{"title":"Commodity Trade Mispricing: Evidence from Lao P.D.R.","authors":"Rahul Mehrotra, Vanthana Nolintha, Vanxay Sayavong","doi":"10.1080/08853908.2022.2108170","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Trade mispricing is a significant channel for tax base erosion from developing countries; however, evidence based on aggregated annual trade data remains limited. This article combines statistical price filter methods based on legal rules for customs valuation and transfer pricing analysis with extensive commodity sector research to present new evidence of commodity trade mispricing from Laos. Our analysis of transaction-level export data finds significant undervaluation in exports of coffee beans and identifies multiple risks of trade mispricing in copper exports. We identify trade between related firms, regulatory loopholes, and lack of customs valuation capacity as the main drivers of this phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":35638,"journal":{"name":"International Trade Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Trade Journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08853908.2022.2108170","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT Trade mispricing is a significant channel for tax base erosion from developing countries; however, evidence based on aggregated annual trade data remains limited. This article combines statistical price filter methods based on legal rules for customs valuation and transfer pricing analysis with extensive commodity sector research to present new evidence of commodity trade mispricing from Laos. Our analysis of transaction-level export data finds significant undervaluation in exports of coffee beans and identifies multiple risks of trade mispricing in copper exports. We identify trade between related firms, regulatory loopholes, and lack of customs valuation capacity as the main drivers of this phenomenon.
期刊介绍:
The International Trade Journal is a refereed interdisciplinary journal published for the enhancement of research in international trade. Its editorial objective is to provide a forum for the scholarly exchange of research findings in,and significant empirical, conceptual, or theoretical contributions to the field. The International Trade Journal welcomes contributions from researchers in academia as well as practitioners of international trade broadly defined.