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Reproducibility package for It's Not (Just) The Tariffs: Rethinking Non-Tariff Measures In A Fragmented Global Economy

2025
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Reference ID
RR_WLD_2025_434
Author(s)
Daria Taglioni, Hiau Looi Kee
Collections
World Bank Policy Research Working Papers
Metadata
JSON
Created on
Oct 15, 2025
Last modified
Oct 15, 2025
  • Overview
  • Reproducibility Package
  • Description
  • Scope and coverage
  • Disclaimer
  • Access and rights
  • Contacts
  • Information on metadata

    • Overview

    Abstract

    As tariffs have declined, non-tariff measures (NTMs) have become central to trade policy, especially in high-income countries and regulated sectors like food and green technologies. While NTMs serve legitimate goals, they could also sort countries and firms into or out of markets based on compliance capacity and differences in product mix across countries and firms. Documenting recent advances in the estimation of ad valorem equivalents (AVEs), this paper uncovers new patterns of NTM use and exposure. High-income countries rely more heavily on NTMs relative to tariffs, while low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face steeper AVEs on their exports. Firm-level evidence shows NTMs disproportionately affect smaller firms and can cause market exit and concentration. Poorly designed NTMs can harm productivity and welfare, while coordinated, capacity-aware use can deliver inclusive outcomes. Policy design, transparency, and diagnostics must evolve to reflect the growing role—and risks—of NTMs in a fragmented global trade landscape.

    Reproducibility Package

    Scripts
    Get Reproducibility Package
    File name
    RR_WLD_2025_434
    Zip package
    RR_WLD_2025_434.zip
    Title
    Reproducibility package for It's Not (Just) The Tariffs: Rethinking Non-Tariff Measures In A Fragmented Global Economy
    Date
    2025-10
    Dependencies
    R dependencies are listed in the file renv.lock. Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.
    Instructions
    See README in reproducibility package.
    Notes
    Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.
    Source code repository
    Repository name URI
    Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) https://reproducibility.worldbank.org
    Software
    Name
    R
    Version
    4.4.0
    Name
    Stata
    Version
    18 MP

    Reproducibility

    Technology environment

    Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
    • OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
    • Processor: INTEL(R) XEON(R) PLATINUM 8562Y+ 2.80 GHz (4 processors)
    • Memory available: 32 GB
    Technology requirements

    Run time: ~ 10 minutes
    Reproduction instructions
    1. Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See subsection Datasets and the README for more details.
    2. Download and Place Data: Once the data is accessed, users should place it in the appropriate folder.
    3. Run the Package: After placing the data in the folder, run the files in the order:
      • Update the global in line 36 of the do-file "Master_dofile" to your folder's location and run the do-file.
      • Open the R project "NTM" and run the script "Figure5".

    Since all the data is not included, the package includes the results produced by replicators in the Results folder. These files can be used to review the results presented in the paper.

    Data

    Datasets
    Name
    World Development Indicators
    Note
    Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Variables included: GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$, NY.GDP.PCAP.KD) Files: data/GDP/GDP_constant_prices.xls
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by
    Data URL
    https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD
    Name
    Database of Ad Valorem Equivalent of Non-Tariff Measures (DAVE-NTM)
    Note
    Source: Kee, H. L., & Nicita, A. (2022). Trade Fraud and Non-Tariff Measures. Journal of International Economics, 139 , 103682. Follow the link and download the file "Data for AVE estimation", this is masterdatasetJIE.dta file. Files: data/JIE_data/masterdatasetJIE.dta
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/int/public-licenses?fragment=cc
    Data URL
    https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/int/search/dataset/0062862
    Name
    Trade Policy and Tariff Measures Dataset
    Note
    Source: Kee, H. L., & Xie, E. (2024). Trade Policies Mix and Match: Theory, Evidence and the Sino-EU Battery Electric Vehicle Disputes. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (10855). & Zavala, L., Fernandes, A. M., Haygood, R., Reed, T., & Reyes, J. D. (2023). Quality Regulation Creates and Reallocates Trade. World Bank Working Paper (10601). This dataset contains two time series ranging from 1990 to 2018. The first one is the world average applied tariff (From Zavala 2023), the second one the notifications to the WTO (From Kee, 2024). Files: data/JIE_data/NTM_Tariff.dta
    Access policy
    Forthcoming on Development Data Hub.
    Name
    Market Access Map Database
    Note
    Source: Market Access Map, International Trade Centre, www.macmap.org. This dataset is a bulk download that contains the information at an 6-digit HS level on the applied tariffs for bilateral trade flows for USA on 2021. Follow the instructions in the README to download the dataset. Files: data/Tariffs/MAcMap-USA_2021_Tariff_HS6_min
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution.
    Data URL
    https://www.macmap.org/
    Name
    UN COMTRADE Global Trade data
    Note
    Source: : Data was accessed through a query on the UN COMTRADE database executed through World Integrated Trade Solution (https://wits.worldbank.org/). The README contains more information on how to reproduce the exact query. Files: data/US_imports/US_imports.csv
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution.
    License URL
    https://comtrade.un.org/licenseagreement.html
    Data URL
    https://wits.worldbank.org/
    Data statement

    Some data is not yet publicly available but is expected to be made available through the World Bank Development Data Hub in the future.

    Description

    Output
    Type
    Working Paper
    Title
    It's Not (Just) The Tariffs: Rethinking Non-Tariff Measures In A Fragmented Global Economy
    Description
    Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
    Authors
    Author Affiliation Email
    Daria Taglioni World Bank dtaglioni@worldbank.org
    Hiau Looi Kee World Bank hlkee@worldbank.org
    Date of production

    2025-10-15

    Scope and coverage

    Geographic locations
    Location Code
    World WLD
    Keywords
    Tariffs Non-Tariff Measures Trade Policies Regulatory Sorting
    Topics
    ID Topic Parent topic ID Vocabulary Vocabulary URI
    F13 Trade Policy • International Trade Organizations F1 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    F18 Trade and Environment F1 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)

    Disclaimer

    Disclaimer

    The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.

    Access and rights

    License
    Name URI
    Modified BSD3 https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email
    Daria Taglioni World Bank dtaglioni@worldbank.org
    Reproducibility WBG World Bank reproducibility@worldbank.org

    Information on metadata

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Reproducibility WBG DECDI World Bank - Development Impact Department Verification and preparation of metadata
    Date of Production

    2025-10-15
    Document version

    1
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