Nguyen, Bich Ngoc
A icle
The ex ensi e and in ensi e e ec s o Vie nam’s echnical
measu es on ag icul u al impo s
Cogen Economics & Finance
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The ex ensi e and in ensi e effec s o Vie nam’s
echnical measu es on ag icul u al impo s
Bich Ngoc Nguyen
To ci e his a icle: Bich Ngoc Nguyen (2024) The ex ensi e and in ensi e effec s o Vie nam’s
echnical measu es on ag icul u al impo s, Cogen Economics & Finance, 12:1, 2308672, DOI:
10.1080/23322039.2024.2308672
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DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS | RESEARCH ARTICLE
The ex ensi e and in ensi e e ec s o Vie nam’s echnical measu es
on ag icul u al impo s
Bich Ngoc Nguyen
School o T ade and In e na ional Economics, Na ional Economics Uni e si y, Hanoi, Vie nam
ABSTRACT
Technical measu es, pa icula ly Sani a y and Phy osani a y measu es (SPS) and
Technical ba ie s o ade (TBT) can a ec o i ms’ma ke en y and he olume o
ade. Ye , echnical measu es is ambiguous and complica ed, especially o de elop-
ing coun ies. The e o e, he s udy analyses he ex ensi e and in ensi e e ec s o SPS
and TBT measu es imposed by Vie nam on ag icul u al impo s ac oss p oduc s and
pa ne s. The empi ical analysis employs g a i y model wi h Heckman wo-s age es i-
ma ion a he disagg ega ed le el om 2007 o 2019. The indings show ha SPS and
TBT ha e posi i e e ec s a he ex ensi e ma gin while ha ing he e ogeneous e ec s
a he in ensi e ma gin. Ac oss di e en p oduc s, echnical measu es imposed on
ag icul u al p ocessed p oduc s a e signi ican posi i e o i ms’pa icipa ion bu a e
insigni ican o he scale o ade. Imposing SPS measu es on animal p oduc s acili-
a es ma ke en y, while dec easing he in ensi e ma gin. In plan p oduc s, SPS
measu es play he ma ke ba ie s o p o ec he ad an age o expo ing p oduc s,
bu i ms can expand he impo olume a e adap ing o TBT egula ions. The es i-
ma ion also shows ha SPS and TBT inc ease he p obabili y o impo s om de el-
oped coun ies while ha ing insigni ican e ec s on de eloping coun ies.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 27 Sep embe 2023
Re ised 12 Decembe 2023
Accep ed 17 Janua y 2024
KEYWORDS
Sani a y and phy osani a y
measu es; echnical ba ie s
o ade; ag icul u al
impo s; ex ensi e ma gin;
in ensi e ma gin
SUBJECTS
In e na ional ade;
In e na ional Economics
1. In oduc ion
Wi h he p oli e a ion o ade libe aliza ion, many coun ies ha e bene i ed om diminishing a i s and
o he adi ional non- a i ba ie s. None heless, i is also c i ical ha he go e nmen ans o m he a -
i -cen ic ade policy in o a echnical measu es-cen ic policy. The adi ional app oach o en egula es
pa icipan s in he ma ke wi h unde lying ade p o ec ionism in en ion, while he new app oach has
been hea ily embedded wi h he social and en i onmen al in e es ia echnical non- a i measu es
(NTMs). Acco ding o he UNCTAD’s NTM classi ica ion (2019), non- a i measu es a e ca ego ized as
echnical measu es (mainly echnical ba ie s o ade –TBT and sani a y and phy osani a y measu es -
SPS) and non- echnical measu es. The numbe o manda o y equi emen s and olun a y s anda ds ha
moni o he sa e y h eshold o human, plan , and animal heal h, o en i onmen al sus ainabili y, a e
examples o echnical non- a i measu es. Ma ke access equi es o eign en e p ises o ul il he impo -
ing coun y’s manda o y egula ions and s anda ds.
