Eliminating Excessive Tariffs on Exports of Least Developed Countries

Eliminating Excessive Tariffs on Exports of Least Developed Countries

Although average Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tariffs on imports from the least developed countries are very low; tariffs above 15 percent have a disproportional effect on their exports. Products subject to tariff...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Hoekman, Bernard, Ng, Francis, Olarreaga, Marcelo
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2014
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE VALUE AGGREGATE EXPORTS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AGRICULTURE ANDEAN PACT ANTIDUMPING APPAREL ARBITRAGE AVERAGE TARIFF AVERAGE TARIFFS BASE YEAR BENEFICIARIES BENEFICIARY BILATERAL FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS CD COMMERCIAL POLICY COMPETITIVENESS CONSUMERS COUNTRY MARKETS CUSTOMS CUSTOMS TERRITORY DEMAND ELASTICITIES DEMAND ELASTICITY DERIVATIVE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY DOMESTIC DISTORTIONS DOMESTIC PRICE DOMESTIC PRODUCERS DOMESTIC PRODUCTION ECONOMIC POLICY ELIMINATION OF TARIFFS EXPORT GROWTH EXPORT MARKET EXPORT PERFORMANCE EXPORT PRICE EXPORT REVENUE EXPORT SUPPLY EXPORTER EXPORTERS EXPORTS FAIR TRADE FOOD INDUSTRY FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FRAUD FREE ACCESS FREE MARKET ACCESS FREE TRADE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT GDP GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES GLOBAL ECONOMY GLOBAL EFFICIENCY GLOBAL EXPORTS GLOBAL TRADE IMPORT DUTIES IMPORT LICENSING IMPORT PENETRATION IMPORTS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL TRADE INVESTMENT INCENTIVES LDCS LIBERALIZATION OF TRADE LOBBYING LOW TARIFF LOW TARIFFS MARKET ACCESS MARKET SHARE MARKET-CLEARING NPL OPEN ECONOMIES POLITICAL ECONOMY PREFERENTIAL ACCESS PREFERENTIAL RATES PREFERENTIAL REGIME PREFERENTIAL TRADE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT PRODUCT MARKETS PROTECTIONIST PROTECTIONIST POLICIES QUOTA TARIFFS RECIPROCAL CONCESSIONS REGIONALISM RULES OF ORIGIN SAFEGUARD ACTIONS TARIFF BARRIER TARIFF CHANGE TARIFF EQUIVALENT TARIFF INCREASES TARIFF LEVELS TARIFF LINES TARIFF PREFERENCE TARIFF PREFERENCES TARIFF QUOTA TARIFF QUOTAS TARIFF RATE TARIFF RATE QUOTA TARIFF RATE QUOTAS TARIFF RATES TARIFF REDUCTION TARIFF REDUCTIONS TARIFF REVENUE TARIFF SCHEDULES TRADE AGREEMENT TRADE ARRANGEMENTS TRADE BARRIERS TRADE DATA TRADE DEFLECTION TRADE DIVERSION TRADE FLOWS TRADE NEGOTIATIONS TRADE POLICY TRADE POLICY REVIEW TRADE PREFERENCES TRADE REGIMES TRADING TRANSACTIONS COSTS TRANSITION COUNTRIES TRANSITION ECONOMIES UNDERESTIMATES URUGUAY ROUND VALUE ADDED WORLD MARKETS WORLD PRICE WORLD PRICES WORLD TRADE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION WORLD TRADING SYSTEM WTO
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/01/17737039/eliminating-excessive-tariffs-exports-least-developed-countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17190

Description
Summary:	Although average Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tariffs on imports from the least developed countries are very low; tariffs above 15 percent have a disproportional effect on their exports. Products subject to tariff peaks tend to be heavily concentrated in agriculture and food products and labor intensive sectors, such as apparel and footwear. Although the least developed countries benefit from preferential access, preferences tend to be smallest for tariff peak products. A major exception is the European Union, so that the recent European initiative to grant full duty free and quota free access for the least developed countries will result in only a small increase in their exports of tariff peak items. However, as preferences are less significant in other major OECD countries, a more general emulation of the European Union initiative would increase the least developed countries total exports of peak products by US dollar 2.5 billion. Although almost half of this increase is at the expense of other developing country exports, this represents less than 0.05 percent of their total exports. This trade diversion can be avoided by reducing tariff peaks to a uniform 5 percent applied on a nondiscriminatory basis. However, such a reform would imply no gains for the least developed countries, suggesting that the globally welfare superior policy of nondiscriminatory elimination of tariff peaks should be complemented by greater direct assistance to poor countries.