Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Non-tariff regulation'

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.<br>The adoption of the Southern African Development Community’s Protocol on Trade in 2000 by member states which was aimed at creating an effective free intra-trade environment, had failed to reduce trade barriers which are threatening to reverse the gains made from tariff liberalization.. The protectionism in the form of non-tariff barriers constitutes the biggest factor affecting intra-trade in the region. The new economic environment which was expected to emerge with the adoption of the Trade Protocol over a decade ago has not taken place. Some of the commitments by member states to harmonise customs procedures, co-operation in customs matters and trade facilitation are yet to be achieved as the Protocol on Trade lacks the much needed legal force as some of its articles allow room for member states to derogate from their commitments. The main objective of this research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Protocol on Trade in the elimination of non-tariff barriers within the Southern African Development Community Free Trade Area. In order to achieve this, the study analysed the trend of non-tariff barriers reported in the period 2008 to 2013, the cost of trading across member states borders and the trend of intra-regional trade from 1996 to 2013. The main research findings indicated that non-tariff barriers are on the increase with cumbersome customs procedures and poor infrastructure development proving to be more prevalent in the region. The Protocol failed to reduce the cost of trading across member states’ borders since it came into force in 2000 with the cost of importing and exporting on the increase and the trade documentation remaining high. Again, the level of intra-regional trade as a percentage decreased from 2000 to 2013 – an indication that the Protocol on Trade failed to facilitate trade in the region through the elimination of non-tariff barriers. However, considerable potential for intra-regional trade remains unexploited due to induced trade barriers which are hampering the development of much needed regional value chains.

The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) was crafted with the aim of ensuring that technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedure do not constitute unnecessary obstacles to international trade. Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries have since ratified this Agreement and took a step further to incorporate its principles into the Technical Barriers to Trade Annex to the SADC Protocol on Trade. Despite this effort, SADC countries are still grappling with implementing the TBT Agreement in their domestic frameworks. Consequently, technical barriers to trade have become impediments to both regional and international trade. It is in this context that this study aims to examine the implementation of the TBT Agreement within the SADC. The study answers the question what are the challenges facing SADC Member states to fully implement the TBT Agreement? The study demonstrates that SADC Member face challenges which include of lack adequate resources, technical expertise and enforcement mechanisms to effectively implement the TBT Agreement. In the finality, the study recommends SADC Member states to deepen regional integration in order to collaborate on matters relating to technical barriers to trade within the region. Member states should also share information and learn from the experiences of other countries on how to effectively implement the TBT Agreement. Further, government officials should be educated on trade-friendly regulations that do not compromise on the principles of the TBT Agreement. To this end, regulatory impact assessments should be established in order to assess the trade effects of both new and old regulations. Effective enforcement mechanisms should also be introduced in order to coerce Member states to comply with their regional obligations. By effecting these recommendations, SADC states have the opportunity to eradicate technical barriers to trade thereby increasing both regional and international trade.

Small islands developing states (SIDS) sustainability is a United Nations’ aim. Their markets are often influenced by external policies imposed by larger economies. Could an anti-competitive measure affect the food vulnerability of a SIDS? This research examines the effects of an external non-tariff measure (NTM) on Puerto Rico’s (PR) agribusinesses. It explores the effects of a maritime cabotage regulation (US Jones Act) on the affordability and accessibility of produce and grains. PR imports 100% of their needs of grain and over 85% of fresh produce. PR’s food imports are generally from the US and the trade service is restricted to the use of the US maritime transportation. As a result, the supply chain of these two sectors although different, are limited by the US Act that may impact the cost of food, its availability, firms’ efficiency and other structures of production. Using a mixed convergent design, PR’s agrifood supply chains were explored and analysed in relation to the maritime cabotage regulation. Oligopolistic structures and collusion between maritime transporters and local agribusinesses importers limit the access to data, but other internal factors also have a role. Fieldwork shows that while the cabotage regulation itself is a constraint, interaction with others NTM and the current political framework between US and PR are relevant. Factors such as lack of efficiency, poor innovation and a self-limitation of the agribusinesses firms were found. The novelty of this research is the use of mixed methods to evaluate the effects of cabotage on the agrifood supply chain.

