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Rules of origin and the profitability of trade deflection

Author

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  • Felbermayr, Gabriel
  • Teti, Feodora
  • Yalcin, Erdal

Abstract

When a country grants preferential tariffs to another, either reciprocally in a free trade agreement (FTA) or unilaterally, rules of origin (RoOs) are defined to determine whether a product is eligible for preferential treatment. RoOs exist to avoid that exports from third countries enter through the member with the lowest tariff (trade deflection). However, RoOs distort exporters' sourcing decisions and burden them with red tape. Using a global data set, we show that, for 86% of all bilateral product-level comparisons within FTAs, trade deflection is not profitable because external tariffs are rather similar and transportation costs are non-negligible; in the case of unilateral trade preferences extended by rich countries to poor ones that ratio is a striking 98%. The pervasive and unconditional use of RoOs is, therefore, hard to rationalize.

Suggested Citation

  • Felbermayr, Gabriel & Teti, Feodora & Yalcin, Erdal, 2019. "Rules of origin and the profitability of trade deflection," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:inecon:v:121:y:2019:i:c:s0022199619300662
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2019.07.003
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    12. Naoto JINJI & Kazunobu HAYAKAWA & Nuttawut LAKSANAPANYAKUL & Toshiyuki MATSUURA & Taiyo YOSHIMI, 2020. "A New Approach for Quantifying the Costs of Utilizing Regional Trade Agreements," Discussion papers e-19-010, Graduate School of Economics , Kyoto University.
    13. Ornelas, Emanuel & Turner, John L., 2024. "The costs and benefits of rules of origin in modern free trade agreements," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    14. Lukaszuk, Piotr & Torun, David, 2022. "Harmonizing the Harmonized System," Economics Working Paper Series 2212, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    15. Martin Richardson, 2023. "An Elementary Tariff Reform for a Free Trade Area," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 58(1), pages 38-44, February.
    16. Egger, Peter & Foellmi, Reto & Schetter, Ulrich & Torun, David, 2023. "Gravity with History: On Incumbency Effects in International Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 18421, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Ana Margarida Fernandes & Hiau Looi Kee & Deborah Winkler, 2022. "Determinants of Global Value Chain Participation: Cross-Country Evidence," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(2), pages 329-360.
    18. Martin Braml, 2020. "Beggar-thy-Neighbor or Favor thy Industry? An Empirical Review of Transatlantic Tariff Retaliation," ifo Working Paper Series 326, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    19. Dzmitry Kniahin & Jaime de Melo, 2022. "A Primer on Rules of Origin as Non-Tariff Barriers," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, June.
    20. MUKUNOKI Hiroshi & OKOSHI Hirofumi, 2021. "Wake Not a Sleeping Lion: Free Trade Agreements and Decision Rights in Multinationals," Discussion papers 21036, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    21. Shuyao Yang, 2020. "Technical Barriers to Trade and Firms' Export Decisions," CESifo Working Paper Series 8693, CESifo.
    22. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Mukunoki,Hiroshi & Kimura,Fukunari & Urata,Shujiro, 2023. "Determinants of the rules of origin in regional trade agreements in Asia," IDE Discussion Papers 882, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade deflection; Rules of origin; External tariffs; Free trade agreements;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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