Non-Tariff Measure Estimations in Different Impact Assessments

Abstract

The reduction of non-tariff measures (NTMs) has become the key policy variable to evaluate modern and deep free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In this chapter we overview the two main approaches to estimating NTM reductions associated with the implementation of FTAs. We then detail how these reductions are estimated in different impact assessment studies of TTIP, we compare and analyse the main differences in these estimations and how they affect the overall economic impact of TTIP. We find that accounting for differences in the expected NTM reductions can explain a large share of the discrepancies regarding the overall potential economic effects between different impact assessments of TTIP.