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Trade barriers or trade facilitators? On the heterogeneous impact of food standards in international trade

Written by

Hege Medin
Senior Research Fellow (part time)
Arne Melchior
Senior Research Fellow

Ed.

Summary:

Recent research shows that food standards can be heterogeneous across sectors or countries: they sometimes act as barriers to trade, but in other cases may lead to increased trade. We present empirical evidence from Norwegian seafood export data showing that food standards, measured by SPS and TBT notifications, generally have a negative impact on total exports, the number of exporters and their average exports. However, for fresh seafood, the impact of SPSs is positive. We present a theoretical explanation for this, suggesting that food standards reduce consumer uncertainty about quality and safety and therefore increase demand
  • Published year: 2015
  • Full version: Download working paper
  • Publisher: Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt
  • Page count: 49
  • Language: Engelsk

Themes

  • Trade
  • Globalisation

Written by

Hege Medin
Senior Research Fellow (part time)
Arne Melchior
Senior Research Fellow