Sanitary And Phytosanitary Standards Research Articles

Non‐tariff measures along global value chains: evidence from ASEAN countries

This paper analyzes the effects of Non‐Tariff Measures (NTMs) on exports while considering the degree of participation in the global value chains (GVCs). Standard‐like non‐tariff measures, such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), have influenced trade by increasing trade costs or improving consumers' awareness. Theoretically, NTMs can have either positive or negative effects on trade flows. In this study the characteristics of the production process are considered in order to disentangle the arguments of ‘standards as barriers’ and ‘standards as catalyst’. Due to the expansion of GVCs, NTMs have accumulated along production processes. Cumulative NTMs along the GVCs affect not only the direct trade sector and its partners, but also other relevant sectors and countries indirectly through the production chains. We use panel data on product‐level ASEAN exports for 2007–2019 to estimate the effects of NTMs depending on GVC participation. The estimated results show that the impact of SPS and TBT is heterogeneous according to the degree of GVC participation. While SPS and TBT regulations have been found to promote trade, their positive effects are less significant for industries involved in forward and upstream GVC participation. This reflects the characteristics of these sectors, which require higher levels of technology and skilled labour compared to backward GVC participation and downstream sectors. As a result, ASEAN exporters heavily involved in forward and upstream GVCs face increased production costs to comply with the requirements of the standard‐like NTMs. The increased production costs limit the trade‐promoting effects of the standard‐like NTMs.

Impact of Tariffs and Nontariff Barriers on the International Trade

In the modern world economy, tariff and non-tariff barrier regulation actsas an effective regulator, promoting greater openness of the market, oras the most widespread foreign trade instrument of protectionism. Over the past decades there has been a steady decline in the rates of import customs duties. On the other hand, non-tariff measures to regulate foreign trade are being applied more and more effectively. But at the same time customs and tariff policy continues to be a key factor determining the national trade regime and the conditions for access of foreign products to the domestic market.The main purpose of this research is to assess the influence of tariffs and non-tariff barriers on international trade, asthese factors play an essential role in the international trade.The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was the work of scientists in the field of finance, state regulation of foreign economic activity and international relations. In the methodology part gravity model regression is assessed for tariff and non-tariff measures (NTMs)regulatingforeign trade flows. As result, non-tariff barriers (NTMs) such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and Technical Barriers to trade (TBT) have had the largest negative impact.

Urgent Need for Market Access Disciplining of Agriculture Trade: Profiling of Stringent and Non-Codex SPS based MRL Standards

The world trade organisation (WTO) has liberalised trade considerably, but there are instances of imbalance and systemic issues persisting although we celebrate two-decade of the existence of this regulatory body. This paper provides insights into how there is a lack of disciplining of WTO compatible non-tariff measures at the multilateral level. It has led to members stretching the use of permissible provisions (Articles 5 and 7) under the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, allowing for deviation from international standards and not notifying with HS codes. All these actions, particularly over the last two decades, have increased the level of protection of their domestic industry under pressure from tariff liberalisation and correspondingly led to a rise in protectionism. Especially when the restrictions put on the imports, they are not adequately notified to the WTO. Information asymmetry (of various forms like – the WTO notifications without trade linkage, non-standardised approach to market access, non-codex MRL standards etc.,) is one of the biggest challenges to overcome when it comes to addressing the menace of non-tariff measure created mainly by the SPS and TBT measures. This paper attempts to bring to the forefront some of the imbalances in the global trading arena that have co-existed along with the WTO led tariff alone liberalisation efforts since 1995. To do this, we have analysed ten players in the global arena, considering various strategic consideration for India. In the paper, we have attempted to bridge this by providing what exactly is the level of requirements across ten countries in terms of active ingredients MRL standards. To elaborate on this issue, we have done the mapping of maximum residual limits (MRL) standards on active ingredients as provided by the Global MRL Database for ten countries alongside Codex standards (international). An analysis of the stringency test performed to quantify a comparison MRL standards scenario vis-a-vis the Codex standards for ten countries. The paper highlights the growing importance of MRL standards on active ingredients in determining global players in agricultural exports. This paper also analyses the MRL standards faced by top 33 agricultural products of India in nine markets. Further, there is an attempt to analyse the interface of tariff liberalisation (MFN) with MRL-based SPS standards, which are dominantly present “behind the border”.

