Measures applied to agreements SPS and TBT on brazilian exports of tobacco

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of non-tariff measures, specifically the Sanitary and Phytosanitary - SPS and Technical Barriers to Trade - TBT, on brazilian exports of tobacco and if this effect remained in the periods following the issuance of notifications. For that a gravity model was estimated using a sample of 89 importer’s brazilian tobacco between 1997 to 2011. The method used in the estimation of equations was the model Poisson-Pseudo Maximum Likehood (PPML). The results show that the sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) affect the international flow of trade in tobacco negatively. Furthermore, was verified that this effect persisted during the periods after the issuance notification, and exporting companies can take up to 2 years to adjust the requirements set. Among the objectives of SPS notifications, most are related to measures for the protection of human health and protection of the plant, which may explain the greater difficulty of adaptation, since they are requirements that require large investments. The technical measures (TBT) were not statically significant, confirming a non-tariff such notifications on international trade in tobacco. Although most of the notifications to tobacco are associated with technical measures, the results indicated that they have not configured as barriers to trade in tobacco. This may suggest that the requirements referred to them, which was mostly related to labeling and / or packaging, were attended by Brazil without difficulty. Thus, it becomes important to include questions concerning the regulation of these measures in the discussions and decision-making processes of companies exporting tobacco. In terms of government actions, it would be interesting to establishment or enhancement of policies to increase the informative character of health measures, particularly those involving issues related to human health and plant protection, in order to reduce the time that exporters use to conform to such requirements.