Sanitary And Phytosanitary Research Articles

Multi-mode trade policy retaliation

AbstractPrevious studies have found evidence that countries may choose to retaliate against countries for certain trade actions. What has not been empirically examined is the use of multi-modal retaliation in trade policy. Using an exporter-importer-sector panel of antidumping (AD), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), and technical barriers to trade (TBT) actions between 1995 and 2019, we find evidence of cross-modal retaliation: importers are statistically more likely to initiate an AD petition against an exporter if they have an ongoing SPS-related concern against that exporter. The World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement body (DSB) was initially seen as promoting the stability of the global trading system by limiting such unilateral retaliation, widespread throughout the 1980s. We find statistical evidence suggesting that countries may be increasingly engaging in unilateral actions, particularly through SPS and TBT, in response to trade policy disputes as confidence in the WTO DSB falls. Our findings suggest that countries may expect more unilateral retaliatory action through SPS and TBT if recent efforts to reform the WTO DSB fail.

한국의 대외 수출에 미치는 TBT와 미통보 기술 규제의 영향분석: 중력모형과 PPML 방법론을 통한 접근

This study investigates the impact of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and unnotified technologies on South Korea’s foreign exports, analyzing the background and objectives. With the expansion of regional economic blocks such as FTAs, the EU, and NAFTA, the scope of non-tariff barriers, including TBT and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, has broadened. These non-tariff barriers, often implemented for safety purposes like environmental protection, can increase shipping and compliance costs, imposing a burden on domestic industries. The main objective of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the effects of TBT and unnotified technologies on South Korea's exports across various industries from 1995 to 2022. To achieve this, we employ the gravity model, one of the most widely used models in explaining trade conflicts, alongside the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) method, which is suitable for handling the complexities of trade data with zero trade flows. This approach enables a detailed analysis of the impact of TBT and unnotified technologies on export performance, disaggregated by objective and industry. The results reveal that while TBT has a positive effect in promoting exports, unnotified technologies have a negative impact. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between the two in international trade negotiations.

How Product Standards Influence Tea Exports? Empirical Evidence from India

India has witnessed a declining trend in tea exports in the recent period, which can partly be attributed to competition from exporters (e.g., Kenya and Sri Lanka) enjoying price advantages over the Indian varieties. However, although after the inception of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, the tariff barriers on Indian tea exports have come down across developed partners, the incidence of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) has emerged as a challenge in many destinations, with a possible dampening effect on exports. The present analysis attempts to analyse whether the imposition of product standard related measures, particularly sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) interventions, may have negatively influenced Indian tea exports over the period 1996–2021. Rather than considering the mere presence of SPS–TBT standards in major partner countries, their potential impacts on Indian tea exports have been determined by analysing the stringency levels of the corresponding notifications submitted to the WTO. The constructed stringency patterns are then incorporated into the Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood estimation models. The observed negative influence of standard-related measures in partner countries on Indian tea exports calls for policy interventions to enable the sector to better ensure compliance in the future.

Does the World Trade Organization Enable Biosecurity and Trade for Importers and Exporters?

Abstract Our paper sheds light on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) cooperation among trading countries. We contribute to the existing literature a data-driven analysis on the effectiveness of various forms (in monetary value, duration, and diversification) of SPS related technical assistance received by 33 countries from 1993 to 2015. The World Trade Organization's (WTO's) SPS Agreement encourages biosecurity for countries through technical assistance, to safeguard human health and productivity from contamination by biological hazards (pests, pathogens, or invasive species). Our panel model finds that WTO's SPS program encourages simultaneously agricultural trade and biosecurity. We implement a Multiple Indicator Solution (MIS) to correct bias from the endogenous technical assistance. The effectiveness of technical assistance depends on geography and the level of development among the heterogeneous countries referred to in our data. This investment in biosecurity benefits both donors and recipients of technical assistance. Based on our results donors should be encouraged to invest in countries with below average resources and abilities.

