8October2021Page:1/5Original:EnglishCOVID-19VACCINEPRODUCTIONANDTARIFFSONVACCINEINPUTSINFORMATIONNOTE1Keypoints:???Amongthetop27vaccinemanufacturingeconomies,Switzerlandhasthelowestaverageappliedmost-favoured-nation(MFN)tariffat1.5percentforvaccineproductioninputs.IranandCubahavethehighestappliedMFNtariffat11.9percentand10.3percent,respectively.Usingcriteriaofatleast5percenttarifffortheproductgroupasa"chokepoint"level,Argentina,IndiaandIranhaveall13productgroupsofvaccineinputswhichcanbeconsideredsensitive/criticalatvaryinglevels,dependingontheshareoftheseproductgroupsrelativetototalimportedvaccineinputs.??Ofthe27topmanufacturers,23haveatleast5chokepoints.InKazakhstan,theaveragetarifffortheproductgroup"vaccineingredients"isalmost29percent,andthisproductgroupaccountsfornearlyonequarterofimportedvaccineinputs.Amongthedifferentproductgroups,"vaccineingredients"arethebuildingblocksforvaccinesandyetitisatariffchokepointfor17manufacturingeconomies.Onaverage,thelowesttariffisfor"heatmarkervaccinevialmonitor",withtheexceptionofIran,whichleviesatariffof32percent(thehighestaverageproductgroupdutyimposedbyanindividualeconomy).Tariffsoncriticalproductstomanufacturevaccinesremainhigh,especiallyinsomedevelopingcountries,andmightimpedetheflowacrossborders.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenahighpercentageoftheseinputsmustbeimportedfromothereconomies.???MembercooperationattheWTOcouldsupporttheeliminationorsignificantreductionoftariffsonthesevaccineinputstoreducecostsandtoexpandoutputfromvaccinemanufacturersmeetingacuteglobalneeds.1.INTRODUCTIONTheanalysisfocusedonthe27topmanufacturingeconomieslistedintheJuly2021reportusingAirfinitydata(seesankeychart).ThelistofinputsthatwereusedinvaccinemanufacturingweretheHarmonizedSystem(HS)six-digitcodesintheJointIndicativeListofCriticalCOVID-19VaccineInputsforConsultation2,classifiedinto13productgroups.UsingtheidentifiedHSsix-digitsubheadingcodes,thelatestavailableMFNtariffs(2020ormostrecentavailable)and2020importsoftheseproductsbythe27topvaccinemanufacturingeconomieswereanalysedtodeterminepossiblesensitiveorchokepoints.2.TECHNICALDETAILSTheMFNappliedtariffswerebasedonthedatasetusedforWorldTariffProfiles2021,and2020importswerebasedontheTDMdataset3.Evenifthenationaltarifflinedata(i.e.eight-digittariff1ThisdocumenthasbeenpreparedundertheWTOSecretariat'sownresponsibilityandiswithoutprejudicetothepositionsofWTOmembersortotheirrightsandobligationsundertheWTO.2Availableat/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/vaccine_inputs_report_e.pdf.3TradeDataMonitoravailableat/每日免費(fèi)獲取報(bào)告1、每日微信群內(nèi)分享7+最新重磅報(bào)告；2、每日分享當(dāng)日華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)、金融時(shí)報(bào)；3、每周分享經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人4、行研報(bào)告均為公開版，權(quán)利歸原作者所有，起點(diǎn)財(cái)經(jīng)僅分發(fā)做內(nèi)部學(xué)習(xí)。掃一掃二維碼關(guān)注公號(hào)回復(fù)：研究報(bào)告加入“起點(diǎn)財(cái)經(jīng)”微信群。。