On the Evolution of Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards: The Role of Trade Agreements

Trade agreements and trade measures are policy instruments thought to favour trade by providing a degree of harmonisation among members. We analyse how the agri-food trade and the incidence of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPSs) have evolved within countries sharing agreements. We examine, through a regression discontinuity design, whether the approval of agreements affects the evolution of trade and SPSs over time, and quantify the trade effects of SPSs. We also provide differences before and after the introduction of agreements, and among the most regulated agri-food products. Findings show that trade agreements tend to favour the increase of trade and the reduction of policy measures between members. However, regulation inequalities exist across trade agreements covering different geo-economic areas: after the approval of agreements, the existence and the importance of SPSs become relevant among developing countries, whereas the pervasiveness of SPSs becomes less stringent between developed and developing countries. Our analyses also prove that trade agreements and trade measures are trade-enhancing only at aggregate level: product-specific analyses show that cereal is the only sector that benefits from the joint influence of trade agreements and SPSs. The harmonisation of SPSs within agreements may be determinant in avoiding distortions in favour of members.

Meeting European Union's Food and Agricultural Prod-ucts Imports Standards: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries

This paper aims to examine the European Union (EU) sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPSS) regulations and Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) mode of operation for importing food and agricultural products from developing countries. The authors discussed different EU’s rules for importing food and agricultural products from developing countries. These includes food hygiene packing, hazard analysis of critical control point (HACCP), Traceability and RASFF activities. Accessing EU markets is not an easy tasks for agro-food industries among developing countries. Although there is no any barrier for trade to EU markets, but the stringent sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPSS) make it difficult for developing countries to export their Food and Agricultural Products into EU markets.

Finance and Export Survival: The Case of MENA Region and Sub-Saharan Africa

The paper looks at unique product-…rm data collected by custom authorities in four countries from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Yemen as well as in six countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda. We use these data to examine to impact of …nancial development on the long-term success of exports from developing countries. We …nd that those agricultural exports that face particularly costly implementation of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) are also the ones that disproportionately bene…t from a higher level of domestic …nancial development. This result con…rms the previous …ndings from a smaller SSA sample (Jaud et al. 2013). It is robust to controlling for heterogeneity at …rm and product level as well as for controlling for alternative channels that could shape the relation between …nance and international trade in the data.

Food Safety Regulation in TTIP: Much Ado About Nothing?

Disputes over food safety standards –what in the language of trade policy are called sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) – have been at the heart of many transatlantic trade rows between the US and the EU. Examples include the EU bans on the import of hormone–treated beef, on pork treated with growth–promoting additives, or on poultry washed in antimicrobial rinses to reduce the amount of microbes on meat. As a result, the potential impact of the ongoing negotiations to reach a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade agreement between the US and EU on EU food standards has, rightly, attracted a lot of attention and no little anxiety. Opposition to “Chlorhühnchen” has become the rallying–call for anti–TTIP activists in many countries. NGOs argue that “TTIP will sacrifice food safety for faster trade”. Critics highlight possible procedural rules requiring transparency of decision–making and early warning mechanisms which would give interested parties (including of course business firms and lobby groups) the opportunity to comment on planned rule–making which it is argued are likely to lead to ‘regulatory chill’.

The Potential Impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on public health.

This article aims to examine the potential health effects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment partnership (TTIP). Our review indicates that, although proponents of the TTIP claim that the treaty will produce benefits to health-enhancing determinants such as economic growth and employment, evidence shows that previous trade liberalization policies are associated with increasing economic inequities. By reducing Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and by promoting increased cooperation between US and EU governmental agencies in the pharmaceutical sector, the TTIP could result in improved research cooperation and reduced duplication of processes. However, the TTIP chapter on Intellectual Property (IP) and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that expand and extend patent monopolies, and delay the availability of generic drugs, are likely to cause underutilization of needed medications among vulnerable populations. The TTIP's Investor to State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) arbitration system, a mechanism that allows transnational companies (TNCs) to sue governments when a policy or law reduces the value of their investment, is likely to generate a negative impact on regulations aimed at increasing access to healthcare, and reducing tobacco, alcohol consumption, and diet-related diseases. The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) of the TTIP is expected to weaken regulations in the food and agricultural sectors especially in the EU, with potentially negative effects on food safety and foodborne diseases. Finally, the ISDS is likely to infringe the ability of governments to tackle environmental problems such as climate change deemed to be the most important global health threat of the century. Our review concludes by discussing policy implications and the effect of the TTIP on democracy, national sovereignty and the balance of power between large TNCs and governments. It also discusses the adoption of an evidence-based precautionary principle approach in dealing with the health impact of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as well as the harmonization of regulations, norms, and standards toward stronger health and environmental protection.

