Non-Tariff Measures in Agri-Food Trade: What Does the Data Tell Us? Evidence from a Cluster Analysis on OECD Imports

Non-tariff measures (NTMs) are playing an increasing role in international trade of agri-food trade. Although well-recognized, this aspect has not been extensively analysed at a disaggregated product level. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the trade incidence of NTMs notified by OECD countries on 777 products and clusters these products according to three trade indicators. While the ‘protection for sale’ literature provides useful explanations, it is not completely satisfying in resolving the puzzle of cross-product differences in the occurrence of NTMs.