Medidas tarifárias e técnicas ao comércio internacional de produtos industrializados: um olhar sobre os países avançados e emergentes

Abstract

International trade is usually mutually beneficial among its participants, perceived as an important activity for the economic development of a nation. This assertion, however, does not necessarily imply that international trade should be completely free of barriers, and this is favorable for all agents. This study sought to evaluate whether advanced and emerging countries differ in adoption rates and technical measures. In addition, we evaluated the effect of these measures also differs among these countries and among sectors with different technological intensities. The results obtained through descriptive statistics and estimates of gravity models with data for the years 2010-2014 showed that advanced countries have adopted the measures in question differently from emerging countries, and their effects on imports are many different. It was found that the rates are considerably higher in emerging countries, both high- and low-tech sectors. Moreover, the negative effect of these tariffs differs among countries, being a little more intense for advanced countries. This fact may occur due to increased dependency of emerging countries on the international market. This effect also differs among sectors, being lower for high-tech sectors. Another important issue was verified that the technical measures that require changes to the product tend to be facilitating trade, as measures that require changes in the production process have shown mixed results. Moreover, emerging countries in the sample adopted more technical measures that advanced. However, as it was not possible to verify that they constitute trade barriers, it cannot be said that any group is using them for protectionist purposes. Thus, it should be noted that while increasing the costs of production and avoid distortions in the market, technical measures can facilitate trade and bring many positive effects. For example, this procedure brings benefits to consumers as the standardization of goods in class quality, knowledge dissemination and exchange of information between countries and spillovers even for countries that have not adopted such measures. Finally, it is emphasized that, despite many benefits of the TBT agreement, many countries are not able to fully participate. This fact may occur for technical inability to use it. In this case, there is an alternative already provided for in the agreement of technical barriers, in which developed countries should provide assistance to disadvantaged countries so that they can take the necessary measures. Therefore, it is important to encourage greater integration and international dialogue so that such aid occurs more extensively and effectively and thus to encourage universal harmonization of standards and regulations.