Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
processed food received significant border protection, though at rates that
diminished between 1997 and 2001. Moreover, food processing, which is
the sector through which most agricultural products flow, still receives
considerable protection (Table A9.3).
The equvalent tarff rates followng Chna's accesson nto the WTO are
also summarised in Table A9.3. The associated trade reforms are substantial.
The tariff protection in 'other crops', livestock, food processing, light
manufacturing and heavy manufacturing are significantly reduced, with the
largest reductons beng n the food processng and heavy manufacturng
sectors. For each product, the database obtained from the WTO website
detals the declne n tarff rates and the tmng of the reductons. To
obtain the rates in Table A9.3, the industry classification used in the WTO
lst of tarff concessons was concorded wth the cruder subdvson used n
our model and average rates constructed for each sector. The nformaton
contaned n the database was supplemented by detals of the accesson
tariff rates provided by Ianchovichina and Martin (2001). To represent the
behavoural mpacts of the changes n equvalent tarff rates as accurately
as possible, emphasis was placed on preserving changes in the 'powers of
the tarffs' rather than n the rates themselves.
18
The equvalent Chnese tarff rates of the 1990s vary by country of
orgn. Ths means that the applcaton of the same shock to the powers
of these equvalent tarffs mght have led to negatve post-accesson rates
for some tradng partners. The accesson shocks to the equvalent blateral
tarff rates were therefore calculated so as to harmonse the post-shock
tarff rates across countres of orgn. The proportonal changes n 'powers
of equvalent tarffs' are the same as those mpled by the changes n
rates detailed in Ianchovichina and Martin (2002: Table 3). For our present
purpose, these shocks are the same for both the long run and the short
run. As ndcated n the WTO database, China is committed to undertaking
many of the tarff concessons mmedately on accesson.
19
Simulated long-run effects of accession policy reforms
The reasons for examining long-run implications first are twofold. First,
the long-run results are useful in their own right, given that they may then
be compared wth the many other smulatons of Chna's WTO accesson
