Trade deflection arising from U.S. import refusals and detentions in fishery and seafood trade.

摘要

This paper estimates the magnitudes of trade deflection (or reorientation) resulting from stricter food safety measures deployed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the case of the US bilateral fishery and seafood trade. FDA product descriptions are matched to international trade data using a unique dataset documenting FDA import refusals and detentions for the period 1996-2006 to quantify the economic impact of the FDA's border inspection and enforcement on trade with rest-of-world partners. The results suggest that FDA import refusals are significantly correlated with higher exports to markets other than the USA. In other words, exporters may be less likely to ship fishery and/or seafood products to the US market once their products have been refused entry by the FDA.