Trade Facilitation beyond the Doha Round of Negotiations

this paper succinctly explores three emerging (in the case of customs valuation, re-emerging) issues, drawing from recent ARTNeT working papers as well as other relevant literature: (a) trade facilitation and regional trade agreements and initiatives; (b) trade facilitation and customs valuation; and (c) trade facilitation and services.Trade, Facilitation, Doha, Negotiations

Trade Facilitation Negotiations in the WTO: Implications for Bangladesh and Other Least Developed and Developing Countries

This paper provides an overview of how trade facilitation has been addressed in the WTO to date, and how this may affect Bangladesh’s negotiating strategy on trade facilitation in the upcoming Cancun Ministerial and beyond. The paper also defines the term “trade facilitation”, reviews the development of trade facilitation in the international community apart from the WTO, and examines the work that has taken place on the issue in the WTO including the current state of play in trade facilitation discussions. Apart from providing an overview of WTO provisions that are relevant to trade facilitation, as a part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), and summarising the proposals that various WTO members have made for enhancing trade facilitation in the WTO, the paper addresses some of the implementation issues WTO members face with respect to trade facilitation. It further examines the implications of trade facilitation negotiations on Bangladesh and other least developed and developing countries, and how these will shape the negotiating strategies and policies of these countries.Trade Facilitation, WTO, LDC, Bangladesh

An Evaluation of the Need and Cost of Selected Trade Facilitation Measures in Bangladesh: Implications for the WTO Negotiations on Trade Facilitation

With the ongoing customs reforms in Bangladesh, the possible future negotiations on trade facilitation in the WTO will have a profound impact on Bangladesh, as well as on other LDC and developing countries. These countries will benefit greatly from new trade facilitation initiatives. Simultaneously, these countries may face enormous challenges in implementing their commitments in the area of trade facilitation. It is, thus, imperative for these countries to closely monitor the Doha negotiations in this area and be prepared to formulate their negotiating strategies. They should also continue with customs administration reform and trade facilitation capacity building programs in order to develop their own capacity.WTO, Trade Facilitation, Bangladesh

Expanding Trade within Africa: The Impact of Trade Facilitation

This paper examines the impact of trade facilitation on intra-African trade. The authors examine the role of trade facilitation reforms, such as increased port efficiency, improved customs, and regulatory environments, and upgrading services infrastructure on trade between African countries. They also consider how regional trade agreements relate to intra-African trade flows. Using trade data from 2003 to 2004, they find that improvement in ports and services infrastructure promise relatively more expansion in intra-African trade than other measures. They also show that, almost all regional trade agreements have a positive effect on trade flowsTrade; Africa; Regional Integration; Trade Facilitation

Behind-the-Border Trade Facilitation in Asia-Pacific: Cost of Trade, Credit Information, Contract Enforcement and Regulatory Coherence

This paper evaluates the potential contribution of both trade and business facilitation measures to trade and export competitiveness, as well as the potential gains from adopting a more integrated and coherent approach to trade and business (investment) facilitation. The analysis confirms that measures aimed at reducing the behind and at-the-border cost of exporting, such as reduction in customs and port fees and charges and improvement in transport infrastructure and logistics services can be expected to have a significant impact on trade. However, it also reveals that improving the domestic business (investment) environment may have an impact on export competitiveness of a magnitude similar to the trade and transport facilitation measures. The study also finds evidence that achieving similar performance levels across the range of trade and business facilitation areas, i.e., having a more integrated approach to trade and business facilitation, could significantly increase trade competitiveness. Overall, the study suggests that trade officials should actively develop cooperation and communication channels with other ministries and institutions in charge of different types of business regulations - in particular, those related to credit information and contract enforcement.Trade facilitation, Ease of Doing Business, Regulatory Environment, Export Competitiveness

Impact of Trade Facilitation Measures and Regional Trade Agreements on Food and Agricultural Tarde in South Asia

The study assess the extent to which trade facilitation in South Asia help to improve trade flows in South Asian countries and their trading partners.Trade Facilitation, Regional Trade Agreements, Food and Agricultural Trade, South Asia

Impact of information technology in trade facilitation on small and medium-sized enterprises in Bangladesh

This paper focuses specifically on one particular aspect of trade facilitation in the context of Bangladesh, i.e., impact on SMEs of IT in trade facilitation. It is hoped that the policy recommendations offered in this paper will be useful in furthering the cause of SME internationalization in Bangladesh.Trade Facilitation, Bangladesh, SMEs, Information Technology

The Impact of Aid for Trade Facilitation on the Costs of Trading

There have been ongoing discussions within the WTO Doha Round on Trade Facilitation and the wider Aid for Trade agenda to assist developing countries in reducing behind-the-border restrictions and to help them benefit from trade reform. Our paper contributes to this debate by analyzing the impact of foreign aid spent on Aid for Trade and Trade Facilitation on the costs of trading. In our empirical investigation, we conduct a panel data estimation for a sample of 99 developing countries for the period 2004-2009. Overall, we find that our aid measures have a negative effect on the costs of trading. --Trade Facilitation,Aid for Trade,Trade Costs

The Effect of Trade Facilitation on Sectoral Trade

This paper aims to analyse the effect of trade facilitation on sectoral trade flows. We use data from the World Bank’s Doing Business Database on the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import goods in a country, on the number of documents needed and on the required time to complete all the administrative procedures to import and export. An augmented gravity equation is estimated for 13 exporters and 167 importers using a number of estimation techniques, namely OLS, PPML and the Harvey model. A common result is that trade flows increase by lowering transport costs and the number of days required to trade. The outcome supports multilateral initiatives, as that in the WTO, which encourages countries to assess their trade facilitation needs and priorities and to improve them. The measures adopted will not only benefit the country that improves trade facilitation, but also its trading partners.gravity model, trade facilitation, time, trade cost

Policy Coherence and Coordination for Trade Facilitation: Integrated Border Management, Single-Windows and other Options for Developing Countries

There is now increasing recognition of the critical importance of trade facilitation to further international commerce, accelerate growth, and enhance welfare if not alleviate poverty among trading nations. But there is also increasing appreciation that it is not just attention to the barriers and bottlenecks behind-the-border that are involved in trade facilitation (TF), it also calls for coherence between policies and regulations at the border and inside the border. The unavoidable participation of many government agencies and private stakeholders in border transactions calls for coordination among them towards a harmonized approach to trade facilitation. This paper discusses the need and relevance of policy coherence and coordination to facilitate trade and to what extent some trade facilitation measures (concepts) such as integrated border management and single-windows may be applicable in developing countries to improve both policy coherence and coordination.Trade Faclitation, Border trade, Policy coherence, Economic Integration