Small islands developing states (SIDS) sustainability is a United Nations’ aim. Their markets are often influenced by external policies imposed by larger economies. Could an anti-competitive measure affect the food vulnerability of a SIDS? This research examines the effects of an external non-tariff measure (NTM) on Puerto Rico’s (PR) agribusinesses. It explores the effects of a maritime cabotage regulation (US Jones Act) on the affordability and accessibility of produce and grains. PR imports 100% of their needs of grain and over 85% of fresh produce. PR’s food imports are generally from the US and the trade service is restricted to the use of the US maritime transportation. As a result, the supply chain of these two sectors although different, are limited by the US Act that may impact the cost of food, its availability, firms’ efficiency and other structures of production. Using a mixed convergent design, PR’s agrifood supply chains were explored and analysed in relation to the maritime cabotage regulation. Oligopolistic structures and collusion between maritime transporters and local agribusinesses importers limit the access to data, but other internal factors also have a role. Fieldwork shows that while the cabotage regulation itself is a constraint, interaction with others NTM and the current political framework between US and PR are relevant. Factors such as lack of efficiency, poor innovation and a self-limitation of the agribusinesses firms were found. The novelty of this research is the use of mixed methods to evaluate the effects of cabotage on the agrifood supply chain.

Робота присвячена концепції зовнішньоекономічної діяльності, основна увага приділяється основному суб'єкту зовнішньоекономічної діяльності, а саме підприємству. У дослідженні аналізувалася робота конкретного підприємства, були розглянуті його основні напрямки діяльності, номенклатура продукції, фінансові результати, експортна та маркетингова діяльність. Також розроблено рекомендації щодо вдосконалення ЗЕД підприємства.<br>The diploma work focuses on concept of foreign economic activity. Also, the main attention was paid to the main subject of foreign economic activity, namely to the enterprise. In research was analysed work of particular enterprise. In the process of writing, its main activities, product range, financial results, exports and marketing activities were considered. Also, recommendations were developed for improving FEA of the enterprise.

Esta dissertação de mestrado trata do fenômeno da regulação público-privada e da mudança do clima, com ênfase na influência que os padrões de sustentabilidade relativos à emissão de Gases de Efeito Estufa - GEEs, pode ter sobre este debate. Para tanto, em primeiro lugar, buscou-se aprofundar a compreensão sobre a ascensão dos atores não estatais como agentes fundamentais do processo de regulação em arenas nacionais e transnacionais. Abordagens do Direito, da Economia, da Ciência Política e das Relações Internacionais tratam o fenômeno da regulação privada sob óticas distintas, que ora dialogam entre si, ora não. De onde advém a legitimidade e a autoridade da regulação privada? Qual o seu alcance? Diversas perguntar nascem no seio deste debate, que culmina no conceito de padrões de sustentabilidade. Os padrões de sustentabilidade são o objeto desta pesquisa, que também se debruça sobre a ampla discussão do papel que estes padrões exercem, ou podem exercer no futuro, sobre o comércio internacional. Não há consenso na literatura sobre esse ponto, a despeito de uma prevalência da visão clássica da Economia e do Direito, de que este tipo de regulação é potencialmente danoso à estrutura de governança global estabelecida, a saber, a Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC). Finalmente, o estudo aprofunda as análises sobre o papel dos padrões de sustentabilidade relativos à mudança do clima, caracterizados, especificamente, por possuírem como marca principal a contabilidade da pegada de carbono de produtos, serviços e processos. As reflexões propostas abarcam tanto a capacidade destes \'padrões de sustentabilidade de carbono\' de mitigar emissões de GEEs, quanto o seu eventual impacto sobre o comércio internacional. As conclusões abrem a discussão para uma agenda futura de pesquisa sobre o tema.<br>This master\'s thesis deals with the phenomenon of public-private regulation and climate change, with emphasis on the influence that the private standards regarding the emission of Greenhouse Gases, can have on this debate. Firstly, we sought to deepen our understanding of the rise of non-state actors as fundamental agents of the regulation process in national and transnational arenas. Approaches from the law, economics, political science, and international relations fields deal with the phenomenon of private regulation under different optics, which may or may not be interconnected. Where does the legitimacy and authority of private regulation come from? What is its scope? Several questions are born within this debate, culminating in the concept of private standards. Private standards are the object of this research, which also deals with the broad discussion of the role that these standards play, or may have in the future, over international trade. There is no consensus in the literature on this point, despite a prevalence of the classical view from economics and law that this type of regulation is potentially damaging to the established global governance structure, namely the World Trade Organization (WTO). Finally, the study further analyzes the role of private standards related to climate change, characterized for accounting the carbon footprint of products, services and processes. The proposed reflections cover both the ability of these \'private carbon standards\' to mitigate GHG emissions and their impact on international trade. The conclusions open the discussion for a future research agenda on the topic.