P e ious esea ch on echnical measu es a he disagg ega ed le el (Bao & Qiu, 2010; Chen e al.,
2008; C i elli e al., 2016; Disdie e al., 2008; Maskus e al., 2013) ha e men ioned he mixed e ec s
bo h he ex ensi e ma gin ( he p obabili y o ma ke access) and in ensi e ma gin ( olume o ade). On
he one hand, echnical measu es aise expo e s’ ade cos s in a iable cos s and ixed cos s. The a i-
able cos s a e caused by he clea ance and cus oms checks o each consignmen , whe eas he ixed
cos s s em om he ans o ma ion o p ocedu es o p oduc ion p ocess o adap wi h he pa ne s’
manda o y equi emen s and s anda ds. The ise in ade cos in luences i ms’decisions o en e o exi
he ma ke . On he demand side, echnical measu es ensu e he sa e y o goods, which leads o he
CONTACT Bich Ngoc Nguyen [email p o ec ed] School o T ade and In e na ional Economics, Na ional Economics Uni e si y,
Hanoi, Vie nam.
ß2024 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which
pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on which his a icle has been
published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE
2024, VOL. 12, NO. 1, 2308672
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23322039.2024.2308672
inc eased consume us on he p oduc s. I con ibu es o inc ease demand o c ea e ade-p omo ing
e ec s. By using i m-le el da a, some ecen s udies by Chen & Bao (2023) emphasize he s ong in lu-
ences o echnical ba ie s o ade on he ex ensi e and in ensi e ma gins by inco po a ing he cha ac-
e is ics o i ms such as size, p oduc i i y and owne ship. Technical measu es as policy ins umen s
ep esen coun ies ‘cha ac e is ics, hen hei e ec s a y om coun ies o coun ies. Some empi ical
s udies in es iga e one coun y o economy o gi e he speci ic insigh s as a lesson o he o he s such
as: in China (Bao, 2014; Ghodsi, 2020), in Ko ea (Wood e al., 2017), in Egyp (Hoda e al., 2016), in
F ance (Fon agn
e e al., 2015; Fon agn
e & O e ice, 2018).
F om he pe spec i e o low-middle income coun y, Vie nam has been desc ibed as one o he coun-
ies wi h compa a i e ad an ages in ag icul u al expo s, bu ag icul u al supply chain is s ongly
depend on he in e media e inpu s om o eign ma ke . Vie nam has ob ained ade su plus o e he
yea s, bu he a e age g ow h a e o ag icul u al impo s in wo pe iods o 2008–2012 and 2012–2017
was double he a e o expo (abou 22,02% and 17,94% o he g ow h a e o ag icul u al impo in
he men ioned pe iods, compa ed wi h 10,88% and 7,62% o he g ow h a e o expo ing in ag icul u al
goods). Fu he mo e, mos impo ed ag icul u al p oduc s a e se ed o manu ac u ing o suppo ing
indus ies in Vie nam. Fo example, Vie nam has mainly impo ed co n, soybean and cassa a o animal
eed indus y and li es ock indus y o impo ed 70% o milk p oduc s o milk indus y. Wi h he p e a-
lence o echnical measu es, Vie nam has s uggled o o e come he s ingen measu es o impo ing
coun ies (usually de eloped coun ies) o p omo e expo bu lack awa eness o building a comp ehen-
si e and cohesi e non- a i policy. Consequen ly, i is necessa y o exp ess high conce ns abou ech-
nical non- a i measu es in Vie nam, especially ag icul u al ma ke and lessons o o he low-income
coun ies.
Consequen ly, he pape aims o examine he ex ensi e and in ensi e ma gin e ec s o echnical
non- a i measu es imposed by Vie nam ac oss a ious ag icul u al impo s, including li e animal and
animal o igin p oduc s, li e plan and plan o igin p oduc s, and ag icul u al p ocessed p oduc s. The
empi ical s udy con ibu es o he li e a u e in he ollowing ways: Fi s , he s udy ein o ces he heo e -
ical amewo k o non- a i measu es impac s on ade in an case s udy o he eme ging de eloping
coun y as Vie nam. The d ama ic g ow h in ag icul u e impo s pu p essu e on go e nmen ade pol-
icy and equi ed he policy ans o ma ion om a i imposi ion o a egime egula ed by equi emen s
and s anda ds. I is c i ical o unde s and he echnical ba ie s o ag icul u al impo s’ma ke access
and he e ec s on he ag icul u al ma ke expansion. Second, a he disagg ega ed le el, he s udy
emphasizes he di e si ica ion o ag icul u al p oduc ca ego ies, which abso bs he he e ogenous e ec s
o echnical non- a i measu es. Finally, he posi i e e ec s o echnical measu es on Vie nam’s ag icul-
u al ma ke pa icipa ion sugges ha go e nmen should inc easingly pu sue hese measu es o social
and en i onmen al easons and he economic ha m may no be se e e.
