Tariff equivalent of Japanese sanitary and phytosanitary: Econometric estimation of protocol for U.S.-Japanese apple trade

This paper econometrically estimates the tariff equivalent of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) to U.S. apple imports in Japan. Many studies calculate the tariff equivalent of the Japanese SPS to imports of U.S. apple using the price differential between the domestic price and export prices, but this method is problematic when the SPS measures are prohibitive. This study uses a method that can econometrically estimate the tariff equivalent of the prohibitive technical barriers to trade suggested by Yue and Beghin (2009). This approach overcomes the lack of observed data on bilateral trade flows caused by prohibitive SPS measures and accounts for goods differentiated by the place of origin. My estimated results show that the ad-valorem tariff equivalent of the Japanese prohibitive SPS measures is extremely high, and its average effect on U.S. apples over the entire period is 118.9%. The Japanese SPS policy regarding overseas apples is too stringent to exceed 100% in tariff equivalent.