Hidden protectionism? Evidence from non-tariff barriers to trade in the United States

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Grundke, Robert; Moser, Christoph
• 署名单位: Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD); Leibniz Institut fur Ost und Sudosteuropaforschung; University of Erlangen Nuremberg; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2018.12.007
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 143-157
• 关键词: Hidden protectionism; international trade; Developing countries; Import refusals; Regulatory costs; Disaggregated; United States

摘要

Can the enforcement of product standards be protectionism in disguise? This paper estimates the costs of non-compliance with U.S. product standards, using a new database on U.S. import refusals from 2002 to 2014. We find that import refusals decrease exports to the United States. This trade reducing effect is driven by developing countries and by refusals without any product sample analysis, in particular during the Subprime Crisis and its aftermath. We also provide evidence that given product standards were enforced more strictly during the crisis while the quality of imported products did not deteriorate. These results are consistent with the existence of counter-cyclical, hidden protectionism due to non-tariff barriers to trade in the United States. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.