Impact of Regulations on Agro-Food Trade The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreements

Agricultural trade disputes over issues such as beef hormones and genetically modified organisms have received wide public attention and illustrated the trade-off between domestic and international policy objectives. This report examines pertinent issues at the interface between domestic policy objectives, technical regulations and agricultural trade. It also discusses approaches to measuring the trade impacts of food safety and other technical measures, and presents empirical evidence concerning the trade effects of resolving controversial food safety issues.