Abstract:Against the backdrop of high-level openness to the global market, attention has increasingly focused on the position within the global value chain. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, pivotal factors affecting agricultural imports and exports and posing significant barriers to agricultural product exports from developing countries, play a crucial role in determining the global value chain position of agriculture. Drawing on panel data spanning from 1995 to 2018 encompassing 44 major economies, this study employs panel fixed-effects models to examine the direct and indirect impacts of SPS measures on the global value chain position of agriculture, as well as the mechanisms underlying these effects. The findings reveal several key points: Firstly, SPS measures directly enhance the global value chain position of agriculture in the initiating country. Secondly, SPS measures indirectly improve the global value chain position of agriculture in the initiating country by influencing technological advancements. Thirdly, the relationship between the technological level of the agricultural sector and its position in the global value chain exhibits nonlinearity, with a singular threshold effect on the enhancement of the initiating country’s agricultural global value chain position. Technological advancements significantly boost this position only upon surpassing this threshold. Fourthly, the impact of SPS measures on enhancing the position of developing countries in the global agricultural value chain has an improvement effect, although the level of significance is insufficient. Nonetheless, SPS measures continue to significantly influence the enhancement of the global value chain position of agriculture. Consequently, in the pursuit of China’s high-standard engagement with the global market, strategic utilization of SPS measures can effectively elevate China""s position within the global agricultural value chain, thereby facilitating the high-quality development of the agricultural sector.