This paper tackles the "pollution haven" argument by estimating the pollution content of imports (PCI). The PCI is then decomposed into three components:(i) a "deep" component (i.e. traditional variables unrelated to the environmental debate); (ii) a factor endowment component and (iii) a...

An open world trading system with low barriers to trade in Environmental Goods (EGs) and Environmental Services (ESs) accompanied by corrective SPS and TBT measures is necessary for the World Trading System to be compatible with the environmental objectives in the SDGs. So far, the political...

The value of preferential market access schemes has fallen sharply. Drawing on a relaxation announcement of July 2016 simplifying origin requirements for access to the EU that should help improve market access, thereby contributing to alleviate the refugee crisis in Jordan, this paper argues...

This paper takes the non-tariff measures (NTMs) codified and collected under the MAST (Multi-Agency Support Team) typology to study their economic effects, concentrating on the effects on prices, quantities and welfare. To this end, NTMs are categorized into six groups (tariff-like measures,...

This paper provides a tour d'horizon on where we stand with the information, and analysis of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs). The analysis of NTMs has been fragmentary, not keeping pace with their increasing prevalence and their increasing complexity. Capturing and classifying these NTMs is still a...

Liberia intends to deepen its participation in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by adopting the common external tariff (CET) of the Customs Union (CU). This implies that Liberia will have to modify its tariff structure to be much closer to the (yet unknown because of upcoming...

L'AFE, entré en vigueur le 22 février 2017, constitue un cadre ambitieux pour les pays souhaitant réformer en profondeur leurs infrastructures et institutions liées au commerce. La commission de l'UEMOA a d'ores et déjà identifié un nombre de contraintes auxquelles font face les...

This study provides an anatomy of the activities of Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) in Sub-Saharan Africa, mostly LDCs. Both opportunities and challenges facing TPOs were identified by using a quantitative survey administered online and a structured questionnaire used during phone...

Few developing countries have participated in the environmental goods agreement (EGA) negotiations to reduce barriers on trade in Environmental Goods (EGs). Reasons for this reluctance are first reviewed along with a comprehensive description of barriers to trade (tariffs and NTBs) on two lists...

Decade-long negotiations on the reduction of tariffs on Environmental Goods (EGs) at the Doha Round using a list approach to define EGs, failed to produce an agreement. In July 2014, 14 countries entered plurilateral negotiations under the ambit of the WTO. If successful, the resulting...