Impact assessment of international policy coordination with the WTO technical barriers to trade agreement and foreign financial assistance upon the intent to comply with the agreement: findings of a cross-sectional study of mango exporters in Pakistan

The proliferated implication of the WTO technical regulations, especially as legal force, affects the compliance rate of Pakistan's exporters with technical barriers to trade which hampers the export growth and potential of agriculture and processed food from the country. The study explores the extent to which the mango exporters of Pakistan conform to the WTO technical barriers to trade (TBT). The TBT imposed by the World Trade Organization is not desired to impede exports but it does restrict the exporters of developing countries like Pakistan, who are limited by inadequate financial resources and expertise, to exploit their full potential. Based on the survey-based approach, a sample of exporters from major mango producing regions of Punjab and Sindh has been taken for an experimental study. Compliance rate, measured on an ordinal scale of 1-5, estimated through ordered probit and ordinary least square econometric modelling techniques revealed parallel outcomes.