Export Strategy Tool

The 250 page Washington State Report on Foreign Trade Barriers to Agricultural Exports compiled by Robert Hamilton, Advisor for Trade Policy, is a wealth of information, but a paper report of that magnitude is expensive to distribute, and because of it size not easy for growers to navigate and search. That’s why a team of researchers with WSU’s Export Assistance Program took the report’s information concerning product types, countries, quotas, tariff and non-tariff barriers and digitized it into two searchable, online databases for public use. Lead researcher and assistant professor in the WSU School of Economic Sciences, Andrew Casey, talks about the report focus, and hopefully the ease with which growers can now find the information they need to develop an export strategy.

CASEY: That report is only focusing on the tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. It’s not a market assessment report. It just says if there’s a tariff, quota, or phytosanitary barrier. One of the problems with exporting or beginning to export is there’s so many regulations and barriers and they’re all in very separate places - you know, the information you need to overcome those barriers. We think this is a help that is making it easier to get the information you need. Now you can just go to our website and select that country, select the product you’re thinking about selling, and the barriers pop right up.

Casey also went on to say that the easy online access to this information might also be a call to action for legislators in reassessing some of the barriers and the impact of those barriers on the agriculture industry in order to negotiate new deals.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.