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Non-tariff measures and the WTO

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  • Staiger, Robert W.

Abstract

In this paper I sketch out the rough contours of the challenge faced by the WTO in dealing with non-tariff measures (NTMs) as seen from the economic theories of trade agreements. The key questions for the WTO - the answers to which largely dictate the choice between shallow and deep approaches to integration - appear to be two: (1) Is it the terms-of-trade problem or the commitment problem that WTO member governments seek to solve with their WTO membership?; and (2) Is it market clearing or offshoring/bilateral bargaining that is now the most prominent mechanism for the determination of international prices? I suggest that evidence on the first question points to the terms-of-trade theory and hence toward shallow integration, but that answering the second question may be the key to identifying the best way forward on NTMs for the WTO.

Suggested Citation

  • Staiger, Robert W., 2012. "Non-tariff measures and the WTO," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2012-01, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd201201
    DOI: 10.30875/5703a171-en
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert W. Staiger & Frank A. Wolak, 1994. "Measuring Industry-Specific Protection: Antidumping in the United States," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 25(1994 Micr), pages 51-118.
    2. Sumeet Gulati & Devesh Roy, 2008. "National Treatment and the optimal regulation of environmental externalities," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(4), pages 1445-1471, November.
    3. Robert W. Staiger & Alan O. Sykes, 2011. "International Trade, National Treatment, and Domestic Regulation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(1), pages 149-203.
    4. Robert W. Staiger & Kyle Bagwell, 1999. "An Economic Theory of GATT," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 215-248, March.
    5. Staiger, Robert W & Tabellini, Guido, 1987. "Discretionary Trade Policy and Excessive Protection," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(5), pages 823-837, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jaime de Melo & Alessandro Nicita, 2018. "Non-Tariff Measures: Data and Quantitative Tools of Analysis," Post-Print hal-01731305, HAL.
    2. Eyal RONEN, 2017. "Quantifying the trade effects of NTMs: A review of the empirical literature," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 263-274, September.
    3. Kallummal, Murali & Mouzam, Shaikh Mohd, 2021. "Indo–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IJCEPA): lessons for India’s access to agricultural markets," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 34(1), June.
    4. Mkuna, Eliaza, 2014. "East Africa Community (Eac) Non Tariff Barriers And Their Effects On Tanzanian Small And Medium Agro Enterprises Cross Border Trade," Research Theses 265576, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    5. Fontagné, Lionel & Orefice, Gianluca & Piermartini, Roberta & Rocha, Nadia, 2015. "Product standards and margins of trade: Firm-level evidence," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 29-44.
    6. Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2013. "Asian Economic Integration Monitor - October 2013," ADB Reports RPS136096-3, Asian Development Bank (ADB), revised 28 Jan 2014.
    7. Sauré, Philip, 2014. "Domestic policies in self-enforcing trade agreements," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 19-30.
    8. Lionel Fontagné & Gianluca Orefice & Roberta Piermartini & Nadia Rocha, 2015. "Product Standards and Margins of Trade: Firm-Level Evidence Product Standards and Margins of Trade: Firm-Level Evidence," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01299757, HAL.
    9. Mkuna, Eliaza, 2014. "East Africa Community (EAC) Non Tariff Barriers and their Effects on Tanzanian Small and Medium Agro Enterprises Cross Border Trade," Research Theses 243444, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    10. Baier, Scott L. & Yotov, Yoto V. & Zylkin, Thomas, 2019. "On the widely differing effects of free trade agreements: Lessons from twenty years of trade integration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 206-226.
    11. Chien-Jung Ting & Yi-Long Hsiao, 2020. "Exploring Solutions for the Trade Barriers in Taiwan," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 10(5), pages 1-2.
    12. Giovanni Maggi & Monika Mrázová & J. Peter Neary, 2022. "Choked By Red Tape? The Political Economy Of Wasteful Trade Barriers," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 63(1), pages 161-188, February.
    13. Beverelli, Cosimo & Boffa, Mauro & Keck, Alexander, 2014. "Trade policy substitution: Theory and evidence from Specific Trade Concerns," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2014-18, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    14. Olper, Alessandro, 2017. "The political economy of trade-related regulatory policy: environment and global value chain," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 5(3), February.
    15. Ronen, Eyal, 2017. "The Trade-Enhancing Effect Of Non-Tariff Measures On Virgin Olive Oil," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 5(3), July.
    16. Gajanan B. Panchal & Hassan Mirzahosseinian & Sunil Tiwari & Ajay Kumar & Sachin Kumar Mangla, 2023. "Supply chain network redesign problem for major beverage organization in ASEAN region," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 324(1), pages 1067-1098, May.
    17. Blanchard, Emily J., 2014. "What global fragmentation means for the WTO: Article XXIV, behind-the-border concessions, and a new case for WTO limits on investment incentives," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2014-03, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    18. World Bank Group, 2016. "A Comparative Overview of the Incidence of Non-Tariff Measures on Trade in Lao PDR," World Bank Publications - Reports 24021, The World Bank Group.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    terms of trade; commitment; border measures; behind-the-border measures; offshoring; bilateral bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F55 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Institutional Arrangements
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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