Empirical Research Of The Impact Of Green Trade Barriers On Shandong's Green Food Exports

Along with the development of economic globalization and trade liberalization, the tariff barriers (TBS) have been supplanted by a multitude of names non-tariff barriers (NTBS) gradually. The green trade barriers (GTB) are one of the most representive trade barriers of it. In this increasingly global environment problems prominent seriously world, those problems have been accorded great importance by worldwide, such as the threats of environmental pollution towards food safety and the hazard to human health. It worth affirming that the original intention to work out GTB was in order to protect environment and human health. But in recent years, many developed countries practiced trade protectionism one after another on the excuse of GTB.They enacted all kinds of testing technologies on food safety, which beyond safety needs indeed. Or they made the technical measures complicated deliberately. Furthermore, they use the discriminatory double standard which are defer from home and abroad. In these ways, they gained the aim of blocking foreign food and protecting their local markets.As one of traditional exports with comparative advantages and competitive advantages in Shandong, green food take a large share of Shandong export industry, contributing one of the major sources of foreign exchange in our province. But recent years, several food safety affairs occurred in our country have not only damaged the international image of Chinese food seriously, but also impacted the food exportation of our country greatly. Green food of Shandong, which get the lion's share of China green food exportation, have been impacted considerably. Many developed countries confined Shandong green food's exportation by extremely severe technological standards, on the ground of falling safety standards, under the name of protection human health and preserving the ecological environment. Therefore, it is the pressing task to research the impact of GTB to trade on Shandong's green food exports and how to break through the barriers.By now, most of the researches in GTB have focused on the introduction of foreign GTB status or the appropriate suggestion to reform measures while updated empirical research on Shandong s green food is limited. The quantitative analysis to GTB can provide data supporting for policy design and dispute settlement. Therefore, the author starts research with the economic analysis of GTB; then analysis the impact of GTB on international trade firstly, which can be either positive or negative. Then the author summarized the GTB status in our green food trade. Taking the example of Japanese Positive List System, analyses the GTB influence on Shandong s green food exportation. First, restricting the exportation of partial agricultural products; second, adding the exportation cost of corporations; third, putting off the time of go through the customs; forth, affecting the income of peasants; fifth, stressing the importers to sign bills; sixth, making partial small and medium-sized enterprises hard to live. Next, the author analyses the reason from home and aboard that Shandong s green food countered GTB. The reasons of aboard are as following:Some countries took the protectionist measures which are more complexed and more disclosed; many developed countries worked out completed legislative and legal system on food security and animal and plant quarantine; developed countries health conscious enhanced. Some reasons are domestic, such as:Our food safety standards are backward; the environmental awareness of agricultural production are weak; food processing low-tech; quality safety information service system of green food or agricultural products are distemperedly; certification system of green food have gap to the international advanced level. Then the author introduces the Gravity Model to analysis the impact on the MRL standards in the vegetable export based on previous analysis. The results of empirical study show that the foreign MRL standards have negative impact on vegetable export, while our local MRL standards can increase export. At last, the author provides some advices to tackle the GTB according to the above research.