Assessing Euro-Med trade preferences: the case of entry price reduction

The EU protects some of its fruits and vegetables through the entry price system. This system consists on a two-tiered tariff, with high-priced exports paying an ad valorem tariff, whereas low-priced exports pay also a supplementary specific tariff. The breaking point between high and low export prices is the entry price level decided by the EU, generally the same level for all third countries. In a few cases, some Southern Mediterranean partners of the EU have agreed a reduced entry price for their exports, together with the more common ad valorem tariff reduction. Among the indicators used for gauge the value of preferences, there is no one devoted to this case of reduced entry price, hence we develop a new indicator that allows to split which part of the preferential gains corresponds to the entry price reduction and which part corresponds to the “usual” ad valorem tariff reduction. We apply this methodology to Moroccan clementines trade flows, with two main findings: 1) The entry price reduction ranges up to 39% of the economic value of preferences in some months; 2) Morocco is not maximizing the gains due to this reduction, and could take some trade and policy lessons, mainly trying to better fit to the concession or, if impossible, use it as negotiating capital in future reviews of the agreement.Euro-Mediterranean Trade; trade preferences; fruits and vegetables; entry price regime

Current preferences of Southern Mediterranean Countries and their erosion after variations of the entry price system

It has been calculated the value of the preference margin granted to Euro-Mediterranean partners in the cases of reduced entry prices in force, and then it has been simulated the impact of EU trade liberalisation for F&V on such values after two different alternatives of EP system variations resulting from a WTO agreement. The results of current preferences indicate that in monetary terms there is only a significant relevance of the preferential EPs in the case of Moroccan tomatoes and, to a lesser extent, in Moroccan clementines. Very little is the relevance for Jordanian tomatoes and cucumbers and Moroccan courgettes, cucumbers and artichokes. In the cases of oranges from Egypt, Morocco, Israel and Jordan, preferential EP has not meant potential monetary transfers to these preference-receiver countries. Instead, the ad valorem tariff exoneration seems crucial in almost all the products. With regard to the erosion of preferences as a result of a WTO agreement, the magnitude of the erosion depends crucially on the variation/no-variation of the current trigger EPs, and the undermining of preferences is concentrated mostly on Moroccan tomatoes.Entry prices, erosion of trade preferences, Euro-Mediterranean trade, fruits and vegetables, International Relations/Trade,

Assessing Euro-Med Trade Preferences: The Case of Entry Price Reduction

The EU protects some of its fruits and vegetables through the entry price system. This system consists on a two-tiered tariff, with high-priced exports paying an ad valorem tariff, whereas low-priced exports pay also a supplementary specific tariff. The breaking point between high and low export prices is the entry price level decided by the EU, generally the same level for all third countries. In a few cases, some Southern Mediterranean partners of the EU have agreed a reduced entry price for their exports, together with the more common ad valorem tariff reduction. Among the indicators used for gauge the value of preferences, there is no one devoted to this case of reduced entry price, hence we develop a new indicator that allows to split which part of the preferential gains corresponds to the entry price reduction and which part corresponds to the "usual" ad valorem tariff reduction. We apply this methodology to Moroccan clementines trade flows, with two main findings: 1) The entry price reduction ranges up to 39% of the economic value of preferences in some months; 2) Morocco is not maximizing the gains due to this reduction, and could take some trade and policy lessons, mainly trying to better fit to the concession or, if impossible, use it as negotiating capital in future reviews of the agreement.International Relations/Trade,

Modelling Euro-Mediterranean Agricultural Trade

This paper examines the methodological problems to define a modelling approach to assess the impact of full or limited bilateral liberalisation of agricultural trade flows in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The bilateral trade liberalisation process in the region is framed by complexity, in policy instruments and in the characteristics of the products, in particular fruits and vegetables. Advantages and disadvantages of the general equilibrium and partial equilibrium approaches to simulate trade policy impacts are assessed. Caveats of existing models are related to the representation of specific policy instruments (tariffs, entry prices and other non-tariff measures) and on the seasonal nature of horticultural trade, which is of major importance in the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Are. The paper provides an illustration of how an imperfect substitute product model could be helpful to describe the trade effects of bilateral price changes, for given seasons.

