THE IMPACT OF THE URUGUAY ROUND ON TARIFF ESCALATION IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

This study aims at broadening our knowledge about the impact of the UR on tariff escalation in the agricultural sector. Tariff escalation (i.e. higher tariffs on processed agricultural products than on their input commodities) has been one of the obstacles for developing countries in their efforts to establish processing industries for exports. The novelty of the study, compared to other studies, is that changes in tariff escalation are analysed on the basis of actual input/output processing rel ationships. In addition, the study takes into account both specific and ad valorem tariffs that may be applied on the input and output products. The results of the study show that tariff escalation has been reduced as a result of the UR, creating some opportunities for developing countries to diversify their exports into higher value processed commodities. Another interesting result of the study is the widespread existence of tariff de-escalation (i.e. higher tariffs on the input than the on the output commodity). The study concludes, however, that high levels of escalation will still remain after the implementation of the UR tariff concessions.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jostein Lindland;Trade and Markets Division
Format: Book (stand-alone) biblioteca
Language:English
Published: 1997
Online Access:https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/W4357E
http://www.fao.org/3/a-w4357e.pdf
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