Multiple external influences and domestic change in the contested neighborhood: the case of food safety

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) are a cornerstone of the Deep and Comprehensive Free-Trade Areas (DCFTAs) negotiated between the European Union (EU) and Eastern European Neighborhood Countries (NCs) under the Eastern Partnership. These are expected to eliminate quotas as well as both tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, thus improving the existing export opportunities for food and feed products from Ukraine, Moldova, and South Caucasus countries. However, NCs face multifaceted challenges in meeting the stringent EU regulatory and administrative requirements in the SPS area. Domestically, in light of Soviet legacies (including a food safety system which deeply differed from WTO-compliant standards), approximation with EU SPS standards requires massive reforms and involve high costs for partner countries – to be borne not only by state authorities but also private businesses. Yet reforms to comply with EU demands are also closely intertwined with regional interdependencies and Russia’s bilateral and multilateral policies. The article scrutinizes the interplay between domestic preferences, EU demands for reform and Russia’s policies. It points to a complex and multifaceted relationship between engagement into a macro-level regional framework and shifting sectoral compliance patterns. The paper highlights disjunctures between sector-specific compliance processes with EU demands, on the one hand, and macro-level relations between these countries and the EU and Russia on the other. As the article argues, this is because external actors’ policies are filtered by domestic interests, preferences, and practices. Ultimately, these shape the adoption and application of external templates.

Nature and Enforceability of WTO-plus SPS and TBT Provisions in Canada's PTAs: FromNAFTAtoCETA

AbstractSafety standards can function as non-tariff barriers to trade. Canada is a large exporter of goods and so it has an interest in the regulation of safety standards, both at the multilateral level through its membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and, most especially, at the bilateral and regional level through its Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Canada has signed PTAs with provisions that go beyond the obligations of WTO Members under theAgreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measuresand theAgreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. This article analyses the nature and enforceability of WTO-plus provisions on sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) as well as product standards (TBT) in Canada's PTAs, from theNorth American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico, and the United States to theComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement(CETA) between Canada and the European Union. First, it finds that the inclusion of WTO-plus SPS and TBT provisions in Canada's PTAs is a relatively recent practice that is still in development. Only about half of Canada's PTAs contain WTO-plus SPS and TBT provisions and, those treaties that do, commonly concern institutions for regulatory cooperation and information exchange arrangements, without much commitment to harmonization. Secondly, it finds that nearly half of the SPS and TBT provisions in Canada's PTAs are unenforceable. They either are in a language that is too imprecise for enforcement or do not allow access to a dispute settlement mechanism. Thirdly, it finds that, by global standards, most of Canada's PTAs are modest in their approach to SPS and TBT issues, withNAFTAandCETAas key exceptions. The article concludes that the extent to which regulatory convergence occurs on safety standards for Canada is dependent more on political cooperation between the parties than on the nature and enforceability of SPS and TBT provisions in its PTAs.

Impact of SPS standards on agri-food trade: A case study of the invasive fruit fly (Bactrocera invadens) in Kenya

Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures have become increasingly important for trade in agricultural and food products, and may particularly affect developing countries' ability to access higher value markets. This article presents a case study of trade-related problems caused by the invasive fruit fly (Bactrocera invadens) in Kenya, which led to a ban of avocado exports to South Africa. The ban had substantial economic, social, environmental, and institutional consequences for the agricultural sector in Kenya, which (as in many developing countries) provides a livelihood and source of income for thousands of smallholder producers. The Kenyan public and private sectors are now in the process of introducing a variety of technical and institutional measures to resolve the problem and to reduce SPS risks for the agri-food sector. The case study is illustrative of the importance of a supportive infrastructure to implement SPS control measures and to ensure continued international trade in agri-food products.

