På ministermøtet i WTO (Verdens handelsorganisasjon) i Hongkong i desember 2005 ble det vedtatt at den lille øystaten Tonga kan tas opp som medlem nummer...
Notatet gir en oversikt over forhandlingene om markedsadgang for industrivarer i WTO, herunder fisk. I WTO forhandles om øvre grenser for tollen, såkalt bundet toll, mens landene i praksis kan ha lavere anvendt toll. 60-70% av tollen for industrivarer og fisk er bundet på verdensbasis. For et land midt...
Norway maintains one of the highest levels of protection for agriculture in the OECD, but the tariff structure is not so transparent due to the extensive use of specific tariffs, i.e. tariffs expressed in NOK/kg or the like. In this paper, we use world market prices and Norwegian import prices to calculate...
The paper examines the relative position of GSP (tariff preferences for developing countries) compared to ordinary tariffs and free trade agreements in Norway, the EU and the USA. On average, ordinary GSP gives a tariff rebate of less than 50% in all countries. “Extended” GSP, given to the Least Developed...
From the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem, it is expected that North-South trade reduces the real wage of unskilled labour in the North. This paper questions the underlying assumption that trading countries are diversified, and examines theoretically the trade-wage link when the South is completely specialised....
Norges eksport er de siste ti år blitt «globalisert» ved at en klart lavere andel går til EU, og eksporten øker til en rekke nye markeder. Det handelspolitiske forhold til land utenfor EU blir derfor viktigere. Notatet analyserer hvordan EFTAs nettverk av frihandelsavtaler bør utformes for å sikre norsk...
The article examines the currently expanding worldwide network of bilateral free trade agreements. Following regional integration in Europe and later the Americas, the process in East Asia has accelerated from 2002. A distinctive feature of the current stage is the expansion of FTAs beyond geographical...
The paper presents evidence from a limited survey undertaken among Norwegian ICT firms in 2001, supplemented with other statistical evidence. Corresponding to the limited production of ICT hardware in Norway, the hardware firms covered by the survey were dominated by sales outlets of foreign firms. While...
I en spørreundersøkelse ble 81 norske sjømateksportører også bedt om å kommentere ulike rammevilkår for eksporten. Dette notat oppsummerer resultatene fra denne del av undersøkelsen, uten å gjennomføre en full evaluering av de enkelte tiltak. Resultatene viser at toll og handelshindringer oppfattes som...
Notatet analyserer hvordan tollbelastningen for norsk sjømateksport til søkerlandene kan påvirkes av EUs utvidelse. Norge har frihandelsavtaler med 11 av de 13 søkerlandene, og som følge av dette er tollen for fiskeeksport til disse landene null i de fleste tilfeller. Dersom EUs toll innføres for disse...
International trade costs may be sunk and not proportional to sales. The paper explores this theoretically, by allowing firms to invest in sales channels or marketing in order to increase demand in each market. The returns to such investments will, ceteris paribus, be higher in markets with lower variable...
Based on new survey data for 81 Norwegian seafood exporters, the report examines the composition and magnitude of different types of trade costs, ranging from tariffs and transport costs to other sales costs. The results suggest that there are economies of scale in the exporting activity, due to fixed...
The paper shows how industrial location and welfare depends on “most-favoured nation” (MFN) versus distance-related trade barriers, using a monopolistic competition model with regions located along a “Hotelling” line or on a square plain. Manufacturing production will cluster close to the periphery if...