The role of non-tariff measures in the agri-food sector: positive or negative instruments for trade?

The contribution shows the state of the art of “trade and non-tariff measures” debate in the agri-food sector. It provides an overview on trends in trade and in the level of policy interventions over the last decades, in order to shed lights on potential cause-effect relations. Comparing the evolution of trade and of non-tariff measures (NTMs) in agri-food sector, it appears that the pervasiveness of NTMs is likely to be strictly related to changes in trade patterns. Although the main scope of NTMs is to correct market inefficiencies, they may have a two-fold role: trade catalysts or trade barriers. The potential relationships between trade and NTMs, however, differ across involved countries, products under regulation, and types of measure. Indeed, evidence from the empirical literature support either the “standards as catalysts” and the “standards as barriers” points of view. Our contribution aims at outlining how NTMs and trade influence each other.