F&V Trade Model to Assess Euro-Med Agreements. An Application to the Fresh Tomato Market

The complexity derived from the bilateral trade liberalisation process in the Mediterranean region is difficult to represent in a trade model, not only because of the range of instruments still constraining trade but also because of the special nature of the most important traded goods (product differentiation and seasonality). Tariff-rate quotas (TRQ's) and the entry price system are clearly defined on a monthly basis for the fruits and vegetables trade flows towards the European Union (EU). This point makes efforts to model such a trade in yearly basis not representative of reality. We propose a static partial equilibrium model tailored to model trade impacts of specific policy instruments which considers imports from different sources as imperfect substitutes, following the non-linear Armington type model. Different policy scenarios have been run using the model, considering changes in TRQ's and Entry Price regimes, its tariffication and preference erosion. The results of model runs show that, as regards to EU producers, bilateral trade liberalisation with extension of TRQs would be the least dramatic scenario. By contrast, the phasing out of the entry price system would have serious consequences on EU producers. The model has also given detailed information on Morocco's interests in the negotiation, although it could easily include a larger number of suppliers. Morocco appears to be interested in multilateral liberalisation as well as in bilateral liberalisation. In fact, multilateral liberalisation will not cause a great deal of preference erosion against Moroccan exporters, unless tariff reductions only affect MFN suppliers.International Relations/Trade,

Assessing Euro-Med trade preferences: the case of entry price reduction

The EU protects some of its fruits and vegetables through the entry price system. This system consists on a two-tiered tariff, with high-priced exports paying an ad valorem tariff, whereas low-priced exports pay also a supplementary specific tariff. The breaking point between high and low export prices is the entry price level decided by the EU, generally the same level for all third countries. In a few cases, some Southern Mediterranean partners of the EU have agreed a reduced entry price for their exports, together with the more common ad valorem tariff reduction. Among the indicators used for gauge the value of preferences, there is no one devoted to this case of reduced entry price, hence we develop a new indicator that allows to split which part of the preferential gains corresponds to the entry price reduction and which part corresponds to the “usual” ad valorem tariff reduction. We apply this methodology to Moroccan clementines trade flows, with two main findings: 1) The entry price reduction ranges up to 39% of the economic value of preferences in some months; 2) Morocco is not maximizing the gains due to this reduction, and could take some trade and policy lessons, mainly trying to better fit to the concession or, if impossible, use it as negotiating capital in future reviews of the agreement

Social Performance considered within the global performance of Microfinance Institutions: a new approach

[EN] In last years, microfinance has been seen as an effective measure for empowering whole nations or marginalized groups. However, some negative issues especially with respect to over-indebtedness and high interest rates have been discussed as well. In fact, the performance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) has traditionally been measured by ratios. Thus, it should be remembered that MFIs are special socially-oriented financial organizations, mainly interested in the economic development of both rural and urban areas, in creating jobs, incorporating women into the labour market and addressing environmental concerns. The activity and performance ratios of these organizations are usually based on a single criterion, generally related to financial aspects or the extent of their outreach, in such a way that the performance measurement can vary according to the criterion selected. This paper proposes a new approach, a multicriteria method based on goal programming that considers not only financial aspects and outreach, but also the social Performance related to the activities of a group of MFIs in Ecuador. Our study shows the weight of the Social Performance dimension on the rankings compared with other dimensions. The practical significance of these results lies in that now it is possible to present a more comprehensive picture of the performance of MFIs. Besides, the methodology chosen can shed some light on the mission drift debate.Cervelló Royo, RE.; Guijarro, F.; Martinez Gomez, VD. (2019). Social Performance considered within the global performance of Microfinance Institutions: a new approach. Operational Research (Online). 19(3):737-755. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-017-0360-3S737755193Ahlin C, Lin J, Maio M (2011) Where does Microfinance flourish? Microfinance institution performance in Macroeconomic context. 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Location and Adoption of ICT Innovations in the agri-food industry