The pape includes 4 pa s: he i s pa p esen s a li e a u e e iew on he e ec o echnical meas-
u es such as SPS and TBT on ag icul u al p oduc s; he second pa p o ides an o e iew o ag icul u al
impo s in Vie nam; he hi d pa desc ibes he da ase and me hodology; and he ou h pa poin s
ou es ima ion esul s, and discussion abou he e ec s on ag icul u al impo s, and some sugges ions.
2. Backg ound
2.1. Si ua ion on Vie nam’s ag icul u al ade
The si ua ion in Vie nam’s ag icul u al ade highligh s some no ewo hy poin s. T ade de ici ep esen s
wo main ca ego ies including animal-o igin p oduc s and ag icul u al p ocessed p oduc s (-2.39 and -
3.4 billion USD in 2022, espec i ely) (Figu e 1). I shows ha domes ic ag icul u al in e media e supply
capaci y has no kep up wi h he expansion o he ag icul u al supply chain. Table 1 shows ha op
ag icul u al impo s a e p ima ily aw ma e ials o li es ock and ag icul u al p ocess indus ies, such as
animal eed, esh cashew nu s, maize, e ilize s, whea and milk and dai y p oduc s. T ade policy ins u-
men s imposed on impo s may be neglec ed by he signi ican p essu e om he demand side.
Whe he echnical measu es imposed by Vie nam’s go e nmen ha e impac ed ma ke access and ol-
ume o ag icul u al impo s is ambiguous. Hence, he pape examines he impac s o echnical measu es
2 B. N. NGUYEN
imposed on ag icul u al impo s on ex ensi e and in ensi e ma gins. The esul s may ha e some policy
implica ions o moni o ing he ag icul u al ade balance, no ably o ensu e ha ag icul u al impo s o
consump ion and p oduc ion o expo se e dual unc ions.
2.2. The de elopmen o Vie nam’s echnical measu es on ag icul u al p oduc s
Unde he 16 FTAs signed un il 2022, Vie nam has obliged o implemen a i educ ion du y in mos
p oduc lines. I means ha Vie nam has buil consis en ly a se o egula ions and equi emen s
ha monized wi h WTO ag eemen s o SPS and TBT. Table 2 indica es he landscape o Vie nam’s ag icul-
u al echnical measu es. SPS measu es ha e co e ed up o 95% mo e ag icul u al p oduc lines han
TBT measu es. Conce ns abou con amina ion, abuse o e ilize s, o handling o unsa e ood and o he
ag icul u al p oduc s a e conside able.
T ade policy ans o ma ion p ocess has e lec ed some key poin s. Fi s , he specializa ion es ing has
been ca ied ou by mul iple minis ies. In ag icul u al p oduc s, specializa ion es ing is ela ed o 3
Minis ies (Minis y o Ag icul u al and Ru al De elopmen , Minis y o Indus y and T ade, and Minis y
o Heal h). This may lead o o e lapping ju isdic ions ac oss go e nmen minis ies and may aise lack o
anspa ency, uni o mi y, and consis ency in go e nmen policies. Besides, es ing and inspec ion p oced-
u e can incu some expenses and be ime-consuming o i ms. F om he unde s anding o how
Vie nam’s echnical measu es a e applied o ag icul u al p oduc s, he s udy ocuses on he dual e ec s
o echnical measu es on he p obabili y o o eign i ms pa icipa ing in he ag icul u al ma ke and i
pa icipa ing how echnical measu es impac on ade expansion. The e o e, he s udy con ibu es o he
empi ical li e a u e on he ex ensi e and in ensi e e ec s o echnical measu es imposed by Vie nam as
one o leading ag icul u al expo e s. Howe e , he e a e some di e ences as below. Fi s , he e ec s o
Table 1. Vie nam’s main ag icul u al impo s by p oduc s Uni : Million USD.
