Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in Chinese Agricultural Exports: The Roe of Trade Intermediaries

We study the e§ect of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on Chinese agricultural exports and the role of trade intermediaries in this process following Chinais accession to the World Trade Organization. While agricultural exports and SPS regulations have both grown, the use of trade intermediaries has declined sharply. We develop a model of heterogeneous producer-level decisions about choice of export mode that is consistent with this trend. In our econometric analysis, we analyze the e§ects of SPS measures and trade intermediaries on Chinese fruit and vegetable exports using transaction-level customs data. In contrast to much of the literature, we Ond a positive relationship between SPS measures and exports. The interaction between SPS measures and the use of trade intermediaries is, however, negative, which is also consistent with our model of producersiexport mode decisions.