Can raising trade barriers curb industrial pollution emissions?

The development of foreign trade and industrial pollution control is an important theme of government governance today. Based on the institutional background of rising international trade protectionism, this study examines the impact of trade barriers on industrial pollution emissions by using different measurement methods and data from 16 industrial sectors in 10 major countries. The results show that lowering trade barriers can significantly reduce industrial pollution emissions, considering the impact of potential endogenous problems. Heterogeneity analysis shows that reducing trade barriers in developed countries can reduce industrial SO 2 -emission intensity, while the opposite is true in developing countries. Trade barriers have the greatest effect on the pollution-emission intensity of technology-intensive industries, followed by labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries. Mechanism analysis shows that trade barriers affect industrial pollution-emission intensity through both pollution emission and industrial output and that energy-use intensity and biased technological progress are important mechanisms. This study provides a useful reference for governments to promote foreign trade development and ecological and environmental protection.