Ag icul u al p oduc s 2016 2019 2022
Animal eeding 3.448,90 3.841,20 5.599,10
Cashew nu 1.658,00 1.808,00 2.678,50
Maize 1.672,60 2.388,30 3.327,80
Fe ilize s 1.125,80 951,3 1.617,70
Whea 1.005,00 755 1.515,10
Milk and dai y p oduc s 880,5 1.016,30 1.252,70
Sou ce: Vie nam Gene al S a is ics O ice (2022), ex ac ed om: h ps://www.gso.go . n/en/px-web/?pxid=E0818& heme=T ade%2C%20P ice%
20and%20Tou is .
Figu e 1. Si ua ion on Vie nam’s ag icul u al ade by ca ego ies (uni : housand USD).
No es: The ag icul u al p oduc s was de ined by WTO, including he p oduc s lis ed om Chap e 1 o 24 bu excluding chap e 3 - Fish and
c us aceans, molluscs and o he aqua ic in e eb a es.
Sou ce: Au ho ’s own calcula ions based on ITC’s da abase ex ac ed on 6 h Decembe , 2023 om h ps://www. ademap.o g.
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE 3
echnical measu es can be explained based on he mic oeconomics ounda ion whe e policy ins umen s
a ec he i ms ‘decisions. Second, he s udy shows he he e ogeneous e ec s o echnical measu es on
ag icul u al impo s om ex ensi e o in ensi e ma gins, om di e en p oduc ca ego ies (animal p od-
uc s, plan p oduc s and ag icul u al p ocessed p oduc s), om de eloping and de eloped pa ne s. The
indings show he impac s o echnical measu es bo h om supply side and demand side, which ag icul-
u al impo s se e o domes ic consump ion and p oduc ion chain ac oss sec o s.
3. Theo e ical li e a u e e iew
The heo e ical amewo k o esea ch is based on ade models wi h he e ogeneous i ms (Chaney,
2008; Meli z & O a iano, 2008). In pa icula , he heo y assumes he i m di e ences in he same indus-
y and each i m p oduces unique expo ing p oduc s o ixed cos s. Howe e , hese i ms co e he
addi ional cos s om a i , non- a i ba ie s o o he ade ba ie s which a e speci ic om each ma ke .
The e o e, hese ba ie s on impo s can c ea e wo e ec s a he ex ensi e ma gin and in ensi e ma gin.
Helpman e al. (2008) de elop a g a i y model wi h he e ogeneous i ms. The au ho s ex end Heckman’s
es ima ion me hod o ake in o accoun he bias associa ed wi h he he e ogenei y.
Fu he mo e, Disdie & Ma e e (2010) de elop he heo y ela ed o non- a i measu es impac s. The
heo e ical amewo k gi e six assump ions as ollows: i) he commodi y ma ke is homogeneous o ela-
i ely homogeneous; ii) domes ic consume s may o may no be awa e o ha m ul issues om p oduc s;
iii) impo ing p oduc s and domes ic p oduc s a e homogeneous and pe ec subs i u es; i ) he shi in
he demand cu e is independen o he implemen a ion o non- a i measu es; ) he ole o s ingency
o non- a i measu es by ype is he same; i) does no ake in o accoun sunk cos s a ising in ade o
comme cial aud. The heo y indica es he impac o non- a i measu es c ea e a shi in he supply
and demand cu es in he ma ke . On he one hand, he shi in he supply cu e is due o he ac ha
o eign i ms need o incu cos s o mee manda o y egula ions in non- a i policy o en e he new
ma ke , wi h simul aneously cos s a ising in he p ocess o qua an ine o inspec ion o each shipmen
o inc ease he ade olume. On he o he hand, he impac o shi ing demand is obse ed om he
pe spec i e o consume s. An inc ease in consume us is possible in he quali y and sa e y o p oduc s,
a e sol ing he p oblem o in o ma ion asymme y in he ma ke . Howe e , i is di icul o quan i y he
impac o non- a i measu es om he demand side. Mos p e ious empi ical s udies examine he
impac o non- a i measu es om he supply side. In he s udy, ag icul u al impo s a e desc ibed as
domes ic demand o inal consump ion and supply chain hen he impac o echnical measu es (SPS
and TBT pa icula ly) ep esen he e ec s om supply side ( o eign expo ing i ms) and demand side
( om domes ic consump ion and p oduc ion).
