‘New Age’ Preferential Trade Agreements and Global Value Chains: A Comparative Sectoral Analysis

2022 ◽  
pp. 097215092110619
Author(s):  
Kalpana Tokas

The past three decades witnessed a simultaneous proliferation in the number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and the network of global value chains (GVCs). The rise in the number of PTAs has been accompanied by inclusion of ‘deeper’ provisions such as services, competition, intellectual property rights (IPR), etc. This study aims to explain the differential impact PTA ‘depth’ on trade in value added as well as the heterogeneous results observed across industries based on their distinctive characteristics. For this purpose, an augmented gravity equation with three-way fixed effects is estimated, using a relatively newer dataset for the time period 2000-2015 for 64 countries. The results conclude that the PTA ‘depth’ determined by nontariff and ‘behind-the-border’ provisions leads to greater participation of member countries in GVCs. Furthermore, it is shown that value added trade for a sector like automotive, which has higher product differentiation, intra-industry trade, IPR and FDI linkages is most impacted by the PTA ‘depth’.

2021 ◽  
pp. 097215092110068
Author(s):  
Kalpana Tokas

This article analyses the impact of the ‘depth’ of new-age preferential trade agreements (PTAs) signed by nations on value-added trade as well as trade in final and intermediate goods carried out between them. This objective of this article goes beyond the black-boxing of a PTA through a dummy and aims to focus on the ‘depth’ of a PTA as measured by its provisions and content. For this purpose, we construct an intensive panel data set. The data set spans across 6 years (3-year intervals across 2000–2015) and is constructed on a dyadic (country pair) level for 61 countries and 110 PTAs across the world, using the Trade in Valued Added (TiVA) Database from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Content of Deep Trade Agreements database from World Bank. Further, we construct two indices for measuring the ‘depth’ of the PTAs based on their content. Our study uses augmented gravity equation with three-way fixed effects, namely country pair, exporter time and importer time, for estimating the results. Our results indicate that the ‘depth’ of a PTA significantly affects trade in final goods, intermediate goods and value-added trade, and the impact is highest for trade in value added. We also observe that PTA with greater number of provisions has a higher impact on trade in final goods, intermediate goods as well as trade in value added.


Author(s):  
Leonardo Baccini

The proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) is a key feature of this current wave of globalization. This chapter surveys the literature related to determinants of PTAs and their consequences. The key findings of the literature are two-fold. First, the expansion of global value chains is the main driver of the formation of PTAs. Second, PTAs generate stark distributional consequences among firms with large productive firms reaping the lion’s share of the gains from trade. Given that the welfare effect of preferential liberalization is generally small, forming PTAs is likely to remain a controversial trade policy among politicians and voters.


Author(s):  
K. Muradov

Traditional trade statistics that originate in customs records is inadequate to measure the complex interdependencies in today’s globalized economy, or what is known as the global value chains. The article focuses on Russia–ASEAN trade. The author applies innovative methods of measuring trade in value added terms in order to capture the unobserved bilateral linkages behind the officially recorded trade flows. First, customs and balance of payments sources of bilateral trade data are briefly reviewed. For user, there are at least two inherent problems in those data: the inconsistencies in “mirror” trade flows and the attribution of the origin of a traded product wholly to the exporting country. This results in large discrepancies between Russian and ASEAN “mirror” trade data and, arguably, their low importance as each other’s trade partners. Next, the author explores new data from inter-country input-output tables that necessarily reconcile bilateral differences and offer greater detail about the national and sectoral origin or destination of traded goods and services. Relevant data are derived from the OECD-WTO TiVA database and are rearranged to obtain various estimates of Russia–ASEAN trade in value added in 2009. The main finding is that sizable amount of the value added of Russian origin is embodied in third countries’ exports to ASEAN members and ASEAN members’ exports to third countries. As a result, the cumulative flow of Russia’s value added to ASEAN members is estimated to be 62% larger than the direct gross exports, whereas for China and South Korea it is, respectively, 21% and 23% smaller. The indirect, unobserved value added flows can be largely explained by the use of Russian energy resources, chemicals and metals as imported inputs in third countries (China, South Korea) and ASEAN members’ own production. The contribution of these inputs is then accumulated along the value chain. Finally, the most important sectoral value chains are visualized for readers’ convenience. So far, it’s apparent that Russia is linked to ASEAN countries through intricate production networks and indirectly contributes to their trade with third countries.


Author(s):  
Chiara Burlina ◽  
Eleonora Di Maria

Purpose This paper aims to provide a snapshot of various countries’ contributions to value produced along global value chains (GVCs). It focusses on manufacturing activities and their evolution over time, in the context of GVC regionalisation. Design/methodology/approach The Trade in Value Added (TiVA) and World Integrated Trade Solution databases for the period of 2005-2015 were used to explore the case of Italy and its industries’ specialisations (Made in Italy): fashion, furniture, automotive and machinery traditionally organised into clusters. Various analyses were used to show the dynamics of gross import–export and imported–exported value-added. Moreover, the revealed comparative advantage index was computed to test whether the Made in Italy sector remains a source of competitive advantage for Italy within GVCs. Findings The results highlight how the geography of value-added is changing over time, with growing importance placed on the countries close to Italy and with a different pace according to each considered GVC. Originality/value The paper applied new methods to compare trade and analyse value-added dynamics through a recent database released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development within the TiVA initiative that is useful for scholars and policymakers.


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