Non-tariff barriers removal in the Brazilian coffee industry

Purpose This study aims to identify and classified non-tariff measures (NTMs) on Brazilian imports of robusta coffee beans, calculated a tariff-equivalent of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and assessed the effects of removing NTBs from upstream and downstream domestic instant coffee supply chain. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses documentary research to identify NTMs and the price-wedge method is applied to estimate a tariff-equivalent. The effects of suppressing the tariff-equivalent were evaluated using a partial equilibrium model with constant elasticity of substitution (Armington, 1969) and by incorporating vertical integration and uncertainty (Hallren and Opanasets, 2018). Findings The results show that NTMs seemingly hinder the entrance of coffee beans into the domestic market. The tariff-equivalent was estimated at 13.61%. Suppressing it reveals that the share of domestic coffee beans used to produce domestic instant coffee falls 0.21 p.p. while the share of domestic instant coffee consumed by the international trade rises 8.60 p.p. Originality/value What makes this paper original is that this paper investigated the effects of NTMs in a developing country, namely, Brazil. Although Brazil is one of the largest agricultural producers in the world, it has not appeared in literature in this type of analysis until now. Furthermore, it contributes to the literature on using existing techniques to investigate the impact of NTM removal on individual products in a specific country, in contrast to more recent papers that discuss using multi-country and multi-product data sets at the HTS-6 level. Thus, this paper demonstrates how a case study approach can be useful in quantifying policy changes.

The effect of sanctions on Russian agricultural imports

This paper contributes to the methodology of trade policy analysis, specifically to the assessments of non -tariff measures. To quantifying the effects of these measures, the proportion between the variables of two gravity equations, describing the situation before and after the embargo is used. The ratio of imports per unit of the supplier’s GDP over the two compared periods (2013 and 2017) is different for two groups of trade partners, one of which includes free-trade partners while the other spans the rest of the world (with some exceptions). In the presence of the embargo the gap in the average imports per unit of the supplier’s GDP between the two groups is wider. This is a consequence of the emergence of a new trade barrier. This gap allows us to indirectly quantify the trade bans via their tariff equivalent. In this study the methodology is applied to the case of food and agricultural imports. Fish, as well as other products outside chapters 1–24 of Harmonized commodity description and coding system, are excluded. The hypothesis of the study is that the impact of the embargo on the food and agricultural imports does not exceed that of tariff and phytosanitary measures. The study rejects this hypothesis and concludes that the embargo establishes a prohibitive level of protection.

MEASURING MONGOLIA’S GAINS FROM TRADE AND INCREASED INTEGRATION IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

Following the gains from variety literature ( Broda and Weinstein , 2006 ), we estimate the welfare impact of the dramatic increase in imported varieties growth in Mongolia and find it to be considerably larger than that found in previous studies of other transitional economies. Our results show that from 1988 to 2015, the gains from variety were equal to 22 percent of Mongolia’s GDP, or 0.8 percent annually. As such, this paper measures the gains of one of the most profound trade liberalizations in modern history. Also, by calculating Novy measures of trade costs, we find that the tariff-equivalent trade costs between any of its trade partners fell dramatically since the dissolution of and Mongolia’s exit from the Soviet-led CMEA (Council of Mutual Economic Association). Our calculations suggest that the costs between Mongolia and China, now its biggest trading partner, fell from 114% to 63%. For reference, this is twice the decline of the post-NAFTA US-Mexico trade costs. Other bilateral trade cost declines (e.g. with Germany) were even greater.

DETERMINAN DAN EKUIVALEN TARIF IMPOR JASA FINANSIAL DAN ASURANSI NEGARA RCEP

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) merupakan bentuk kerjasama yang diinisiasi ASEAN pada tahun 2012. Jasa finansial dan asuransi merupakan salah satu sektor jasa yang memiliki peran penting terhadap stabilitas perekonomian dunia. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk menganalisis faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi impor jasa finansial dan asuransi serta melakukan estimasi ekuivalen tarif untuk melihat seberapa besar hambatan dalam perdagangan jasa pada masing-masing negara RCEP. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan gravity model dengan analisis regresi data panel. Data yang digunakan bersumber dari data dasar Global Trade Analysis Projects (GTAP) dan Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales (CEPII). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa PDB, jarak, bahasa, dan sejarah kolonial signifikan memengaruhi impor. Estimasi ekuivalen tarif menunjukkan bahwa Selandia Baru, Filipina, RRT, India, dan Korea Selatan merupakan negara yang memiliki hambatan perdagangan paling tinggi. Kesamaan bahasa dan sejarah kolonial merupakan faktor yang memiliki pengaruh paling besar terhadap perdagangan. Untuk itu perlu adanya upaya dalam meningkatkan kemampuan penggunaan bahasa asing serta menjalin hubungan yang baik antara negara yang memiliki kesamaan sejarah kolonial. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a framework agreement which was initiated by ASEAN on 2012. Financial and insurance service is a service sector which has an important role in the world economic stability.The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of import in financial and insurance services and to estimate tariff equivalent in each member of RCEP. This study employs Gravity model approach with regression analysis of panel data.The data were obtained from Global Trade Analysis Projects (GTAP) and Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales(CEPII).The results indicate that GDP, distance, common language, and common colony have a significant effect on import. The estimation of tariff equivalent shows that New Zealand, Philippines, China, India, and South Korea are countries with the highest trade barriers. This study concludes that the similarities of language and historical background among countries are the factors that have the highest influence in trade.Therefore, increasing the use of foreign language and establishing better relationships between countries with the same colonial history are crucial to be done.

The critical mass approach to achieve a deal on green goods and services: what is on the table? How much should we expect?

In July 2014 a group of 14 countries (the ‘Davos Group’) launched negotiations on liberalizing trade in ‘green goods’ (also known as environmental goods – EGs), focusing on the elimination of tariffs for a list of 54 products. With an average tariff of 1.8 per cent, this group has little to offer even if the list were extended to the 411 products on the ‘WTO list’. Taking into account tariff dispersion, their tariff structure on EGs would be equivalent to a uniform tariff of 3.4 per cent, about half the uniform tariff-equivalent for non EGs products. Enlarging the number of participants to low-income countries might be possible as, on average, their imports would not increase by more than 8 per cent. Because of the strong complementarities between trade in EGs and trade in environmental services, these should also be brought into the negotiation in spite of the likely difficulties in reaching agreement on their scope.

The peripheral protectionist backlash in the First Globalization: Spain (1870-1913)

This paper studies the role played by different trade barriers (transport costs, customs and currency) in the evolution of Spanish imports during the First Globalization (1870-1913). Through the estimation of several gravity equations with panel data analysis, we obtain the elasticities of imports to each barrier, which allows us to combine them into a single ad valorem measure of barriers to trade (which we call the trade costs tariff equivalent). More interestingly, the contribution of the barriers to the profile of the tariff equivalent, as well as the assignment of an active role to the peseta exchange rate as a barrier, illustrates the existence of a protectionist backlash against the sustained decline in transport costs in the period 1870-1913.

Inventories, Lumpy Trade, and Large Devaluations

We document that delivery lags and transaction-level economics of scale matter for international trade, leading importers to import infrequently and hold additional inventory. In a model with these frictions calibrated to empirical measures of inventory and trade lumpiness, these frictions have a large (20 percent) tariff equivalent, mostly due to inventory carrying costs. These frictions also alter the dynamics of imports and prices. Consistent with evidence from large devaluation episodes in six developing economies, following terms-of-trade and interest rate shocks, the model generates a short-term implosion of imports and a gradual increase in the retail price of imports. (JEL D92, F14, G31, L81, M11)