F om he heo e ical amewo k, he empi ical s udy examines he wo-s age e ec s o non- a i
measu es wi h ixed cos s incu ing om ma ke access (o i s s age o measu e he p obabili y o ma -
ke en y) and he a iable cos s aising om ma ke expansion (o second s age o quan i y he e ec s
on ade olume). The empi ical s udy cons uc s wo main pa amen e s in o he equa ion. Fi s , ade
cos ac o s ep esen ing a i , echnical measu es (SPS and TBT) and egional ade ag eemen s. The ac-
o s ela ed o a i and echnical measu es a e expec ed o ha e nega i e e ec s on ma ke access
(ex ensi e ma gin) and posi i e e ec s on ma ke expansion (in ensi e ma gin). Regional ade ag ee-
men s ep esen ade libe aliza ion in he p ocess o economic ans o ma ion in de eloping coun ies
Table 2. The applica ion o echnical measu es (SPS and TBT) on he di e en g oups o ag icul u al p oduc s in
Vie nam.
The a io
Animal and animal-o igin p oduc s Plan and plan -o igin p oduc s P ocessed ag icul u al p oduc s
SPS TBT SPS TBT SPS TBT
F equency Ra io 78,94% 75,91% 99,98% 97,36% 91,66% 95,93%
Co e age Ra io 94,62% 85,77% 99,07% 86,02% 99,03% 97,09%
The numbe o p oduc s be
imposed by echnical measu es
246 223 319 277 204 200
Sou ce: WITS –UNCTAD da abase, ex ac ed on 20 h Feb ua y, 2020 om h ps:// ains.unc ad.o g/.
4 B. N. NGUYEN
(pa icula ly in he case o Vie nam). The second ac o s cap u e he di e ences in coun y pai s such as
dis ances, income le el, o he in a ian con ol a iables (Ande son & an Wincoop, 2003).
4. Empi ical li e a u e e iew and hypo hesis de elopmen
Wi h he p oli e a ion o empi ical s udies ela ed o non- a i measu es, mos s udies indica es ha
echnical measu es ha e he e ogenous ade e ec s a he agg ega e le el. Technical ba ie s o ade
(TBT) c ea e bo h ade- es ic ing and ade-p omo ing e ec s (Bao & Qiu, 2010). F om he demand
side, he ade-enhancing e ec s e lec ma ke ailu es sol ed by in o ma ion asymme y o impe ec
compe i ion. Impo ed p oduc s ha mee echnical egula ions and s anda ds may build consume ’s
con idence ela ed o quali y, sa e y and heal h- ela ed issues, hen i boos s ade low (Bao & Qiu,
2010; C i elli & G oeschl, 2016). The e is also e idence o ade-impeding e ec s by aising he cos o
compliance om he pe spec i e o p oduce s, pa icula ly el by middle and low-income expo ing
coun ies (Ande s & Caswell, 2009; Chen e al., 2008; Disdie e al., 2008).
Rega ding ex ensi e and in ensi e ma gin, p e ious s udies show non- a i measu es, pa icula TBT
and SPS may es ic i m’s ma ke en y p obabili y bu p omo e olume. By classi ying NTMs by public
and ade goals, he s udy o Hu e al. (2021) shows ha China’s ade policy NTMs es ic he in e -
media e i m’s ma ke en y p obabili y and ade olume, bu public policy NTMs b ing ade-p omo ing
e ec in he manu ac u ing sec o due o educed in o ma ion cos s. By using i m-le el da ase , some
ecen s udies (Fon agn
e e al., 2015; Fon agn
e & O e ice, 2018; Kamal & Zaki, 2018) show ha TBT may
dec ease he p obabili y o i m’s expo s and expo low. Howe e , he posi i e e ec o TBT may
appea s a he in ensi e ma gin o la ge i ms, bu he nega i e e ec emains a he in ensi e ma gins
o small i ms (Chen & Bao, 2023). Rega ding SPS measu es, Fon agn
e e al. (2015) ound he nega i e
e ec s o SPS measu es on expo pa icipa ion and expo olume. The s udy o Hoda e al. (2016) also
suppo he nega i e impac o SPS measu es on he p opabili y o expo ing bu he insigni ican e ec
on he in ensi e ma gin o expo .
