FoodSafetyandTrade:EmpiricalEvidenceThereisafairlyextensiveliteratureonthegeneraleffectsoffoodsafetystandardsandtheAgreementontheApplicationofSanitaryandPhytosanitaryMeasures(SPSAgree-ment)undertheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO)ondevelopingcountries.Forexample,JaffeeandHenson(2004)andtheWorldBank(2005)arguethatstandardscanacttoimpedetradeowsbyexplicitbansbutmoreprobablythroughprohibitivecostsofcompliance,particularlyforpoorercountries.Theinvestmentandrecurrent“costsofcompliance”topenetratehigh-incomemarketscouldunderminethecompetitivepositionofmanydevelopingcountriesornarrowtheprotabilityofhigh-valuefoodexports.However,JaffeeandHenson(2004)andtheWorldBank(2005)highlightpotentialopportunitiesarisingfromdevelopmentsinstandards.Certaincountriesmaybeabletousethenewstandardsenvironmenttotheircompetitiveadvantageandincreasetheirmarketsharesintrade.Thispossibilitydependsonthemodernizationofsupplychainstructuresinexport-orientedindustriesindevelopingcountries.JaffeeandHensonconcludethatthesimpleblackandwhiteargumentbetweenfoodsafety“standardsasbarriers”and“standardsascatalysts”ismorecomplexinreality.Theissuerequirescloseanalysisofthedynamicsofparticularstandards,markets,products,andcountries.Todate,onlyafewstudieshaveusedempiricaldatatoestimatetheimpactofnationalandinternationalfoodsafetyregulationsontradeows(PaarlbergandLee1998;CalvinandKrissoff1998;Otsuki,Wilson,andSewadeh2001;WilsonandOtsuki2004;Maskus,Otsuki,andWilson2005;PetersonandOrden2005).Acommonresultisthatmorestringentfoodsafetystandardssetbydevelopedcountriestendtodetertradesupportingtheviewof“standardsasbarriers.”Overall,changesintradepatternsrelatedtostandardstakeplacewithinthecontextofbroaderchanges.Forexample,Carrere(2006)ndsthattheeffectsofregionaltradeagreementsontradeowshavebecomequitepowerfulinexplainingchangingpatternsoffoodtrade.Seafoodmarketshaveattractedlessat-tentioneventhoughseafoodconsumptionaccountsforadisproportionateshareoffood-borneillnessesintheUnitedStates(U.S.GAO2001)andotherOECDcountries(CatoandLimadosSantos1998).Martnez-ZarosoandNowak-Lehmann(2004)exploretheexportpotentialofMERCOSURcountriesinaliberalizedEuropeanUnion(EU)market.PanelmodelresultssuggeststrongcorrelationsbetweentheoveralllevelofEUmarketprotectionismandthegrowthrateofMECOSURexports.Inparticular,theauthorsfoundthecategoryofsheryproductsfacedhighbarrierstotradefromEUprotection.Debaere(2005)empiricallyinvestigatestheimpactofchangingtradepolicies,inparticulartheEUzerotolerancepolicyforantibiotics,ontheglobalshrimpmarket.
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