Harmonization of food trade standards and regulations in ASEAN: the case of Malaysia's food imports
Harmonization of food trade standards and regulations in ASEAN: the case of Malaysia's food imports
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DOI：
10.1111/agec.12398
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发表时间：
2018-01-01
影响因子：
4.1
通讯作者：
Kalirajan, Kaliappa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Devadason, Evelyn S.;Chandran, V. G. R.;Kalirajan, Kaliappa
监管异质性继续被认为是东南亚国家联盟（东盟）食品贸易的一个挑战，因为成员国之间食品标准协调的进展仍然缓慢。使用一个新的和全面的数据库的非关税措施（NTMs），本文探讨了覆盖面，频率和多样性的非关税措施在马来西亚的食品行业，然后估计其对东盟的食品进口的影响。马来西亚的食品部门被认为受到高度管制，主要是技术措施，即卫生和植物检疫标签和贸易技术壁垒、产品质量和受限制物质。实证结果随后证实，总体而言，技术措施是进口限制。因此，本文认为，在区域一级统一食品标准和条例对加强贸易十分重要。然而，建立食品安全法规的共同基础应针对具体的国家技术管理和部门，以实现监管趋同方面的进展。对食品部门来说尤其如此，因为完全统一既不实际，在政治上也不可行。
Regulatory heterogeneity continues to be identified as a challenge for food trade in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the progress of harmonization of food standards among member states remains slow. Using a new and comprehensive database on nontariff measures (NTMs), this article examines the coverage, frequency, and diversity of NTMs for the food sector in Malaysia, and then estimates their impact on food imports from ASEAN. The food sector in Malaysia is found to be highly regulated, dominated by technical measures, namely, labeling for sanitary and phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade reasons, product quality, and restricted substances. The empirical results subsequently verify that, overall, technical measures are import restrictive. This article therefore contends that harmonization of food standards and regulations at the regional level is important for enhancing trade. However, building common ground for food safety regulations should be NTM- and sector-specific, to realize progress in terms of regulatory convergence. This is particularly true for the food sector, since complete harmonization is not practical and not politically feasible.