Specific Tariffs, Tariff Simplification, and the Structure of Import Tariffs in Russia
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Russia’s tariff structure contains over 11,000 tariff lines, of which roughly 1,700 can carry a specific (per-unit) tariff — these are typically excluded from published ad valorem tariff statistics, understating true protection. Using a new dataset, we provide the first accurate assessment of Russian tariff rates: the average tariff rose from about 11.5% in 2001 to 13–14.5% by 2003, then held steady through 2005, placing Russia above other middle-income countries and well above the OECD. The trade-weighted standard deviation of tariffs roughly doubled from 9.5% to 18% over 2001–2003 before falling back to 15.2% by 2005; ignoring specific tariffs underestimates average tariff rates by one to three percentage points.
Russia’s tariff structure contains over 11,000 tariff lines, of which roughly 1,700 can carry a specific (per-unit) tariff — these are typically excluded from published ad valorem tariff statistics, understating true protection. Using a new dataset, we provide the first accurate assessment of Russian tariff rates: the average tariff rose from about 11.5% in 2001 to 13–14.5% by 2003, then held steady through 2005, placing Russia above other middle-income countries and well above the OECD. The trade-weighted standard deviation of tariffs roughly doubled from 9.5% to 18% over 2001–2003 before falling back to 15.2% by 2005; ignoring specific tariffs underestimates average tariff rates by one to three percentage points.
Published in: Eastern European Economics, 2008. With David Tarr.