F om he pe spec i e o he sec o al le el, many s udies shows ha he impac o echnical measu es is
comple ely di e en o commodi y g oups. In pa icula , ag icul u e is always a sensi i e indus y and is
mo e a ec ed by he imposi ion o non- a i measu es han o he manu ac u ing p oduc s. T ade cos s o
ag icul u al p oduc s a e highe han o manu ac u ed goods due o cus oms clea ance equi emen s a
he bo de , specialized inspec ion measu es, s ic phy osani a y measu es, and he na u e o pe ishable
ag icul u al p oduc s. Thus, echnical egula ions and s anda ds end o c ea e ade- es ic ing e ec on
ag icul u al sec o , bu ade-enhancing e ec s on manu ac u ing (Chen e al., 2008; Disdie e al., 2008;
Ghodsi, 2020; Li & Beghin, 2012). Ag icul u al p oduc s espond slowly wi h he p ocess o ade acili a ion
and libe aliza ion. The na u e o ag icul u al p oduc s a e pe ishabili y ( ime and empe a u e), s ic p od-
uc and p ocess s anda ds ( echnical egula ions), logis ics (wa ehousing) and in as uc u e, di icul y in
inancing and he highe ansac ion cos s han manu ac u ed goods (Mai & Ngoc, 2018). Rega ding o
ag icul u al sec o , s udies on he impac o echnical measu es o en app oach om he pe spec i e o
de eloped coun ies as imposing coun ies on ag icul u al de eloping expo e s. The ema kable s udies o
Chen e al. (2008) and Maskus e al. (2013) analysed he disagg ega ed e ec s o echnical egula ions and
s anda ds on de eloping coun y expo e s ac oss sec o s. Few o s udies om he pe spec i e o imposing
coun ies as de eloping coun ies conside he e ec s o echnical measu es a ex ensi e and in ensi e
ma gins. De eloping coun ies equen ly p io i ize expo -p omo ing policy, while lacking a sophis ica ed
and cohesi e egula o y sys em o moni o impo s. Thus, he pape in es iga es he ex ensi e and in en-
si e ma gin e ec s o echnical non- a i measu es designed by de eloping coun ies ac oss 3 di e en
ca ego ies o ag icul u al impo , including li e animal and animal o igin p oduc s, li e plan and plan o i-
gin p oduc s, and ag icul u al p ocessed p oduc s.
5. Resea ch design
5.1. Resea ch da a
Wi h hese 20 Vie nam’s majo expo e s and 13 yea s a HS4-digi s le el p oduc s om HS01-24 (exclud-
ing HS03, based on he WTO’s ag icul u al de ini ions), he s udy collec s a panel o 47320 obse a ions.
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE 5
The panel da a a e con olled by yea ixed e ec s. In he g a i y model, he ag icul u al impo alue
was ob ained om Gene al S a is ics O ice o Vie nam om 2007 o 2019. GDP o expo e s (lngdpe)
and GDP o Vie nam (lngdp ) as impo e cap u e he e ec s o ag icul u al demand and supply capaci y.
They a e exp essed in cu en US dolla s and collec ed om he Wo ld Bank Da abank. The bila e al dis-
ance be ween impo ing and expo ing coun ies is he p oxy o he anspo a ion cos s. Respec i ely,
colony and con ig a e he in a ian a iables o cap u e he cul u al and his o ical p oximi y be ween
coun y pai s. The ade policy a iables a e ep esen ed by a i ( ) and egional ade ag eemen s
(deno e a). The applied a i was ex ac ed om he a i da abase o In e na ional T ade Cen e (ITC).
The dummy a iable o bila e al o egional FTA applied in his s udy is no i ied by WTO and ob ained
om he Regional T ade Ag eemen s In o ma ion Sys em.