Liberalising non‐tariff measures through regional trade agreements: The impact on multinational production

AbstractModern Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) include, among other chapters, ones concerning sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT). Drawing on recent literature highlighting the relationship between “deep” RTAs and the global organisation of production, this paper empirically investigates whether these SPS and TBT provisions affect multinational production in the food, beverages and tobacco industry. To this end, we combine two different databases to estimate, in a panel gravity framework, both the intensive and extensive margins of multinational production. Because the extensive margin of multinational production may be persistent, a dynamic probit specification is used. Our results show that legally enforceable SPS sections in RTAs, in particular, influence multinational production, though with a rather differentiated pattern in terms of intensive and extensive margins; further, the impact changes depending on the country of origin and destination.

Effects of Trade Policies and Regulations on Global Livestock Markets and Food Security in Kenya

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the effects of trade policies and regulations on global livestock markets and food security in Kenya. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study revealed that the effects of trade policies and regulations on global livestock markets and food security in Kenya underscore the intricate interplay between local agricultural systems and international trade dynamics. Trade policies, including tariffs, quotas, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, significantly influence Kenya's livestock sector by shaping market access, competitiveness, and domestic production levels. While trade liberalization measures may enhance market opportunities and foster economic growth, they also pose challenges to local farmers and food security by exposing them to international competition and market fluctuations. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: New Trade Theory & Institutional Theory may be used to anchor future studies on effects of trade policies and regulations on global livestock markets and food security in Kenya. Efforts should be made to enhance the transparency, coherence, and consistency of trade policies and regulations related to livestock markets. There is a need to adopt a balanced approach that promotes trade while safeguarding food security and sustainable development goals. Policymakers should prioritize measures that enhance the resilience and competitiveness of domestic livestock producers, particularly small-scale farmers and vulnerable communities. This could involve targeted support programs such as access to credit, technical assistance, and market information, aimed at improving productivity, market access, and income generation.

Impact of sanitary and phytosanitary measures on agri-products quality upgrading and environmental protection.

Protecting human, animal, and plant life or health from additives, toxins, and contaminants in agri-products and promoting green free trade are the main components of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. However, the SPS measures are heterogeneous. This study examines the impact of SPS measures on the measured export quality and discusses their influence on the environmental protection of the exporting country. International heterogeneous measures do not necessarily promote quality upgrading but greatly increase transaction costs. By contrast, China's agri-product' quality upgrading and environmental pollution are in sharp contrast. Based on a heterogeneous firm-trade model, this study obtains three hypothetical propositions and conducts empirical regressions using the Tobit method. This study finds that heterogeneous SPS measures hinder quality upgrading because firms present a different quality upgrading trend, which in turn impedes the environmental protection of the exporting country; the quality upgrading made by diversified SOEs is higher than that of foreign firms and private firms; the quality upgrading made by general firms is higher than that of processing firms; and protective SPS measures have a stronger negative effect on quality upgrading and environmental protection.

Heterogeneous trade effects of technical non‐tariff measures: Vietnamese agricultural imports

This study investigates the impact of technical non‐tariff measures (NTMs), specifically technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), of Vietnam on agricultural imports and the role of deep trade agreements. This issue has been primarily focused on advanced countries but rarely studied for developing countries. The estimates indicate that the impacts of technical NTMs on imports from least developed countries (LDCs) and non‐LDCs are heterogeneous in terms of the measures' sophistication level. Simple technical NTMs, namely labelling, marking, and packaging requirements, increase agricultural imports from LDCs, while there is no significant impact on those from non‐LDCs. Other categories of TBT and SPS NTMs impede imports from LDCs, while benefiting imports from non‐LDCs. In addition, we found that deep trade agreements can ease the burdens of technical NTMs, but this is limited to imports from non‐LDCs. The findings of this study can help policymakers in better regulating agricultural imports to prevent harmful imports with minimal impacts on the benefits from trade.

The Right to Refuse Equivalence of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: Trading on Regulatory Trust?

Abstract Equivalence is an essential discipline for liberalising trade between States whose sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are based on divergent regulatory approaches. During the Uruguay Round negotiations, “equivalence” under the SPS Agreement was regarded by negotiators as being “of great importance”, and it was even considered to establish a right for exporting States. In practice, the discipline has remained ineffective, with only thirty-six equivalence recognition decisions made since 1995. This article argues that the underperformance of equivalence as an obligation is structural in nature: in effect, the SPS Agreement establishes a conditional right of importing Members to refuse equivalence requests. As such, exporting Members only gain equivalence protection where they either demonstrate that their measures (1) meet the importing Member’s appropriate level of protection or (2) achieve the same level of protection as parties to recognition agreements. Finally, the need for fostering regulatory trust between domestic SPS regulatory agencies is underscored as a prerequisite for achieving broader equivalence recognition.

