Do product standards matter for margins of trade in Egypt? : evidence from firm-level data

Abstract EN

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) standards, countries are allowed to adapt regulations under the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements in order to protect human, animal and plant health as well as environment and human safety.

Therefore, using an Egyptian firm-level dataset, we analyze the effects of product standards on two related aspects : first, the probability to export (firm-product extensive margin) and second, the value exported (firm-product intensive margin).

We merge this dataset with a new database on specific trade concerns raised in the TBT and SPS committees at the WTO.

Our main findings show that SPS measures imposed on Egyptian exporters have a negative impact on the probability of exporting a new product to a new destination.

By contrast, the intensive margin of exports is not significantly affected by such measures.