How far from harmonization are sanitary, phytosanitary and quality-related standards? An exporter’s perception approach

Harmonization of trade regulations and standards is perhaps the most contentious issue regarding export markets due to the impacts that it can have on trade. We determine the extent of harmonization as perceived by exporters with respect to the major Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPSs) and quality measures which Chile faces in 16 international fresh fruit markets. The methodology combined qualitative and quantitative techniques. First, the most relevant safety and quality standards and regulations were identified and ranked. Second, a representative sample of exporters was interviewed to assess their perceptions regarding the level of stringency across markets and time for selected regulations. Perceptions were ranked on a likert scale and based on this scale a stringency index was constructed. The results show that Chile faces regulations which can be grouped into the following categories: (i) phytosanitary measures; (ii) tolerance limits for pesticide residues and contaminants; (iii) hygiene requirements; (iv) labeling, marking and packaging; (v) product and process standards; and (vi) registration procedures and other import requirements. The number of regulations varied among countries, ranging from 13 to 3 out of the 14 considered in the study. The most stringent country among the sample as perceived by exporters was México, whereas the least stringent was Saudi Arabia. Additionally, exporters agreed that stringency has increased over time with an average of 15% between 2005 and 2009.

Cattle Farmers’ Preferences for Disease‐Free Zones in Kenya: An application of the Choice Experiment Method

AbstractManagement of livestock diseases is important in ensuring food safety to consumers in both domestic and export markets. Various measures are prescribed under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) agreement of the World Trade Organization. In order to prevent the spread of trans‐boundary cattle diseases, the SPS agreement recommends the establishment of Disease‐Free Zones (DFZs). These have been implemented successfully in some major beef‐exporting countries, but in Kenya are still at a pilot stage. To understand Kenyan farmers’ preferences on the type of DFZ that would be readily acceptable to them, a choice experiment was conducted using a D‐optimal design. Results show that farmers would be willing to pay to participate in a DFZ where: adequate training is provided on pasture development, record keeping and disease monitoring; market information is provided and sales contract opportunities are guaranteed; cattle are properly labelled for ease of identification; and some monetary compensation is provided in the event that cattle die due to severe disease outbreaks. Preferences for the DFZ attributes are shown to be heterogeneous across three cattle production systems. We also derive farmers’ preferences for various DFZ policy scenarios. The findings have important implications for policy on the design of DFZ programmes in Kenya and other countries that face similar cattle disease challenges.

Should Russia comply with EU food safety norms in the wheat sector?

Abstract The impressive volumes of wheat production in Russia on the one hand and the good baking quality of Russian wheat on the other hand enabled Russia to become one of the important wheat producers and exporters of the world since the recent few years. However, Russia has a long way to go on the “front” of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), i.e. food safety, standards. As part of a larger study, financed by the German Research Foundation, the current research addresses the objective of estimating the potentials of wheat production in Russia under more stringent food safety standards as the current Russian national SPS regulations are. The comparative advantage analysis based on the domestic resource cost (DRC) approach is applied to estimate the possible compliance of Russian norms with European Union (EU) SPS standards. The DRC analysis resulting in a ratio of 0.37 provides evidence of high social profitability of wheat chain in the Stavropol region. Also the scenarios of compliance of Russian food s...

International Food Safety Regulations in the United States and the European Union—Balancing Consumer Confidence and Trade: Discussion

This is the third-year running that these meet ings have included a paper session on some as pect of food safety. This year's focus on trade and consumer confidence is timely and ap propriate. Fish, vegetables, and fruits present particular food safety concerns and are also products for which imports into the United States and European Union have grown rapidly. Because much of the new trade in these products has been sourced in low-income countries, foods that present relatively high risk are increasingly shipped from countries that have weak capacity to ensure food safety. As these articles show, the globalization of our food system has complicated efforts to enforce sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, and efforts to enforce SPS standards have com plicated trade. International trade in high-value food prod ucts cannot grow unless consumers have confi dence in the institutions that insure food safety. Kinsey et al. consider the impact of food safety failures as reported in the media on consumer confidence, measuring confidence through two indices generated by factor analysis. The first index is based on reported concern about food safety in the face of terrorist attacks or other safety failures. The second is made up from re sponses to questions about the safety of foods and the quality of food defense compared to a year ago. Results suggest that media reports of food safety failures erode confidence, but the effect is fairly short-lived. The use of continuously collected data on consumer perceptions is a novel aspect of this research, and it raises questions for further study. It is not clear what is being measured in the composite indices of confidence used here. It could be interesting to explore sep arately: peoples' perceptions of the safety of imported versus domestic foods; their safety from intentional adulteration versus uninten tional control failures; or the safety of pre pared food versus unprocessed foods. The finding that confidence moves with media at tention to food safety failures raises the ques tion as to whether changes in perceptions match the severity of the safety failure mea sured through a more objective means, like hospitalizations. This article also leads to ques tions about what causes confidence to recover