Analisis Dampak Kebijakan Non-Tarif Measures Terhadap Kinerja Ekspor Udang Beku Indonesia di Pasar Tujuan Utama

The shrimp commodity significantly contributes to the total export value of the fisheries sub-sector in Indonesia. In 2021, Indonesia will become the fourth largest exporter of frozen shrimp on the world market. However, the value of Indonesia's frozen shrimp exports continues to fluctuate every year. Indonesia's frozen shrimp exports also face various challenges from non-tariff measures (NTM) policies, incredibly sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) imposed by importing countries. This study aims to analyze the performance of Indonesia's frozen shrimp trade in destination markets and the impact of NTM policies and other factors on Indonesian shrimp exports in destination markets. This research uses panel data model regression. The results showed there was still rejection of fishery products including frozen shrimp from Indonesia in importing countries due to excess chemical content. But the number of rejections is less than one percent compared to the total received. This is in line with the panel data regression results for the SPS variable which is not significant and the TBT variable which has a significant and positive effect. The non-significant results indicate that exporters in Indonesia can adjust the policies imposed by the importing country relating to product certification criteria, sampling procedures, packaging requirements, distribution requirements, and labeling requirements. For this reason, the Indonesian government needs to improve regarding rejection is the need for accurate and thorough sample testing of Indonesian frozen shrimp before export, as well as increasing assistance regarding threshold limits for chemical use for shrimp cultivators at the upstream level.

Trade margins of rubber exporters: The case of Indonesia

This study used a two-step system generalized method of moment (GMM) and spatial aspects to analyze Indonesia’s trade margins of a rubber product to export destination countries over the period 2009–2018. The study unraveled the role of non-tariff measures such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), and gravity factors in determining rubber trade margins. Our empirical strategies revealed that sanitary and phytosanitary policies negatively affect trade margins, while the technical barrier to trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) asserts a positive impact on trade margins. However, the economics of scale, port, and contiguity increases extensive margin and reduces intensive, population size, distance, and language barrier reduce extensive margin and increase intensive margin. Further evidence revealed that high population size and port quality accompanied by high FDI and distance increases extensive margin and reduces intensive margin. High economics of scale accompanied by distance, port quality, FDI, and population size reduces both trade margins. Our empirical strategy from the spatial analysis does not give overall significant results on each variable as only economies of scale and population size seem to have a spatial influence on trade margins. The study, therefore, recommends that innovation both in terms of technology, like industrial innovation in the field of rubber processing and certification related to rubber commodities, needs to be increased to intensify and expand Indonesia’s rubber market share.

Evaluating the Effect of Tariff and Non-tariff Barriers on Exports in the Pre and Post China-Pak Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Period

Low trading costs, more significant consumer markets, and favourable economic ties between China and Pakistan provide a strong rationale for bilateral trade. Both countries have signed several bilateral trade agreements to boost mutual trade since 1963. The agreement that marked the beginning of a new era of cooperation between two trading partners and paved the way for free trade agreements was the Early Harvest Program (EHP), implemented in 2006. The first China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) was signed in November 2006 and became operational in 2007. CPFTA aimed to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, enhance the comparative value of exports, and increase exportable surplus mainly through technical and financial cooperation. The paper critically evaluates the impact of tariff and non-tariff barriers on Pakistan’s key exports in the pre- and post-CPFTA period. Further, the study quantifies the impact of non-tariff barriers using quantitative techniques of restrictiveness index, converge ratio, and frequency index with 4-digit H.S. code industry-level data. The analysis reveals that China imposed a relatively high tariff rate on Pakistan's top five exports compared to China's other FTA partner countries. The results about the effect of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) show that exports related to cereals, edible fruits, and textile sectors are highly covered under Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) despite FTA. Our findings have substantial implications for sustained trade ties between China and Pakistan.

