Researchers find that in order to see measurable impacts, tariffs would risk diplomacy and cost US consumers about $38 million for each potential invasive pest avoided
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
While incentive-based programs have had many success stories in helping to regulate air quality, control pollution, and protect wildlife and fisheries, they may not be the answer to controlling invasive pests. In a new paper published in a top tier field journal, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Erik Lichtenberg and Lars Olson, professors in Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of Maryland (UMD), examined whether incentive-based tariff policies could be successful in preventing the introduction of invasive pests arriving in imported fruits and vegetables. Exotic organisms that have the potential to become invasive pests are found in about 3% of fresh fruits and vegetables, and under the Plant Protection Act, all cargo containing plant materials, from produce to cut flowers, requires inspection by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS). While in other industries, incentive-based policies have helped make regulation more efficient and less costly overall, researchers find that to have measurable impacts on invasive pest reductions, these policies would not only damage diplomacy and trade relationships, but cost consumers roughly $38 million for each potential invasive pest introduction avoided.
