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Do Product Standards Matter for Margins of Trade In Egypt? Evidence from Firm-Level Data

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  • Hoda El-Enbaby

    (Economic Research Forum (ERF))

  • Rana Hendy

    (Economic Research Forum)

  • Chahir Zaki

    (Cairo University, Egypt.)

Abstract

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) standards, countries are allowed to adapt regulations under the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements in order to protect human, animal and plant health as well as environment and human safety. Therefore, using an Egyptian firm-level dataset, we analyze the effects of product standards on two related aspects: first, the probability to export (firm-product extensive margin) and second, the value exported (firm-product intensive margin). We merge this dataset with a new database on specific trade concerns raised in the TBT and SPS committees at the WTO. Our main findings show that SPS measures imposed on Egyptian exporters have a negative impact on the probability of exporting a new product to a new destination. By contrast, the intensive margin of exports is not significantly affected by such measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Hoda El-Enbaby & Rana Hendy & Chahir Zaki, 2014. "Do Product Standards Matter for Margins of Trade In Egypt? Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Working Papers 840, Economic Research Forum, revised Jun 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:840
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