Impact of Non-tariff Measures of the People's Republic of China on the Export of Agricultural Products of Lao People's Democratic Republic

Abstract

The main objectives of this study were to examine the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) agricultural exports to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the tuning of the Agricultural Commodity Frequency Index (ACFI) to non-tariff measures (NTMs), and the coverage ratio of goods to determine the effects of the PRC’s NTMs on Lao PDR’s agricultural exports using a demand export model with a fixed-effect method. The authors found that Lao PDR’s agricultural exports to the PRC increased by an average of 46.91% from 2013 to 2020, covering a total of 51 product codes, comprising six of the most valuable product types (i.e., bananas, corn, tapioca flour, watermelon, sticky rice, and sweet potato) given priority by the PRC. Additionally, from 2013 to 2020, the average ACFI concentration with NTMs was 10.08%, and the average coverage ratio for goods was 14.43%. The results of statistical significance testing at 1% suggest that three factors demonstrated the most significant impact on value: agricultural products facing NTMs in the form of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBTs), treaties with priority conditions regarding SPSs and priorities for agricultural products, and the real gross domestic product (GDP) of the PRC. Furthermore, a PRC GDP increase of 1% resulted in a 3.1235% impact on Lao PDR exports.

Citation

Chanthanasinh, V. and Wongpit, P. (2023), "Impact of Non-tariff Measures of the People's Republic of China on the Export of Agricultural Products of Lao People's Democratic Republic", Barnett, W.A. and Sergi, B.S. (Ed.) Comparative Analysis of Trade and Finance in Emerging Economies (International Symposia in Economic Theory and Econometrics, Vol. 31), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 131-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-038620230000031018