2linecodes)wereavailable,beyondthestandardHSsix-digitlevelthereisnouniformityofcodesacrossnationaltariffnomenclatures.Thus,evenifonlyaportionoftheHSsix-digitcodepertainstotheCOVID-19vaccineinput,thedatausedintheanalysisbothfortariffsandimportswerethesix-digitMFNtariffaverageandthetotalsix-digitimportsfromtheworld.Preferentialtariffswerenottakenintoconsiderationandthusintra-EUimports,importsfrompartnersoffreetradeagreements(FTAs)oranyotherpreferentialimportsweretreatedasifMFNtariffswerelevied.Furthermore,therewasdefinitelyanover-estimationoftheimportvalueoftheinputs,sinceidentificationofthenationalbreakdownpertainingtotheactualproductusedinvaccinemanufacturingcannotbeeasilydone.Sometimesevenwithinthemostdetailednationaltariffline(orspecificproduct)codeavailable(eightdigitsorlonger),theproductcoveragedoesnotnecessarilyreferonlytothespecificvaccineinputandincludesnon-vaccine-relatedinputs.Whiletariffestimatescanbearguablygoodenough,4thesamecannotbesaidoftheestimatedimportsvalue.3.IDENTIFYINGCRITICALPRODUCTSANDPOSSIBLECHOKEPOINTSIntheanalysis,theMFNappliedtariffsandtotalimportsbyproductgroupswereestimated.IntheNon-AgriculturalMarketAccess(NAMA)negotiations,aproposalwasmadetoeliminatelowdutiesornuisancetariffs(tariffsbelow5percentasperonedefinition).Thus,forthisanalysis,anyproductgroupwithanaverageMFNtariffweightedbyimportsoflessthan5percentdoesnotposeanymarketaccessbarrierasfarasthetariffisconcerned.Tariffsofatleast5percentwereconsideredconsequentialornon-negligible.Another"commonlyaccepted"definitionisthatanytariffgreaterthan15percentisalreadyconsideredatariffpeak.Theselevelsoftariffwereassumedtoinfluencethemarketaccessoftheproduct.Theimpactofthetariffisalsorelatedtotheshareofimportsofthespecificproductgroup.Inthisregard,five"arbitrary"criticallevelswereidentified(seeTable1).Table1:CriticallevelsaccordingtoweightedMFNtariffandimportshareinallimportedvaccineinputsLevelWeightedMFNImportshareNon-criticalLessthan5%Nolimit12345-15%5-15%Greaterthan15%Greaterthan15%Lessthan10%10%ormoreLessthan10%10%ormore4.ANALYSISANDRESULTSTheanalysisshowsthatSwitzerlandat1.5percenthasthelowesttariffsamongthe27topvaccineproducers,followedbytheUnitedStates(2percent)andJapan(2.1percent)(seeTable2).ThetwohighestaveragetariffswereleviedbyCuba(10.3percent)andIran(11.9percent),anaccedingmember.Belarus,anotheraccedingmember,hasanaveragetariffof5.2percent.Fifteenmanufacturershavetariffslessthan5percent.TheaveragetariffsofEUmemberStatesvarybecauseofthedifferencesinthetypeandvalueofvaccineinputsthattheyimport.BelgiumhasthelowestaveragetariffamongtheeightEUmemberStatesinthevaccinemanufacturersgroup.Usingtheaveragetariffandimportshareofeachproductgroup,alevelwasassignedtoeachproductcategorywithineachvaccineproducingeconomy(seeresults).Anyproductgroupwithanaveragetariffofatleast5percentwasdeemedapossiblechokepoint.Usingtheassignedchokepointlevels,theresultsshowthatthreeeconomies(Argentina,India,Iran)havetariffsof5percentorhigherinallproductgroups.Incontrast,JapanandtheUnitedStateshaveaveragetariffsoflessthan5percentacrossall13productgroupsandthushavenocriticalorpossiblechokepoint.Kazakhstanhasoneproductgrouponthehighestchokepointlevel(i.e.tariffgreaterthan15percentandanimportsharegreaterthan10percent):theaveragetarifffor"vaccineingredients"is28.6percent,andtheproductgroupaccountsforalmostaquarterofallimportedvaccineinputs.ThenumberofmanufacturingeconomiesbynumberofchokepointsareshowninTable3.4See/english/res_e/statis_e/wtp2020_special_topic_e.pdf.3Table2:WeightedaverageMFNTariffofthetopvaccinemanufacturingeconomies,rankedbylowesttohighesttariffManufacturingeconomySwitzerlandUnitedStatesofAmericaJapanWeightedMFNaverage(%)1.52.02.12.82.83.03.23.54.04.14.34.54.64.84.95.15.25.75.9BelgiumIsraelAustraliaRussianFederationChineseTaipeiUnitedKingdomEgyptGermanyChinaFranceCzechRepublicNetherlandsAustriaBelarusSpainItalyKorea,RepublicofThailand6.26.46.88.58.9BrazilIndiaKazakhstanArgentina9.610.311.9CubaIranSource:WTOSecretariatestimates.Table3:NumberofmanufacturingeconomiesperchokepointrangesManufacturingeconomiesNumberofchokepointsNumberPercentage7.4%None1-4227.4%5-67-89-1011-13105237.0%18.5%7.4%622.2%Ofthe27topmanufacturers,23haveatleast5chokepoints.JapanandtheUnitedStateshavenochokepoint;butSwitzerland,whichhasthelowestaveragetariffhasonecriticalproduct("metalcrimpseals")leviedanaveragetariffof5.2percenteveniftheshareofthisproductgroupamongimportedvaccineinputsisonly2percent.Amongthe13differentproductgroups,"vaccineingredients"isthemostimportantcategoryofvaccineinputsgroupandunderstandablycoverthewidestrangeofproducts(seeTable4).Thereare31subheadingsunderthisproductgroupwithanaveragetariffof5.6percentacrossallvaccinemanufacturingeconomies.Ethanol,avaccineingredient,isleviedatariffequivalentof291percent4inKazakhstanandBelarus(Table5).TariffsforvaccineingredientsarelowestinIsrael(0.3percent),Switzerland(0.6percent)andAustralia(0.7percent).Thereare17manufacturersforwhichtheaveragetariffisatleast5percent,thelimittobeconsideredanon-negligibleduty.TheproductgroupswiththehighestaverageMFNare"sterileconnectors"(6.0percent),"sterilebottles"(5.9percent)and"bioreactorbags"(5.9percent)andaretariffchokepointsin22to23manufacturingeconomies.Importdutyonvialsissubstantialforalargemajorityofmanufacturers(23)eveniftheaveragetariffisonly4.6percent.Table4:AverageandmaximumMFNtariffbyproductgroupforthetop27vaccinemanufacturersNo.ofdistinctHS6-digitsubheadingsinproductgroupNo.ofWeightedMFNappliedaverage(%)manufacturerswithatariffofatleast5%MaximumMFN(%)Productgroup(chokepoint)Bioreactor61.65.91.54.02.01.32.74.45.96.04.25.64.615181414923Bioreactorbags2211127Cellculturemedia&reagentsErlenmeyerflasksFilters231Heatmarkervaccinevialmonitor9321522181511291252ManufacturingequipmentMetalcrimpsealsSterilebottle7614232213172311SterileconnectorStoppers11VaccineingredientsVials311Source:WTOSecretariatcalculations.ThelowestaverageMFNamongproductgroupsrefersto"heatmarkervaccinevialmonitor"evenifithasthesecondhighestmaximum,whichimpliesthatthetariffsforthisproductgrouparegenerallylow(exceptforIran,whichcharges32percentforthetwosubheadingsclassifiedunderthisgroup).ThisproductgroupisdutyfreeintheEuropeanUnion,Japan,theRepublicofKorea,ChineseTaipei,theUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Theproductgroup"bioreactor"isleastconsideredasachokepoint–onlysixmanufacturershavetariffsofatleast5percentforthisgroup.Theresultsshowthattariffsonthesecriticalproductstomanufacturevaccinesremainhigh,especiallyinsomedevelopingcountries,andmightimpedetheflowacrossborders.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenahighpercentageoftheseinputsmustbeimportedfromothereconomies.UsingthenuisancetarifflevelproposedduringtheNAMAnegotiationstobeanytariffbelow5percent,any