Durante a década de 80 os movimentos ambientais começaram a se intensificar e os governos tiveram que incorporar novos instrumentos de política na busca de um crescimento econômico combinado com a conservação e preservação do meio ambiente. A sociedade passou a demandar produtos ambientalmente saudáveis e os setores da economia sofreram pressão para mudar seus métodos e processos tradicionais de produção para se adequar a essa nova demanda. Dessas exigências da sociedade, decorrem mudanças na legislação ambiental e em legislações correlacionadas, com foco na regulação da produção e comercialização de bens e serviços. Discute-se na literatura que muitas vezes, as exigências podem se configurar como barreiras comerciais, mesmo não tendo como objetivo primordial afetar o comércio. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal investigar como evolui a regulação ambiental no comércio internacional e tendo como ilustração a análise do caso da regulamentação internacional do etanol no Acordo sobre Barreiras Técnicas ao Comércio (TBT). Para tanto, foram analisadas 1.649 notificações ao Acordo TBT, cujo objetivo principal alegado foi de proteção do meio ambiente. Em seguida destas foram separadas as notificações que tinham como produto alvo combustíveis, totalizando 94 notificações. Deste subtotal, foram ainda segregadas as que afetavam o etanol, chegando-se a um total de 28 regulamentos notificados por 13 países ou blocos econômicos, com destaque para os EUA, União Europeia, e países da América Central e Caribe. Dentre os países que notificaram regulamentos técnicos ambientais para o etanol, os que se destacaram como importadores do Brasil são os EUA, União Europeia Colômbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador dentre os temas de regulamentação ambiental, destacam-se os relacionados a requisitos para redução de emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Os dados de notificações ambientais ao etanol junto ao TBT foram analisados conjuntamente aos dados das exportações brasileiras de etanol para o cálculo dos coeficientes de frequência e de cobertura. Os coeficientes de frequência não ultrapassaram os 32,7% no período analisado, enquanto que o coeficiente de cobertura atingiu valor máximo em 2006, quando os EUA tiveram grande representatividade. Embora a princípio, o alto índice de cobertura pudesse levar à inferência de presença de barreiras comerciais ambientais, esse alto índice pode indicar também que a comercialização do etanol não foi afetada negativamente pela medida. Outro elemento importante para a discussão é que, ao se analisar com detalhes, o conteúdo regulatório proposto pelas notificações técnicas ambientais, nota-se uma preocupação com a redução na emissão de gases de efeito estufa. Pelos resultados deste estudo, verifica-se que a importância da discussão cresce e se amplia, mas não se pode afirmar que os regulamentos técnicos ambientais prejudicam os fluxos do comércio externo do biocombustível brasileiro. As discussões em torno dos combustíveis renováveis são recentes e são foco em fóruns internacionais ambientais e comerciais e podem futuramente gerar importantes alterações nesse setor, atentando-se principalmente para exigências em certificação.<br>During the 80s, environmental movements began to intensify and governments had to incorporate new policy instruments in pursuit of economic growth combined with the conservation and preservation of the environment. The society began to demand eco friendly environmental products and sectors of the economy suffered pressure to change their traditional methods and processes of production to adapt to this new demand. These requirements of society resulted in changes in environmental legislation and other laws correlated, with a focus on regulating the production and marketing of goods and services. It is argued in the literature that often the requirements can be configured as trade barriers, even not having as the main purpose to affect the trade. This thesis aims at investigating how environmental regulation evolves in international trade and to illustrate the analysis with the case of international regulation of ethanol in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Altogether, we analyzed 1,649 notifications to the TBT Agreement, whose main objective was alleged protection of the environment. Afterwards these notifications have been separated as a product target that had fuel, totaling 94 notifications. From this subtotal, were still segregated affecting the ethanol, adding up to a total of 28 regulations notified by 13 countries or economic blocs, especially the U.S., EU, and countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Among the countries reporting environmental technical regulations for ethanol, those who stood out as importers from Brazil are the United States, European Union Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador among the topics of environmental regulations, include those related to requirements for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Data from environmental reports to ethanol by the TBT were analyzed together with data from the Brazilian ethanol exports to the calculation of coefficients of frequency and coverage. The coefficients of frequency did not exceed 32.7% in the analyzed period, while the coverage ratio reached a peak in 2006 when the U.S. had great representation. Although at first, the high coverage rate could lead to the inference of the presence of environmental trade barriers, this high rate may also indicate that the marketing of ethanol was not negatively affected by the measure. Another important element for discussion is that, when analyzing in detail the contents by the proposed regulatory environmental technical reports, there is a concern with the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. According to the results of this study, it appears that the importance of the discussion is growing and expanding, but we can not say that the environmental technical regulations affect trade flows outside of the Brazilian biofuel. The discussions on renewable fuels are recent and are also the focus in international environmental forums and trades and it can further boost important changes in this sector, paying attention mainly to certification requirements.

