as decreased operational efficiency, increased operating expenses, and reduced adaptability in meeting market needs. These implications include increased complexity in supply chain management, decentralized operating models that result in repeated investments in fixed assets, and trade restrictions that create challenges in integrating information. The article proposes implementing efficient management systems, enhancing collaboration with local suppliers, and utilizing artificial intelligence to optimize the structure of the supply chain based on the observed impacts and outcomes. The objective is to offer risk management guidance for firms that have reached maximum production capacity and require a shift in their supply chain management methods.

Analyzing the Negative Impact of Supply Chain Regionalization

In response to increasing global trade, IKEA implemented a more efficient supply chain strategy and introduced a new policy in 2011 to localize its supply chain. The objective of this inquiry was to examine the alterations in supply chain management. Following the transition from centralized to regionalized supply chains, corporations faced adverse consequences such as decreased operational efficiency, increased operating expenses, and reduced adaptability in meeting market needs. These implications include increased complexity in supply chain management, decentralized operating models that result in repeated investments in fixed assets, and trade restrictions that create challenges in integrating information. The article proposes implementing efficient management systems, enhancing collaboration with local suppliers, and utilizing artificial intelligence to optimize the structure of the supply chain based on the observed impacts and outcomes. The objective is to offer risk management guidance for firms that have reached maximum production capacity and require a shift in their supply chain management methods.

Prioritizing Indicators for Rapid Response in Global Health Security: A Bayesian Network Approach

This study explored a Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) approach, developing two distinct models for prioritizing the seven indicators related to the “rapid response to and mitigation of the spread of an epidemic” category within the context of both the specific category and the Global Health Security Index (GHS index). Utilizing data from the 2021 GHS index, the methodology involves rigorous preprocessing, the application of the augmented naive Bayes algorithm for structural learning, and k-fold cross-validation. Key findings show unique perspectives in both BBN models. In the mutual value of information analysis, “linking public health and security authorities” emerged as the key predictor for the “rapid response to and mitigation of the spread of an epidemic” category, while “emergency preparedness and response planning” assumed precedence for the GHS index. Sensitivity analysis highlighted the critical role of “emergency preparedness and response planning” and “linking public health and security authorities” in extreme performance states, with “access to communications infrastructure” and “trade and travel restrictions” exhibiting varied significance. The BBN models exhibit high predictive accuracy, achieving 83.3% and 82.3% accuracy for extreme states in “rapid response to and mitigation of the spread of an epidemic” and the GHS index, respectively. This study contributes to the literature on GHS by modeling the dependencies among various indicators of the rapid response dimension of the GHS index and highlighting their relative importance based on the mutual value of information and sensitivity analyses.

Impact of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy on China-India Economic Cooperation

India has grown to be a significant component of the US Indo-Pacific strategic layout in South Asia because of its unique geographic location, political and economic power, and other factors. Through collaborative efforts within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the US and India have fostered project cooperation by aligning policy dispositions to address shared interests and contain China. Analysis of the economic and trade interactions between China and India suggests a declining trend in their cooperation from many perspective. In a strategic move, India opted out of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2019 to prioritize economic and trade relations in accordance with its strategic objectives. In addition, India got supports and advancements in high-tech industries through the US Indo-Pacific strategy, consequently reducing collaboration with China in this sector. Furthermore, the US and India have taken measures to diversify supply chains and explore alternative trade routes, steering away from China and promoting regional industrial transfers. This shift has prompted India to intensify its focus on developing high-tech industries to lessen its dependence on China's industrial chain supply. These initiatives have also contributed to the formation of an internal trade network within the IPEF, disrupting traditional trade exchanges between China and India. However, the economic cooperation between the US and India falls short of reaching its full potential because of differences in national interests, history, culture, and other factors. Consequently, the impact of China-India economic relations is not catastrophic, even in the face of heightened US trade restrictions on China that have compelled India to make strategic decisions.

How Botswana and Mauritius Exited the EU High-Risk Third Country List by Adapting Their Approaches to Beneficial Ownership and Residence

On 22 February 2022, the Mauritian Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance issued a communique reporting the country’s removal from the European Union (‘EU’) List of High-Risk Third Countries. This list is also called the Anti-money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing List (‘AML/CTF’); or, less affectionately, the Blacklist. Mauritius issued this report a month after the European Union released its Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/229, removing Botswana and Mauritius from the AML/CTF. The EU placed Mauritius and Botswana on the Blacklist in May 2020 after adopting updated criteria for assessing high-risk third countries and publishing its revised methodology for identifying these high-risk jurisdictions. These updated criteria and procedures relegated the tax regimes of Mauritius and Botswana as strategically ‘[deficient] on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing…,’ such that they ‘pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union.’ Placement on the Blacklist encumbers States with increased monitoring, regulatory requirements, and global trade restrictions that can result in a heavy economic toll. Moreover, to exit the list, countries must remediate deficiencies in cooperation with the EU and Financial Action Task Force (‘FATF’), each of which must be satisfied with the improvements made. Mauritius and Botswana passed a bevy of substantial laws in just over a year to satisfy the EU and FATF, earning an exit from the Blacklist. Among the many changes, enhancements to each country’s transparency measures were central. Adopting new approaches to beneficial ownership and residence in each country is at the core of this transparency. This work will explore how Mauritius and Botswana leveraged new approaches to beneficial ownership and residence to meet EU standards for tax regime transparency, resulting in each country’s removal from the EU Blacklist. This analysis will begin with an economic overview of Mauritius and Botswana. What follows will be an introduction to the EU AML/CTF list, followed by how and why the EU placed Mauritius and Botswana on the list. Finally, this work will look at how Mauritius and Botswana exited the list, and what that exit means for each country and other countries like them.

THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL SERVICES TRADE RESTRICTIVENESS ON TRADE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER, AND INFORMATION SERVICES: EVIDENCE FROM OECD COUNTRIES

This study analyzes the impact of digital services trade restrictiveness on trade in telecommunications, computer, and information services of Organisation for Economic and Co-operation Development countries by utilizing the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood method covering the period 2014-2022. The findings of the study statistically significantly confirm the disincentive impact of the higher degree of digital services trade restrictiveness on both exports and imports in telecommunications, computer, and information services. Therefore, more relaxing policies can most likely help to enhance the trade in this type of services due to mainly diminishing trade costs. Besides, to make use of more advantages of increasing digitalization, further cooperation and dialogue across countries, particularly with technologically advanced countries, is required. By this means, domestic services suppliers can attain foreign advanced knowledge and technology at relatively moderate costs, thus productivity can be improved, and eventually, more trade in services can be achieved.

A commodity exporting economy under financial and trade restrictions: Aggregate and structural changes

A commodity exporting economy under financial and trade restrictions: Aggregate and structural changes

Revisiting the effects of exchange and capital restrictions on trade

This paper examines the effects of exchange and capital restrictions on trade and compares them with those associated with trade restrictions. Our main result is that capital account restrictions have large and statistically significant effects on trade flows. Such effects are smaller than those from trade restrictions, however. The effects of exchange and capital restrictions are larger for trade in goods, especially for agriculture and manufacturing, and smaller for trade in services.

The return of industrial policy in data

AbstractThis paper introduces the New Industrial Policy Observatory (NIPO) data set and documents emergent patterns of policy intervention during 2023 associated with the return of industrial policy. The data show that the recent wave of new industrial policy activity is primarily driven by advanced economies and that subsidies are the most employed instrument. Trade restrictions on imports and exports are more frequently used by emerging market and developing economies. Strategic competitiveness is the dominant motive governments give for these measures, but other objectives such as climate change, resilience and national security are on the rise. In exploratory regressions, we find that implemented measures are correlated with the past use of measures by other governments in the same sector, pointing to the tit‐for‐tat nature of industrial policy. Furthermore, domestic political economy factors and macroeconomic conditions correlate with the use of industrial policy measures. We intend for the NIPO to be a publicly available resource to help monitor the evolution and effects of industrial policies.

Тенденции развития рынка масличных культур и основные меры государственной поддерж-ки отечественной селекции в современных геополитических условиях

The article presents the preliminary results of 2023 in production and promotion of oil crops under foreign trade restrictions, sanctions pressure and import sub-stitution in the market of seeds of major agricultural crops. Currently, key measures of the state regulation of the development of Russian breeding include: the Federal scientific and technical program of agricultural development for 2017–2030, the new Federal Law “About Seed Production”, rules for localization of production, temporary restrictions on the import of certain types of seeds of agricultural plants on the territory of the Russian Federation, and the provision of subsidies for the renewal of the material and technical base. The state is taking comprehensive measures to stimulate seed breeding programs and support consumers of products of the fat and oil industry.

Play cards, salt, tobacco: trade restrictions of German Zollverein in 1833

Importance. The main objective of the study is to find the special regulations regarding some trade goods. The research is focused on the comprehensive study of restrictions of German Zollverein’s treaty, which had affected the local and foreign trade. The analysis has formed the complex of reasons which led to the special arrangements towards the important goods. The study of particular aspects of customs reforms shows the new perspectives in the research of this topic and fulfills the image of trade connections on German territories in 1820–30s.Materials and Methods. The main document for the research is “The treaty of customs unification” from March 22, 1833. There are also plenty of commercial press articles of that period studied, which overviewed the trade and customs changes and reforms. The analytics and synthesis methods give the possibility to have a full overview of the mentioned sources and to restore the main tendencies in trade restrictions of this epoch.Results and Discussion. The detailed analysis highlights the most important trade goods on the German area, which were the subjects of interests for many German governments. There were the monopoly goods or the sources of big custom duties, which filled the German treasuries for decades. The threat of losing this income due to established German Zollverein, which customs taxes were supposed to be summarized and parted, led to the compromise solution in regards to some goods. The play cards, salt, tobacco and alcohol production were supposed to stay under cautious control, the trade of them was specially mentioned on the extra conditions.Conclusion. Trade restrictions seemed to be the compromise arrangement in the customs treaty, which aimed to keep the state income safe. They were also based on law differences regarding mentioned goods and supposed to protect German industry from foreign competition.

Asymmetric trading restriction and return comovement

This study decomposes the overall return comovement into intraday and overnight comovement based on a model-free framework. It shows that intraday return comovement contributes the most to the overall return comovement, but the impact of overnight return comovement is persistent. Investors under the market with asymmetric trading restrictions (ATR) tend to sell stocks early in the market and buy them near the end of the market. This correlated trading behavior contributes to the specific comovement in stock returns, especially the overnight return. Our findings remain solid even after controlling for more stock attributes and changing the proxies for return comovement and investor trading behavior. We also document a weakening (reinforcing) effect of the short-selling mechanism (disposition effect) on the ATR-induced return comovement. Our results provide a deeper understanding of investors’ trading behavior under ultra-short-term trading restrictions and the source of return comovement in the literature.