Standard harmonization as chasing zero (tolerance limits): The impact of veterinary drug residue standards on crustacean imports in the EU, Japan, and North America

Food safety standards in the seafood trade between developing country exporters and developed country importers have been a topic of much discussion in the trade literature. As an important source of foreign currency earnings and employment for many lower income developing countries, stricter safety standards in sea food may have the potential to pose barriers to trade, especially for many Asian seafood exporters. The refusal rate for shrimp, the most important product of this category, has increased by over 189% in the same period. India and Indonesia have seen refusals of their crustacean shipments to the US increase tenfold between 2001 and 2003 alone. Although the US example suggests that a small percentage of import refusals are a result of tighter CAP standards, the empirical results suggest that the number of CAP-related interventions has significant yet differential economic effects on the extensive and the intensive margins for top seafood exporters and certain Asian exporters.

Duke Scholars

Author Norbert Lance Weston Wilson Divinity School