The Upstream Tariff Simulator (UTAS) : A Tool to Assess the Impact of Tariff Reform on Input Costs and Effective Protection across Sectors

Eberhard-Ruiz, Andreas ; Varela, Gonzalo J. ; Casal, Lucia ; Ganz, Federico

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: TARIFF POLICY;    TRADE POLICY;    INPUT-OUTPUT ECONOMICS;    SIMULATION;    TARIFF PROTECTION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-9158
RP-ID  :  WPS9158

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Increased international productionfragmentation implies that firms at home rely on importedintermediates for production. In this context, tariff policydesign needs to consider the impact downstream of changes intariffs upstream. Policy makers embarking on tariff reformsneed to answer questions such as: what is the impact oftariff changes on production costs downstream? What are thekey input tariffs that could be reduced to lower productioncosts in priority sectors considering sectors' backwardlinkages? Or how will a tariff rationalization plan thatfocuses on tariff reductions in raw materials andintermediates affect effective protection across sectors?This paper presents the Upstream Tariff Simulator, a simpleMicrosoft Excel–based tool designed to help policy makersanswer these questions, by combining information on tariffsand input-output structures and allowing alternativesectoral aggregations, and alternative market structures forinput markets. It provides the underlying conceptualframework and a range of examples that show the insightsthat the tool can provide to policy makers when analyzingthe impact of tariff reforms.