The key a iables ep esen ing echnical measu es include sani a y and phy osani a y measu es (sps)
and echnical ba ie s o ade ( b ). The SPS and TBT a iables a e ex ac ed om non- a i measu es
da abase collec ed by UNCTAD and The Economic Resea ch Ins i u e o ASEAN and Eas Asia (ERIA). The
da abase is based on o icial egula ions and documen s including in e na ional con en ions adop ed by
ASEAN coun ies. The da abase is he i s o icial esou ce collec ed, alida ed and s o ed non- a i
measu es da a o Vie nam.
The s udy also includes dummy a iables indica ing he p oduc g oups (such as ‘animal’–li e animal
and o igin animal p oduc s wi h HS01-04; ‘plan ’–li e plan and o igin plan p oduc s wi h HS05 -14;
‘p ocess’–ag icul u al p ocessed p oduc s wi h HS15 –24) and he coun y g oup (‘de eloping’indica e
ha he expo ing coun y is a de eloping coun y o ‘de eloped’indica e he expo ing coun y is a
de eloped coun y). The dummy a iables in e ac wi h each o he ade policy a iables ( a i , SPS and
TBT). The es ima ion aims o examine he e ec s o echnical non- a i measu es on he di e en ag i-
cul u al p oduc s and he ade c ea ion o ade di e sion by expo ing pa ne s.
5.2. Resea ch me hod
The s udy aims o measu e he e ec o SPS and TBT on Vie nam’s ag icul u al impo s a he in ensi e
and ex ensi e ma gin. The s udy also examines he impac on speci ic p oduc g oups namely li e ani-
mal and animal o igin p oduc s, ege able and plan p oduc s, and ag icul u al-p ocessed p oduc s. The
eason o ca ego ize hese g oups is based on he hypo hesis ha he e ec o echnical measu es is di -
e en ac oss p oduc s and ac oss pa ne s.
The g a i y model has de eloped a solid heo e ical ounda ion by Helpman e al. (2008). The empi -
ical speci ica ion o he g a i y equa ion accoun o i m he e ogenei y, ade asymme ies and ixed
ade cos . The es ima ion sugges s he decision o expo and he olume o ade a e no independen
a iables. Wi h he panel da a, he ze o- ade alue accoun o 63,43% (30018 obse a ions o ze o
alue a HS4 digi ). The Heckman wo-s age es ima ion could sol e he wo econome ic issues o he
g a i y model as sample selec ion bias and he e oscedas ici y. The sample selec ion bias is caused by
he la ge numbe o ze o ade olumes in bila e al ade ac oss pa ne s and p oduc s. In pa icula , he
i s s ep p oposes he P obi equa ion o obse e he p esence o ze o lows. The esul s om selec ion
models de ine whe he he a iables impac o he decision o expo . By accumula ing he in e se Mills
a ion (lambda) ep esen ing he unobse ed e o s in he i s s ep, he coe icien s in he second s ep
a e es ima ed using GLS eg ession o panel da a wi h yea - ixed e ec s o es ima e he e ec s on ade
expansion. The model is de ined as:
Selec ion equa ion
Zi¼b0þb1ln ki þ1
þb3SPSikþb4TBTikþb5lnDis ijþb6Rij (1)
Ou come equa ion
Ln HijZi¼1
¼b0þb1lnYij þb2ln ki þ1
þb3SPSikþb4TBTikþb5RTAij þc þuijk (2)
Whe e he dependen a iable in he p obi model is he p obabili y o posi i e expo on p oduc k
om coun y j o Vie nam (i) a ime . The dependen a iable in he ou come equa ion is he na u al
loga i hm o impo alue, whe e jdeno es he expo ing coun ies (20 coun ies –in Appendix 1) and i
is impo ing coun y (i ¼Vie Nam), k deno es he p oduc a he HS4 (k co e s om HS01 o 24, excep
6 B. N. NGUYEN
HS03 o ca ego ized ag icul u al p oduc s ollowing he de ini ion o WTO). To es he hypo hesis o
wo independen equa ions, since in e se Mills a ion (lambda) is highly signi ican , indica ing he ejec-
ion o hypo hesis which sugges s he exis ence o a sample selec ion bias. I means ha he selec ion
and ou come equa ion a e dependen , and he es ima ion o a Heckman wo-s age model is
app op ia e.
