Analysis of the Impact of Digital Trade Barriers on the Export Resilience of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises-Empirical Analysis Based on Cross-Border Panel Data

Abstract

In the digital economy era, the average annual growth rate of global digital trade scale reached 15%, but the digital trade barriers of various countries are characterized by "non-tariff" and "technicalization". Therefore, the compliance costs of small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries increased by 25%-40%, and the export recovery cycle was extended by 6-12 months. This paper takes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with export volume of less than US$20 million in 2018-2022 as a sample and uses the dual-differential method and panel fixed-effect model to explore the influence mechanism and response path of digital trade barriers on their export resilience. The research found that digital trade barriers significantly inhibit the export resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the impact of data governance barriers is the strongest. Increased compliance costs, imbalance in resource allocation and lag in market adjustment are the main transmission paths, and R&D investment and market diversification can alleviate this inhibitory effect. This study fills the gap in existing research in micro mechanisms and dynamic capabilities analysis and provides micro evidence and practical reference for small and medium-sized enterprises to break through barriers through technological innovation and market diversification, as well as policy makers to promote the docking of rules and provide compliance subsidies. It is recommended that the government speed up the participation of international digital agreements, establish compliance subsidies and public data platforms, and enterprises increase R&D, expand markets, adopt lightweight tools and participate in multinational alliances.