| Since American president Donald John Trump came to power,who advocates trade protection,international situation has been tense and import and export companies have been affected to varying degrees.On the other hand,China is experiencing an industrial upgrade and the quality of her exports is also in an upgrade stage.Therefore,it is very meaningful to quantify the impact of trade protection on the quality of products in different countries and China as well as the extent to which the quality is affected by trade protection.This paper first summarizes the research literature on trade protection,product quality,and the impact of trade protection on product quality.According to trade protection theory,intra-industry trade theory and existing literature,the paper analyzes the impact of trade protection on product quality and its influence mechanism.Two hypotheses are made:the imposition of tariffs exerts a negative impact on product quality;the approach through which trade protection policy affects product quality is to reduce fixed costs.Empirical analysis demonstrates that trade protection has a negative effect on product quality,i.e.the quality of products in exporting countries drops by 8 units,each time trade protection increases 100 units,which supports the view held by the opponents of trade liberalization that protective trade policy affects the quality of imports and exports,and provides more empirical support for Chinese economists' objection to Trump's protective trade policy.The cost of fixed capital exhibits a significant mediating effect in the process of trade protection influencing product quality.The main reason is that manufacturers,from the perspective of "rational people",maintain their own profits through a decline in product quality,as they have difficulty paying for the fixed production costs of producing of high-quality products.Finally,four suggestions on trade protection and product quality are put forward,based on the research conclusion. |
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