A fundamental requirement in agricultural trade is that imported products are safe, and do not pose a risk to human, animal and plant health. To address this issue, all countries maintain measures to ensure that imported food is safe for consumers, and to prevent the spread of disease among animals and plants. These measures, by their nature, can affect competitiveness by increasing the costs of imports or prohibiting them altogether. To ensure that these measures are used for their intended purpose and not as protectionist measures, WTO member countries signed the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures. A growing number of studies attempt to quantify the effects of SPS regulations on international trade flows. However, precious little research is dedicated to determining the effects of specific phytosanitary regulations on trade flows and, more importantly, questions regarding SPS regulations and their impact as "trade barriers" or "trade catalysts" remain to be settled. This thesis contributes to existing literature in two ways. First, a comprehensive and user friendly database on specific phytosanitary regulations faced by U.S. exports of onions, peas, walnuts, apples, cherries, grapes, peaches/nectarines, oranges and strawberries to 176 countries is developed for the period 1999-2009. Second, this database is used for an empirical investigation to determine how existing SPS regulations affect U.S. fruit and vegetable exports. The results indicate that initially, phytosanitary treatments act as "barriers" to trade. However, as exporters' experience grows, the negative impact of treatments is reduced and eventually eliminated.<br>Master of Science

This paper critically evaluate the effectiveness of the non -tariff barriers legal framework under the SADC Protocol on Trade. In the same vein it identifies and discus a list of non-tariff barriers to trade that are still prevalent in the SADC region despite the prohibition for their use under the Protocol. The list of these NTBs is made up of quantitative restrictions, customs procedures and administrative requirements, technical standards, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, government participation in trade, lack of infrastructure, restrictive rules of origin and anti-dumping measures. Their impact is also addressed using some case studies based on the experience of businesses and people trading in the region. The paper concluded that the widespread and continued existence of NTBs in the region is as a result of a weak regulatory framework aimed at addressing them. To this end the paper single out the provisions relating to the granting of derogations from complying with the Protocol, the rules of origin, antidumping provisions and rules relating to the protection of infant industries as some of the weak points in the Protocol. To assess the compatibility of the rules regulating NTBs under the Protocol with the WTO rules one of the chapter is dedicated to a discussion on the WTO legal framework for NTBs. The paper also gives the reader an opportunity to have a grasp of the progress made in the SADC Free Trade Area by providing a section which focuses on the NTBs Monitoring and Elimination Mechanism. Problems associated with the mechanism are also clearly laid down in this paper. Recommendations are made at the end of the paper as way of providing solutions to some of the issues identified as weaknesses on the NTBs legal framework.<br>Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013.<br>Centre for Human Rights<br>unrestricted

Метою магістерської роботи є дослідження сутності та особливостей застосування митно-тарифного регулювання ЗЕД в Україні, аналіз зарубіжної практики застосування та перспективи його адаптації до умов в Україні.<br>Целью магистерской работы является исследование сущности и особенностей применения таможенно-тарифного регулирования ВЭД в Украине, анализ зарубежной практики применения и перспективы его адаптации к условиям в Украине.<br>The aim of the master's thesis is to study the essence and peculiarities of the application of customs and tariff regulation of foreign economic activity in Ukraine, analysis of foreign practice of application and prospects of its adaptation to the conditions in Ukraine.

Defence date: 12 December 2016<br>Examining Board: Professor Petros C. Mavroidis, European University Institute (Supervisor) ; Professor Bernard M. Hoekman, Global Economics at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies ; Professor André Sapir, Université Libre de Bruxelles-ECARES ; Professor Robert Wolfe, Queen's University<br>Transparency of trade regulations by all WTO Members is essential for open, fair and predictable trade relations. Because of the negative integration process followed by the WTO Agreements, a myriad of different regulations apply in all WTO Members and have the potential of affecting international trade. With the progressive lowering of tariffs since 1947, these differing regulations remain the most significant barriers to trade, and the most difficult to reduce. The Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures and on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) provide the most comprehensive frameworks to address the costs arising from such regulatory diversity, through extensive obligations on regulatory transparency and cooperation and introducing elements of positive integration. Does transparency, within the SPS and TBT Agreements prevent disputes from rising, or ensure all Members access necessary information to raise more and better disputes? Through a presentation of the legal obligations and institutional framework of the two agreements (Part I), an in-depth analysis of the issues encountered by WTO Members in the implementation of the two Agreements and raised as trade concerns in the SPS and TBT Committees (Part II), and a study of the factors leading to disputes and transparency's role in addressing them (Part III), this thesis will demonstrate that transparency as it exists under the two agreements has the potential to both complement dispute settlement, by giving equal access to information for Members to raise disputes, and substitute dispute settlement, by fostering dialogue between Members before their frictions escalate to formal disputes. In this sense, the strength of the WTO legal and institutional system goes well beyond its dispute settlement system, with enforcement of WTO obligations fostered by better information sharing and dialogue among Members themselves, through non-judicial means.