The Post-Discriminatory Era of the WTO: Toward World-Wide Harmonization of Risk Law?

The creation of the (World Trade Organization) WTO has in many respects revolutionized the system of international economic law. The main focus of this article is on the relationship between the liberalization of trade and the freedom of WTO Members to set different risk policies. The implementation of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) is influential in the shaping of risk regulation, because it establishes specific norms that need to be followed by WTO Members when designing their risk regulation measures. The enforcement of this body of law has already shown the tensions underpinning the SPS Agreement. The WTO disputes between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) over the use of hormones in beef for growth promotion purposes and over the marketing and approval of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are icons of these inter-jurisdictional conflicts and differences in risk governance. This article examines two important questions raised by Law and Economics scholars in relation to the efficient implementation of the SPS Agreement. The first is whether it is desirable to harmonize risk regulation via the WTO. The second question relates to the desirability of resorting to ‘a universal scale for assessing the legitimacy of health and safety precautions by reference to an objective cost benefit analysis’. If harmonization of risk regulation and the use of cost-benefit analysis may appear to offer a solution to the problems raised by SPS non-tariff barriers, this article shows just the opposite. Harmonization of risk regulation via WTO law is undesirable from a Law and Economics perspective. It is equally undesirable to rely on a cost-benefit test to assess the legitimacy of SPS measures. The article concludes with some concrete proposals on how to interpret the SPS Agreement, so as to respect the freedom of WTO Members to shape their own risk policy and to enable WTO 'Courts' to screen out protectionist measures.

An econometrics analysis of firms' compliance costs of sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) in Nigeria's export markets: the case of processed agricultural and food products

The prospective adverse effects of SPS measures made their quantitative evaluation, which has been hitherto scanty, inevitable. In effect, this paper focused on the quantitative determination of cost-raising effect of SPS measures on the exports of processed agricultural and food products of Nigeria through the estimation of firms' variable cost function in an attempt to provide evidence of the cost of compliance to export market standards. Employing primary data, it was found that the imposition of SPS measures in export markets produced significant variable costs of compliance. The study also observed that SPS measures were likely to be imposed for trade restrictive purposes in Nigeria's export markets, while attempts to meet these standards by Nigerian producers and exporters may not result in increased exports, because of the protective intent of the standards' imposing countries. African Journal of Economic Policy Vol. 10(2) 2003: 103-136

An Assessment of Environmentally- related Non-tariff Measures

International trade can affect the environment in different ways. This may justify the introduction of border measures by the importing countries. In addition to various dispositions in the GATT, GATS, TRIPs agreements, as well as in the Agreement on Agriculture, this issue is regulated by the agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and on the application of Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary standards (SPS). Despite these rules, abuse of environmental arguments for protectionist reasons remains an open issue. In order to disentangle protectionism from dispositions justified on the grounds of true environmental concerns, we systematically review notifications of SPS and TBTs by importing countries at the tariff line level. Trade is considered as being potentially affected when an environmental SPS/TBT is notified on grounds of environmental concerns. Affected trade is defined as imports by countries notifying such barriers. Protectionist use of environmental barriers is likely when only a limited number of countries impose an environmental obstacle on the imports of a given product. Considering data for 2001, we find that 88 per cent of the value of world trade is in products potentially affected by such measures, while 39 per cent of the value of world imports is potentially subject to a protectionist use of such measures. Agriculture, the automobile industry, the pharmaceutical industry and many other sectors are concerned.