<i>US–Tyres</i>: Upholding a WTO Accession Contract – Imposing Pain for Little Gain

Charnovitz, Steve; Hoekman, Bernard M.

doi:10.1017/s1474745612000602

“…54 Notwithstanding the somewhat infamous use of this policy by the US on imports of tires in 2009, the peak use was by Colombia, briefly, over a set of textile and apparel products in 2005. For a discussion of the US safeguard on tires, see Charnovitz and Hoekman (2013). For the China safeguard more broadly, see Bown (2010) and Bown and Crowley (2010).…”

Section: Temporary Trade Barriers Of Antidumping Countervailing Dutimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Empirical Landscape of Trade Policy

Bown

¹

,

Crowley

²

2016

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This chapter surveys empirically the broad features of trade policy in goods for 31 major economies that collectively represented 83 percent of the world's population and 91 percent of the world's GDP in 2013. We address five questions: Do some countries have more liberal trading regimes than others? Within countries, which industries receive the most import protection? How do trade policies change over time? Do countries discriminate among their trading partners when setting trade policy? Finally, how liberalized is world trade? Our analysis documents the extent of cross-sectional heterogeneity in applied commercial policy across countries, their economic sectors, and their trading partners, over time. We conclude that substantial trade policy barriers remain as an important feature of the world economy. AbstractThis chapter surveys empirically the broad features of trade policy in goods for 31 major economies that collectively represented 83 percent of the world's population and 91 percent of the world's GDP in 2013. We address five questions: Do some countries have more liberal trading regimes than others? Within countries, which industries receive the most import protection? How do trade policies change over time? Do countries discriminate among their trading partners when setting trade policy? Finally, how liberalized is world trade? Our analysis documents the extent of cross-sectional heterogeneity in applied commercial policy across countries, their economic sectors, and their trading partners, over time. We conclude that substantial trade policy barriers remain as an important feature of the world economy. JEL: F02, F13, F14, F15, F3, H21, H23, H25, K33, L5, N4, N70 provided outstanding research assistance. Bown thanks the World Bank's Development Research Group for its hospitality during the period in which most of the work on this chapter was completed.Question 1: Do some countries have more liberal trading regimes than others?Yes, there are large differences across countries in the average level of import tariffs. High income countries have more liberal regimes than middle income countries which, in turn, have more liberal regimes than low income countries. To this broad picture we add two more subtle observations. High income countries appear even more open when we expand the set of policies to include preferential tariffs on imports that they offer to selected trading partners. On the other hand, both high income and emerging economies appear less open when we expand the set of policies beyond tariffs to include policies such as temporary trade barriers and quantitative restrictions.Question 2: Within countries, which industries receive the most import protection?With respect to import tariffs, agricultural products and foodstuffs are protected almost everywhere, regardless of a country's level of development. Textiles, apparel and footwear are more protected than other manufactured goods. Minerals and fuels tend to face few import barriers.Furthermore, import tariffs on final goods are higher than t...

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“…54 Notwithstanding the somewhat infamous use of this policy by the US on imports of tires in 2009, the peak use was by Colombia, briefly, over a set of textile and apparel products in 2005. For a discussion of the US safeguard on tires, see Charnovitz and Hoekman (2013). For the China safeguard more broadly, see Bown (2010) and Bown and Crowley (2010).…”

Section: Temporary Trade Barriers Of Antidumping Countervailing Dutimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Empirical Landscape of Trade Policy

Bown

¹

,

Crowley

²

2016

Handbook of Commercial Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This chapter surveys empirically the broad features of trade policy in goods for 31 major economies that collectively represented 83 percent of the world's population and 91 percent of the world's GDP in 2013. We address five questions: Do some countries have more liberal trading regimes than others? Within countries, which industries receive the most import protection? How do trade policies change over time? Do countries discriminate among their trading partners when setting trade policy? Finally, how liberalized is world trade? Our analysis documents the extent of cross-sectional heterogeneity in applied commercial policy across countries, their economic sectors, and their trading partners, over time. We conclude that substantial trade policy barriers remain as an important feature of the world economy.

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“…A clear example of this occurred in the China tire safeguard action analyzed by Charnovitz and Hoekman (2013). One frequent problem with import relief actions on specific countries is that they can result in a diversion of imports from the targeted nations to other suppliers.…”

Section: Safeguards V Anti-dumpingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Footloose and duty-free? Reflections onEuropean Union – Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Footwear from China

Dunoff

¹

,

Moore

²

2014

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European Union (EU) anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese leather footwear imports led to a challenge before the WTO Dispute Settlement body. The Panel ruled that the EU's presumption that Chinese exporters are subject to economy-wide non-market-economy anti-dumping duties was inconsistent with WTO obligations. The EU declined to appeal this outcome and subsequently changed its anti-dumping regulation in response. This dispute also illustrates the rapidly changing structure of global manufacturing and how these changes can scramble the traditional political economy of import restrictions. In addition, the case highlights how EU members' positions on trade remedy actions can depend importantly on national production patterns and firms' responses to economic pressures from globalization and the further development of global supply chains.

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US–Tyres: Upholding a WTO Accession Contract – Imposing Pain for Little Gain

Cited by 12 publications

References 12 publications

The Empirical Landscape of Trade Policy

The Empirical Landscape of Trade Policy

The Empirical Landscape of Trade Policy

Footloose and duty-free? Reflections onEuropean Union – Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Footwear from China

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