North-South Standards Harmonization and International Trade

North-South Standards Harmonization and International Trade

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Recent years have seen a surge in economic integration agreements (EIAs) and the development of non-tariff measures (NTMs). As a consequence, a growing number of EIAs include provisions on NTMs. However, little attention has been given in the literature to the effects of NTM liberalization in the context of EIAs. In this paper, we focus on provisions for technical regulations and analyze whether the North-South harmonization of technical barriers affects international trade. Using a gravity equation, it tests whether, as a result of the deep integration associated with standards provisions included in the EIA, the Southern partners' trade expands with the North, but at the expense of their trade with non-bloc Southern partners. Empirical results provide strong support for this conjecture. Moreover, harmonization on the basis of regional standards negatively impacts the exports of developing countries to the North.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Disdier, Anne-Célia, Fontagné, Lionel, Cadot, Olivier
Format: Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-11
Subjects:AD VALOREM, AGGREGATE TRADE, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, AGRICULTURAL TRADE, BARRIERS TO TRADE, BILATERAL FLOWS, BILATERAL IMPORTS, BILATERAL TRADE, BILATERAL TRADE FLOWS, BLOC IMPORTS, BLOC TARIFFS, BORDER MEASURES, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES, CONVERGENCE, COUNTRY FIXED EFFECTS, CUSTOMS, CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION, CUSTOMS UNION, DEMAND ELASTICITIES, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, DEVELOPING NATIONS, DOLLAR VALUE, DOMESTIC REGULATIONS, DOMESTIC SALES, DOMESTIC STANDARDS, ECONOMIC COOPERATION, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, ECONOMIC POLICY, ELASTICITY OF DEMAND, EUROPEAN UNION, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORT TAX, EXPORT TAXES, EXPORTERS, EXPORTING COUNTRIES, EXPORTING COUNTRY, EXPORTS, EXTERNAL TARIFF, FREE TRADE, FREE TRADE AGREEMENT, FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS, GLOBAL EFFICIENCY, GLOBAL TRADE, GLOBAL TRADING, GRAVITY EQUATION, GRAVITY FRAMEWORK, GRAVITY MODEL, GRAVITY VARIABLES, HARMONIZATION, IMPORT DEMAND, IMPORTING COUNTRIES, IMPORTING COUNTRY, INCOME, INCOME COUNTRIES, INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES, INEQUALITY, INSURANCE, INTEGRATION AGREEMENTS, INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTRA-REGIONAL TRADE, LEGAL TEXT, LIBERALIZING TRADE, MARKET REGULATIONS, MARKET SIZE, MARKET STRUCTURE, MEMBER COUNTRIES, MFN TARIFFS, MULTILATERAL ARENA, MULTILATERAL TRADE, MULTILATERAL TRADE LIBERALIZATION, MUTUAL RECOGNITION, MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT, MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS, MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF STANDARDS, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES, NON-TARIFF MEASURES, PATTERN OF TRADE, PATTERNS OF TRADE, PERFECT COMPETITION, POLICY RESEARCH, PREFERENTIAL TRADE, PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTS, PRICE INDEX, PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION, PRODUCT STANDARDS, PRODUCTION CHAINS, PRODUCTION COSTS, PROTECTIONISM, PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS, RECOGNITION OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT, REGIONAL AGREEMENTS, REGIONAL APPROACHES, REGIONAL BASIS, REGIONAL HARMONIZATION, REGIONAL LIBERALIZATION, REGIONAL STANDARDS, REGIONAL TRADE, REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS, REGIONALISM, REGULATORY COOPERATION, REGULATORY STANDARDS, RULES OF ORIGIN, SAFETY STANDARDS, SCALE ECONOMIES, SINGLE MARKET, STANDARD ERRORS, TAX, TECHNICAL BARRIERS, TECHNICAL REGULATION, TECHNICAL REGULATIONS, TECHNICAL STANDARDS, TERMS OF TRADE, TRADE AGREEMENT, TRADE AGREEMENTS, TRADE COSTS, TRADE CREATION, TRADE DATA, TRADE DEFLECTION, TRADE DISTORTIONS, TRADE DIVERSION, TRADE DIVERSION EFFECT, TRADE EFFECT, TRADE EFFECTS, TRADE FLOW, TRADE FLOWS, TRADE FORUM, TRADE IMPACT, TRADE IN GOODS, TRADE INTEGRATION, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE MODELS, TRADE NEGOTIATIONS, TRADE PATTERNS, TRADE POLICY, TRADE POLICY ANALYSIS, TRADE RELATIONS, TRADE STRUCTURE, TRADE SYSTEM, TRADING PARTNERS, TRADING SYSTEM, TRADING VOLUMES, TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPORT COSTS, VALUE OF EXPORTS, VOLUME OF TRADE, WORLD ECONOMY, WORLD TRADE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/11/18552913/north-south-standards-harmonization-international-trade
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16903
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Summary:Recent years have seen a surge in economic integration agreements (EIAs) and the development of non-tariff measures (NTMs). As a consequence, a growing number of EIAs include provisions on NTMs. However, little attention has been given in the literature to the effects of NTM liberalization in the context of EIAs. In this paper, we focus on provisions for technical regulations and analyze whether the North-South harmonization of technical barriers affects international trade. Using a gravity equation, it tests whether, as a result of the deep integration associated with standards provisions included in the EIA, the Southern partners' trade expands with the North, but at the expense of their trade with non-bloc Southern partners. Empirical results provide strong support for this conjecture. Moreover, harmonization on the basis of regional standards negatively impacts the exports of developing countries to the North.

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