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15 J. Int'l Trade L. & Pol'y 2 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/jitlp15 and id is 1 raw text is: The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-0024.htm JITLP US phytosanitary restrictions: 1' the forgotten non-tariff barrier Marie-Agnes Jouanjean 2 Overseas Development Institute, London, UK Jean-Christophe Maur Received 22 October 2015 World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, and Accepted 26 October 2015 Ben Shepherd Developing Trade Consultants, New York, New York, USA Abstract Purpose - This paper aims to provide new evidence that the US phytosanitary regime is associated with a restrictive market access environment for fruit and vegetable products. One chief reason seems to be that the US regime uses a positive list approach, under which only authorized countries can export. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology of the paper is primarily qualitative. This paper reviews the US sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) system and its scope for use to protect markets, in addition to protecting life and health. The approach is institutional and political economic. Findings - For most products, only a portion of global production is authorized for export to the USA. Even among authorized countries, only a small proportion is actually exported. As a result, the number of countries exporting fresh fruit and vegetables to the USA is far lower than those exporting to countries like the EU and Canada, but it is on a par with markets known to be restrictive in this area, such as Australia and Japan. Using a data set of fruit and vegetable market access and political contributions, this paper also provides evidence showing that domestic political economy considerations may influence the decision to grant market access to foreign producers. Originality/value - The US SPS system has not previously been analyzed in this way, and the distinction between negative and positive list approaches is highlighted in terms of its implications for third-party exporters. Similarly, the analysis of political contributions is novel and suggestive of an important dynamic at work in the determination of the US policy. Keywords International trade, Trade policy, Political economy of trade policy, Standards, SPS, and TBT Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) present significant obstacles to agricultural exporters, particularly to small producers in developing countries. Although standards in importing markets like the European Union and the USA can act as catalysts for production and supply chain upgrading in poorer countries (Maertens and Swinnen, 2009), the adaptation costs involved, including notably large fixed costs, can be substantial and may exceed the capacity of some producers (Henson and Jaffee, 2004). Journal of International Trade Law and Policy JEL classification - F13, F15, 024 o1No.1,20 The authors are grateful to John Beghin for comments on a previous draft. The findings, pp. 2-2, Emenld GroupPblishing Liited interpretations and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do DOI 10.1108/JITLP-10-2015-0027 not represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors or the countries they represent.

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