Non-Tariff Measures Faced by Philippine Agricultural Exports in East Asia

Many consider non-tariff measures (NTMs) as another protectionist stratagem to prevent exports, especially of agriculture, from developing countries. Philippine exporters seem to be taking things in stride, however. The estimated cost of less than 3% of sales borne by a Philippine food exporter due to compliance with certification requirements is less than three percent of sales—relatively insignificant. However, the increased cost from NTMs can adversely affect small-scale industries and exporters that sell products to low-margin foreign markets. The paper also traces the Philippine export products affected by non-tariff measures imposed by East Asian markets. In all, the NTMs of Japan, Korea, and China affect a total of US million of Philippine agriculture exports to these markets, or 2% to 22% of Philippine agricultural exports in these three countries.