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Abstract

The rise in non-tariff protectionist measures has been associated to the weakness in global trade over the last few years. We investigate the effect of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) on export growth over the period 2009-2013 using administrative data at the firm-product-destination level in Spain. According to our findings, non-tariff protectionist measures significantly reduce export growth at the product-destination level. Moreover, NTBs also hinder export growth at the firm level and negatively affect other firm outcomes such as productivity growth. In contrast, the impact of liberalizing non-tariff measures is not statistically significant.