Faktor-Faktor Penentu Perdagangan Biji Pala Indonesia

The export value of the whole nutmeg and nutmeg powder has increased yearly. Nevertheless, Indonesia's dependence on imports of nutmeg is high. This condition illustrates that Indonesia has not optimally utilized its export opportunities. Optimizing export opportunities can be done by paying attention to the factors that affect exports. Researchers used secondary data on the whole and nutmeg powder from 2012 to 2019 with research variables: Indonesia's GDP, GDP of export destination countries, economic distance, population, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) dummy. The processes of data use a gravity model approach. The results showed that the GDP of both countries and the SPS had a negative effect on trade in the whole nutmeg, while economic distance and population had a positive impact. Meanwhile, the effect on trade in nutmeg powder by Indonesia's GDP, GDP of export destination countries, and the population is positive, economic distance is negative, and the SPS has an insignificant effect. The policy implication is the government and stakeholders should choose trading partners with large populations and make post-harvest handling rules to minimize the impact of SPS barriers. Meanwhile, to increase the trade in nutmeg powder, choosing a trading partner with a high GDP is necessary.

The effect of non-tariff measures (NTMS) on Indonesian pulp and paper exports

<span lang="EN-US">Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) are likely applied by some major trading countries. The NTM policy mostly applies Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT). Pulp and Paper commodities are some of Indonesia’s potential exports facing NTM barriers by a number of major destinations countries. This study is aimed to evaluate the effects of NTMs upon Indonesian pulp and paper export in the main destinations. NTMs are represented by coverage ratio of SPS and coverage ratio of TBT. The effect of NTMs imposition to pulp and paper between Indonesia and its main trade partners is estimated by using a panel data gravity model that is constructed by disaggregated data on bilateral export trade flow of pulp and paper between Indonesia and its main trade partners for the period from 2005 to 2019. The gravity model is estimated by a fixed effects model, Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood, and Hausman Taylor model. The results indicated that the imposition of SPS and TBT of destination countries presented a positive and significant impact upon the Indonesian export of pulp. However, the imposition of SPS and TBT of destination countries presented a negative and significant impact upon the Indonesian export of paper.</span>

Exploring the ‘non-tariff measures black box’: Whose regulatory NTMs on which products improve the imported quality?

Regulatory non-tariff measures (NTMs), such as technical barriers to trade (TBTs) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, have frequently been imposed to regulate the importing market when the market fails to address some issues of concern regarding harmful products. The mechanism through which regulatory NTMs affect the quality of imported products seems like a ‘Black Box’, which is fully opened and analysed in this paper. Our research is built on a monopolistic competition framework, in which firms choose both the quality and the price of their exports subject to the compliance costs of NTMs and a fixed cost of technological change or bureaucratic procedures. The quality of products at the six-digit level of the Harmonised System (HS) traded globally and bilaterally during the period 1996–2017 is then estimated. Using these estimates, the impacts of TBTs and SPS measures on trade values, volume, unit value and quality are estimated. Then, by estimating the importer-specific impact of NTMs on trade indicators for each product, the NTM Black Box is opened and analysed.

Dynamics of Mango Export and Impact of Sanitary and Phyto- Sanitary Measures on Indian Horticultural Export

The present study examined the trade direction of mango export. Saudi Arabia showed the highest positive and significant growth rate for mango imports, and YAR showed the highest positive and significant growth for mango pulp export. The study revealed that; U.A.E. and Qatar were the most stable market for fresh mango export, and U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia were the most stable markets for mango pulp. Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) measures revealed that spices, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables consignments faced a higher number of rejections. The notifications were issued by the U.S. and E.U. markets mainly on account of having filth pesticide residues, microbial contamination and noncompliance with other mandatory technical parameters.

Evaluating the Performance, Export Competitiveness and Direction of Trade of Indian Banana in the International Market

