Technical barriers to trade: A case study of phytosanitary barriers and US-Japanese apple trade

Concern about the use of technical barriers as restrictions to trade has in creased since the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture. In thi s analysis, we quantify the phytosanitary barriers to U.S. apple exports to Japan by calculating tariff-rate equivalents. We examine the trade and wel fare impacts of removing phytosanitary barriers and tariffs under two assum ptions regarding transmission of the bacterial disease fire blight: first; that transmission via commercial fruit is not possible, and second, that it can occur. The disease losses required to eliminate the gains to trade are estimated to be much larger than those experienced in other countries.