The impact of Korea’s SPS measures on agricultural and food exports from IPEF member countries: Focused on disaggregated products

With South Korea's participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), there is growing expectation for the country to relax non-tariff barriers, particularly sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.As SPS measures have historically been used to protect South Korea's agricultural sector, this shift may have notable implications for agri-food imports.This study examines the impact of South Korea's SPS measures on agri-food exports from IPEF member countries, using disaggregated data classified under HS codes 01-24.Products are grouped into four categories: livestock (HS01-02, 04-05), crops (HS06-14), fisheries (HS03), and processed/other products (HS15-24).Employing a gravity model with panel data, the analysis uses fixed effects model (FEM) and the Poisson pseudo-maximum-likelihood (PPML) estimator to address zero trade flow issues.The results show that South Korea's SPS measures significantly reduce exports of livestock, crops, and processed products from IPEF countries, while fisheries exports are not significantly affected.By offering a sector-specific analysis based on HS codes, this study provides new insights into the trade effects of SPS measures.Future research is recommended to examine the impact of specific SPS measures at more disaggregated product levels.