Who Bears the Burden of U.s. Nontariff Measures?

This article provides evidence on the incidence of U.S. nontariff measures (NTMs) by investigating the relationship between per capita income and various indicators of NTM use. Collectively, NTMs are found to bear heavily on products of export interest to the poorer countries. Antidumping duty actions and voluntary export restraint agreements primarily target newly industrializing and industrial nations in the middle third of the income scale. The overall protection pattern suggests poorer countries will find it difficult to escape NTMs by attaining higher levels of economic development. Results also provide insight into country and industry-level determinants of NTM use. (JEL F0, F1)