This is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published in: “Applied Economics Letters"; Volume 21, Issue 6, 2014; copyright Taylor & Francis; available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2013.864032[EN] This article identifies the web technologies adoption pattern of agri-food industries considering a set of characteristics which include location, economic performance and previous history of adopting innovations. Our main results highlight that, together with certain firm characteristics, rural locations act as an accelerator for the adoption of web technology, compared to the slower adoption rate in urban areas.The authors are grateful for the support received from the Universitat Politècnica de València, (PAID-06-12)Doménech I De Soria, J.; Martinez Gómez, VD.; Mas Verdú, F. (2014). Location and Adoption of ICT Innovations in the agri-food industry. Applied Economics Letters. 21(6):421-424. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2013.864032S42142421

Commerce alimentaire et mesures non tarifaires dans la Méditerranée

[Otros] Depuis les dernières décennies, les pays du Sud et de l'Est de la Méditerranée suivent un processus de libéralisation progressive des échanges. Comme conséquence de ce processus, l'importance et l'intérêt des mesures non tarifaires a augmenté. Le but de cet article est de considérer les facteurs sous-jacents pour l'application des mesures non tarifaires au-delà des préoccupations spécifiques en matière de sécurité alimentaire. Pour ce faire, nous examinons l'importance de deux hypothèses qui fournissent une explication aux MNT dans les pays méditerranéens. La première est l'«effet de réputation» ou l'influence du passé historique des notifications sur les refus à la frontière. La deuxième fait référence à l'hypothèse de la politique de substitution ou compromis entre les mesures non tarifaires et les tarifs douaniers. Ces deux points de vue visent à donner une image de la mise en oeuvre et la situation des MNT dans le commerce alimentaire méditerrannéen. Les deux hypothèses suggèrent qu'il existe des facteurs économiques et politiques qui affectent la mise en oeuvre des MNT.[EN] Since the last decades, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries (SEMCs) are following a process of progressive trade liberalization. As a consequence of such process, the significance and interest on Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) has increased. The aim of this paper is to discuss the underlying factors affecting the implementation of NTMs. NTMs include specific food safety concerns. However, there could also be economic and political reasons affecting the frequency of implementation of food safety measures (border alerts). We thus explore the significance of two hypotheses that provide an explanation of NTMs in Mediterranean countries. The first one is the ¿reputation effect¿ or the influence of past history of notifications on border rejections. The second one refers to the policy substitution hypothesis or the trade-off between NTMs and tariffs. These two approaches intend to give an overview of the implementation of NTMs situation across Mediterranean trade food area. Both suggest that there are economic and political factors affecting NTM implementation.The authors are grateful for the support received from the Universitat Politècnica de València, (PAID-06-12).García Alvarez-Coque, JM.; Tudela Marco, L.; Martinez Gomez, VD. (2015). Mediterranean food trade and Non-Tariff Measures. Options Mediterraneennes. Serie A: Seminaires Mediterraneens. Serie A(111):113-125. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/150319S113125Serie A11

Multi-actor arrangements for farmland management in Eastern Spain

[EN] Farmland abandonment is common in the southern EU countries. This complex phenomenon has a set of interlinked causes and consequences, among the latter the undermining of farmers' cooperatives role as supply aggregators. The paper discusses a multi-actor farmland consolidation model that avoids some of the drawbacks identified by literature to some models of land mobilization, mostly transaction and agency costs. This model consists on a local-based strategy of common land management, led by a cooperative and supported by a set of external agents. As empirical evidences, we show the attitudes of cooperatives' managers surveyed towards common land management and present a case study implementing this multi-actor model. This piece of evidence shows that strengthening social capital is crucial to the success of these social innovation experiences.The authors are grateful for the financial support of Ministry of Science and Innovation/European Regional Development Fund, Spain. Project "Strengthening innovation policy in the agri-food sector" (RTI2018-093791-B-C22). Data of land management practices in agricultural cooperatives were obtained with the support of Catedra de Estructuras Agrarias UPV-Generalitat Valenciana. They are also grateful to the journal editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions which significantly improved this paper.García Alvarez-Coque, JM.; Martinez Gomez, VD.; Tudela-Marco, L. (2021). Multi-actor arrangements for farmland management in Eastern Spain. Land Use Policy. 111:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.1057381911