Revealed Concerns: A New Look at the Impact of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures on Agri-Food Trade

Despite recent data collection efforts, which has systematically revealed a large and diverse universe of policy measures, identification and quantification of non-tariff measures (NTMs) remains elusive.In this paper, we attempt to shed new light on the landscape of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures impacting agri-food trade by considering a novel revealed concerns-based approach.We exploit detailed information contained in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) SPS and TBT committee meeting minutes on specific trade concerns as a way to 'reveal' major cross-cutting NTM concerns exporters are facing in importing markets.We catalogue the nature and duration of these measures across countries, products and specific classes of NTMs for the period 1995-2014.Preliminary results indicate that developed countries play a significant role notifying specific concerns, although developing country notifications are growing more recently.While animal diseases and tolerances are identified as recurring concerns in meat and fruits and vegetable trade, respectively, a number of concerns related to testing and quarantine, customs procedures, certification and import permits are also on the rise.The results have important policy implications for the current mega-regional trade deals.