ABSTRACT The study examined the changing pattern of international trade in bananas globally and in India at a macro level from 2000 to 2020. It analyzed the growth pattern, direction of trade, trade competitiveness, and market access issues like tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) faced by exporters in major markets. The analysis revealed that the export of bananas from India increased from $8.10 thousand to $212 thousand from 2000 to 2020, with an annual growth of 21 per cent. Iran, UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia are the major destination markets for Indian bananas, wherein India exports more than 70 per cent of its banana export. Banana exports from India possess export competitiveness as the Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) was less than one (ranging between 0.28 to 0.70), and the domestic prices were lower than the international prices. Oman emerged as a stable market for banana imports from India in quantity and value terms. Iran and Nepal were the most important markets for Indian bananas but Kuwait and Saudi Arabia markets were unstable markets for Indian bananas. Among the major importing countries of Banana, Japan has imposed the highest number of notifications (164 Non-tariff Measures (NTMs)) on total imports of India since 1995. The USA imposed 119 NTMs, and the EU imposed 65 notifications. Still, it had imposed more TBT measures (35). Regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, agricultural goods do not involve technological prowess but only consider consumer health and safety issues, which can be harmonized as it is good for trading partners. For Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures driven mainly by technology, India must follow the same approach carefully. Future research should concentrate on the impact of NTMs in depth by considering all the stakeholders. Keywords: Banana export, competitiveness, Markov Chain Analysis, NPC. JEL Codes: C88, F13, Q17.

Evaluating the Performance, Export Competitiveness and Direction of Trade of Indian Banana in the International Market

ABSTRACT The study examined the changing pattern of international trade in bananas globally and in India at a macro level from 2000 to 2020. It analyzed the growth pattern, direction of trade, trade competitiveness, and market access issues like tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) faced by exporters in major markets. The analysis revealed that the export of bananas from India increased from $8.10 thousand to $212 thousand from 2000 to 2020, with an annual growth of 21 per cent. Iran, UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia are the major destination markets for Indian bananas, wherein India exports more than 70 per cent of its banana export. Banana exports from India possess export competitiveness as the Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) was less than one (ranging between 0.28 to 0.70), and the domestic prices were lower than the international prices. Oman emerged as a stable market for banana imports from India in quantity and value terms. Iran and Nepal were the most important markets for Indian bananas but Kuwait and Saudi Arabia markets were unstable markets for Indian bananas. Among the major importing countries of Banana, Japan has imposed the highest number of notifications (164 Non-tariff Measures (NTMs)) on total imports of India since 1995. The USA imposed 119 NTMs, and the EU imposed 65 notifications. Still, it had imposed more TBT measures (35). Regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, agricultural goods do not involve technological prowess but only consider consumer health and safety issues, which can be harmonized as it is good for trading partners. For Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures driven mainly by technology, India must follow the same approach carefully. Future research should concentrate on the impact of NTMs in depth by considering all the stakeholders. Keywords: Banana export, competitiveness, Markov Chain Analysis, NPC. JEL Codes: C88, F13, Q17.

Challenges faced by mango exporters

The mango is one of the most ancient and important Asian fruit. India is the world’s largest mango producer, accounting for 45 per cent of global mango production. Despite being the world’s largest producer of mangoes, India only exports a very small amount of its produce owing to several constraints. The study revealed major challenges faced by mango exporters in Gujarat state. Major challenges were found to be high international freight charges, difficulties in custom clearance, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, unavailability of quality mangoes in sufficient quantity, difficulties in certification, high local transportation charges, lack of standardization on post harvest handling, poor infrastructure facilities like cold storage, pack house, etc., competition from other exporting countries, lack of institutional support with respect to credit, problem finding reliable foreign distributor, Unavailability of market information, Price fluctuation of the commodity supply at home country, Problems in quoting price with fluctuating exchange rates, Labelling and packaging requirement, Confusing foreign import regulations and Unavailability or untimely export incentive.

Barriers against Agricultural Exports from Pakistan: The Role of WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement

There has been growing recognition that Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement can impede trade in agricultural and food products. Pakistan, in particular experiences problems in meeting the SPS requirements of developed countries and, it is claimed, this can seriously impede its ability to export agricultural and food products. Attempts have been made to reduce the trade distortive effects of SPS measures through, for example, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) SPS Agreement, although it is claimed that current initiatives fail to address many of the key problems experienced by Pakistan and other developing countries. The present paper explores implications of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement on exports of agricultural and food products from Pakistan. It identifies the problems that Pakistan faces in meeting SPS requirements and how these relate to the nature of SPS measures and the compliance resources available to Government of Pakistan and the supply chain. The paper examines the impact of SPS agreement on the extent to which SPS measures impede exports from Pakistan. It identifies the problems that limit participation of Pakistan in the SPS agreement and its concerns about the way in which it currently operates.