Heterogeneous trade effects of technical non-tariff measures: Vietnamese agricultural imports

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of technical non-tariff measures (NTMs), specifically technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), of Vietnam on agricultural imports and the role of deep trade agreements. This issue has been primarily focused on advanced countries but rarely studied for developing countries. The estimates indicate that the impacts of technical NTMs on imports from least developed countries (LDCs) and non-LDCs are heterogeneous in terms of the measures' sophistication level. Simple technical NTMs, namely labelling, marking, and packaging requirements, increase agricultural imports from LDCs, while there is no significant impact on those from non-LDCs. Other categories of TBT and SPS NTMs impede imports from LDCs, while benefiting imports from non-LDCs. In addition, we found that deep trade agreements can ease the burdens of technical NTMs, but this is limited to imports from non-LDCs. The findings of this study can help policymakers in better regulating agricultural imports to prevent harmful imports with minimal impacts on the benefits from trade.