A se o independen a iables o he g a i y model includes Dis
ij
–geog aphical dis ance be ween i
and j,R
ij
a e coun y-pai dummy a iables abso bing all ime-in a ian de e minan s o bila e al ade
cos s such as Con ig - sha ed bo de , Colony - colonial ela ionship. Y
i ,
Y
j
deno e he GDP o Vie nam
and expo ing coun ies ac oss ime om 2007 o 2019. The main explana o y a iables a e SPS and TBT,
which ep esen ing he numbe o SPS and TBT measu es imposed by Vie nam a 4-digi p oduc le el
o e he 13-yea pe iod. Fu he mo e, he pape also pe o ms he applied a i on he model, accoun -
ing o he p e e en ial a i on Bila e al ade ag eemen o Regional ade ag eemen . Since 2015,
Vie nam had bila e al ade ag eemen wi h Chile, China, India, Ko ea, Japan. Regional ade ag eemen
namely AFTA (ASEAN F ee T ade Ag eemen ), Asean –Aus alia –New Zealand ee ade ag eemen . So
ha a is he dummy a iable indica ing he p esence o absence o a egional o bila e al ade ag ee-
men be ween he coun ies, as well as he openness o Vie nam’s ade policy. The desc ip i e s a is ics
a e shown in Table 3.
6. Empi ical esul s and discussion
6.1. The e ec s o SPS and TBT on he ex ensi e and in ensi e ma gin
Table 4 es ima es he e ec s o echnical measu es (TBT and SPS) on ag icul u al p oduc s a he ex en-
si e ma gin (column 1) and in ensi e ma gin (column 2). In column 1, ega ding he P obi equa ion, all
explana o y a iables a e s a is ically signi ican (a 1%) wi h he expec ed sign. SPS and TBT ha e a
highly signi ican posi i e impac on he p obabili y o ag icul u al expo i ms’pa icipa ion. The esul s
co espond wi h he p e ious s udy by Chen e al. (2008) and Chen & Bao (2023). Technical measu es
imposed by Vie nam may no challenge o eign i ms o ma ke en y in he ag icul u al sec o . The posi-
i e co ela ion be ween echnical measu es and he decision o ma ke access can also be obse ed
om he inc easing demand o ag icul u al in e media e impo pe spec i e. O he a iables ha ep e-
sen he ade ela ionship ( a) and common bo de s (con ig), and his o ical a iables (colony) ha e also
p omo ed ma ke openness. Ta i and dis ance ha e a nega i e impac on o eign i ms’decision o pa -
icipa e in Vie nam’s ag icul u al ma ke as expec ed. The esul s a e co esponding wi h li e a u es
which e idences om de eloping coun ies (Chawa ika e al., 2022; Esaku, 2021; I shad e al., 2018).
In he ou come es ima ion (column 2), echnical measu es ep esen he signi ican he e ogenous
e ec s. I indica es ha SPS c ea e ade- es ic ing e ec s a he minimal coe icien , bu TBT emain he
posi i e e ec s on olume o impo s. Fi ms a e mo e adap i e wi h echnical egula ions imposed by
Vie nam, hey can mo e expand olume. As he esul s, TBT can inc ease bo h he ex ensi e and in en-
si e ma gins. Ye , he ade-p omo ing e ec o echnical measu es a he in ensi e ma gin is minimal.
The ade- es ic ing e ec s mainly s em om a i s. The esul s show he signi ican co ela ion
be ween SPS and TBT a he ex ensi e (ma ke en y) and in ensi e ma gins (ma ke expansion).
Vie nam has in eg a ed widely and deeply in he egional ade ag eemen s, hus i encou ages o
Table 3. Desc ip i e s a is ics o some main a iables.
Va iable Obs Mean S d. de Min Max
lngdp 47,320 7.452345 .3266651 6.803866 7.906649
lngdpe 47,320 9.823404 1.069393 6.909215 11.3898
ln( þ1) 47,320 .1258961 .1351101 0 1.10572
sps 47,320 51.05917 60.45138 1 430
b 47,320 14.43195 17.21923 1 127
dis 47,320 8414.063 5331.323 990.7018 18603.05
con ig 47,320 .05 .2179473 0 1
colony 47,320 .05 .2179473 0 1
a 47,320 .4384615 .4962038 0 1
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE 7
