Multilateral Trade and Agricultural Policy Reforms in Sugar Markets, September 2005

We analyze the impact of trade liberalization, removal of production subsidies, and elimination of consumption distortions in world sugar markets using a partial-equilibrium international sugar model calibrated on 2002 market data and current policies. The removal of trade distortions alone induces a 27% price increase while the removal of all trade and production distortions induces a 48% increase by 2011/12 relative to the baseline. Aggregate trade expands moderately, but location of production and trade patterns change substantially. Protectionist OECD countries (the EU, Japan, the US) experience an import expansion or export reduction and significant contraction in production in unfettered markets. Competitive producers in both OECD countries (Australia) and non-OECD countries (Brazil, Cuba), and even some protected producers (Indonesia, Turkey), expand production when all distortions are removed. Consumption distortions have marginal impacts on world markets and location of production. We discuss the significance of these results in the context of mounting pressures to increase market access in highly protected OECD countries and the impact on non-OECD countries.

I-35 Corridor Trade Study Newsletter, Winter 1998

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)and the Departments of Transportation in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota combined their efforts to conduct The I-35 Trade Corridor Study.

I-35 Corridor Trade Study - Final Executive Summary, 2005

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Departments of Transportation in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota combined their efforts to conduct a study of Interstate Highway 35 (I-35) from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota. The purpose of the study was to assess the need for improved local, intrastate, interstate, and international service on I-35 and to clearly define a general feasible improvement plan to address those needs

I-35 Corridor Trade Study Newsletter, Fall 1999

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)and the Departments of Transportation in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota combined their efforts to conduct The I-35 Trade Corridor Study.

I-35 Corridor Trade Study Newsletter, Spring 1999

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)and the Departments of Transportation in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota combined their efforts to conduct The I-35 Trade Corridor Study.

I-35 Corridor Trade Study Newsletter, Fall 1998

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)and the Departments of Transportation in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota combined their efforts to conduct The I-35 Trade Corridor Study.

I-35 Corridor Trade Study Newsletter, Spring 1998

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)and the Departments of Transportation in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota combined their efforts to conduct The I-35 Trade Corridor Study.

Tariff Equivalent of Technical Barriers to Trade with Imperfect Substitution and Trade Costs, November 2005

The price-wedge method yields a tariff-equivalent estimate of technical barriers to trade (TBT). An extension of this method accounts for imperfect substitution between domestic and imported goods and incorporates recent findings on trade costs. We explore the sensitivity of this revamped TBT estimate to its key determinants (substitution elasticity, preference for home good, and trade cost). We use the augmented approach to investigate the ongoing US-Japan apple trade dispute and find that removing the Japanese TBT would yield limited export gains to the United States. We then draw policy implications of our findings.

Department of Commerce Iowa Professional Licensing and Regulation Division Performance Report, FY 2004

Agency Performance Report from the Professional Licensing and Regulation Division

The Regulatory Choice between a Label and a Minimum-Quality Standard, 2005

This paper revisits the issue of the regulatory choice between a mandatory label and a minimum-quality standard. When the cost of regulation is relatively low, we show that the socially optimal choice depends on the producers’ cost structure for complying with regulation and improving quality. Under a marginal cost for improving quality, the mandatory labeling is sufficient for reaching the socially optimal level of quality. Under a fixed cost for improving quality, we show that each instrument or the combination of both instruments may emerge at the equilibrium.

Intra-Industry Trade, Multilateral Trade Integration, and Invasive Species Risk, December 2006

We analyze the linkage between protectionism and invasive species (IS) hazard in the context of two-way trade and multilateral trade integration, two major features of real-world agricultural trade. Multilateral integration includes the joint reduction of tariffs and trade costs among trading partners. Multilateral trade integration is more likely to increase damages from IS than predicted by unilateral trade opening under the classic Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) framework because domestic production (the base susceptible to damages) is likely to increase with expanding export markets. A country integrating its trade with a partner characterized by relatively higher tariff and trade costs is also more likely to experience increased IS damages via expanded domestic production for the same reason. We illustrate our analytical results with a stylized model of the world wheat market.

The Recent International and Regulatory Decisions about Geographical Indications, 2007

As worldwide consumer demand for high-quality products and for information about these products increases, labels and geographical indications (GIs) can serve to signal quality traits to consumers. However, GI systems among countries are not homogeneous and can be used as trade barriers against competition. Philosophical differences between the European Union and the United States about how GIs should be registered and protected led to the formation of a WTO dispute settlement panel. In this paper we discuss the issues behind the dispute, the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel decision, and the EU response to the panel decision leading to the new Regulation 510/2006. Given the potential for GI labels to supply consumer information, context is provided for the discussion using recent literature on product labeling. Implications are drawn regarding the importance of the panel decision and the EU response relative to GI issues yet to be negotiated under the Doha Round.

Iowa Department of Commerce, Professional Licensing and Regulation Division Performance Report, FY 2004

Agency Performance Report

Iowa Department of Commerce, Professional Licensing and Regulation Division Performance Report, FY 2005

Agency Performance Report

Iowa Department of Commerce, Professional Licensing and Regulation Division Performance Report, FY 2005

Agency Performance Report