The Relationship between Liberalisation in the Logistics Sector and Trade Facilitation

This study demonstrates that the improvement of the performance of logistics services through domestic liberalisation may generate a virtuour cycle, whereby international trade is increased and the this, in turn, may increase the deman for logistics services.Liberalisation, Logistics Sector, Trade Facilitation

A Comparative Analysis of Trade Facilitation in Selected Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreement

This study compared the treatment of trade facilitation in four selected regional trade agreements, AFTA, APEC, SAFRA and PACER, and in one bilateral free trade agreement being the Australia-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (ASFTA), with a view to determining model trade facilitation principles and measures which may be instructive for developing country negotiations and policy makers.Liberalisation, Logistics Sector, Trade Facilitation, AFTA, APEC, SAFTA, PACER, ASFTA

The Road Ahead for the U.S. Auto Industry

[Excerpt] In 2004, U.S. light vehicle sales were up slightly, reversing a moderate slide that began in 2001. The 1.3 percent gain brought the market total to 16.8 million units, approximately the same level as 2002, and the fourth highest sales on record. The trend, which began in 2001 of offering low or no cost financing along with high rebates has cast a cloud over the otherwise sunny sales outcome for the year. American consumers have continued the long-term shift towards a preference for light trucks over passenger cars. Trucks passed cars in 2001, hitting over half the market for the first time that year. In 2004, light trucks accounted for over 55 percent of the U.S. passenger vehicle market. Light truck sales reached 9.3 million units, up 3.6 percent over 2003. Passenger car sales were down 1.4 percent compared to 2003, reaching only 7.5 million units

Small Ethnically Owned Businesses: How to Break the Trade Barrier

As California moves toward a market incorporating increased international trade, its residents, especially those with diverse ethnic origins, are capitalizing on the prospects for using their cultural links to create entrepreneurial opportunities. This hearing offered a rich assessment of these opportunities. It provided the Legislature with examples of successful ethnic entrepreneurs, how they succeeded and the pitfalls they had to overcome. There are a number of ideas presented here for how we can facilitate increased opportunities. Also, the materials presented in this report offer a unique resource to businesses wishing to enter into the international market by outlining the various federal, state and non-governmental services that are offered to businesses wishing to expand their markets

Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade, 2008

[Excerpt] The annual Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade report is prepared on the basis of more than 250 major industry/ commodity groups and subgroups identified by the U.S. International Trade Commission (the Commission). The report contains the analysis of international trade analysts of the Commission’s Office of Industries, who routinely monitor trade developments in all natural resource, agricultural, and manufacturing industries. The report is divided into three parts. Part I presents an analysis of U.S. merchandise trade in 10 merchandise sectors and overall economic performance from 2007 to 2008. U.S. merchandise trade performance in 2008 is summarized and compared with such performance in 2007. Coverage of the individual merchandise sectors includes data showing U.S. export, import, and trade balance shifts by sectors, industry/commodity groups (and in some cases subgroups), and shifts in trade with U.S. trade partners. Major shifts in trade are highlighted and examined in greater detail in the rest of the report. Part I also examines U.S. imports from trade partners eligible for U.S. trade preference programs, most notably imports from beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Andean Trade Preference Act, the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and the Generalized System of Preferences. Part II examines the shifts in U.S. trade with each of the top five U.S. trade partners - Canada, China, the EU, Japan, and Mexico. Also examined are shifts in trade with Brazil, India, and Russia—U.S. trading partners that are growing in significance. Summary tables show the important shifts in U.S. bilateral trade and highlight leading changes in industry/commodity groups for each of the major trade partners. Part III presents a general overview for each of the 10 merchandise sectors, identifying significant shifts in trade within each sector. Each sector chapter includes a statistical summary table of industry/commodity groups or subgroups, showing absolute and percent changes in bilateral trade in a year-to-year comparison of 2007 and 2008. In addition to the sectoral analyses, shifts in 20 specific industry/commodity groups are examined in greater detail. These industry/commodity groups were selected based on absolute and percentage shifts in trade; such shifts must have exceeded $1.0 billion and 50 percent

The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints

[Excerpt] This is the seventh update of The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints. Since the first of these studies was published nearly 20 years ago, U.S. tariff rates have fallen, nontariff measures on imports have been removed, and trade has expanded markedly. This period has also seen increasing U.S. integration into global supply chains, the subject of a special topic in this report. The United States is one of the world’s most open economies. In 2010, the average U.S. tariff on all goods remained near its historic low of 1.3 percent, on an import-weighted basis, essentially unchanged from the previous update in 2009. Nonetheless, significant restraints on trade remain in certain sectors. The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) estimates that U.S. economic welfare, as defined by total public and private consumption, would increase by about $2.6 billion annually by 2015 if the United States unilaterally ended (“liberalized”) all significant restraints quantified in this report. Exports would expand by$9.0 billion and imports by $11.5 billion. These changes would result from removing import barriers in the following sectors: sugar, ethanol, canned tuna, dairy products, tobacco, textiles and apparel, and other high-tariff manufacturing sectors. As in previous updates, the simulations presented in this report measure the effects of unilateral liberalization of U.S. import restraints (i.e., the simulations assume that U.S. trading partners do not engage in any reciprocal liberalization). However, the effects on the U.S. economy can differ significantly when both the United States and its trading partners engage in reciprocal liberalization

Small Ethnically Owned Businesses: How to Break the Trade Barrier

As California moves toward a market incorporating increased international trade, its residents, especially those with diverse ethnic origins, are capitalizing on the prospects for using their cultural links to create entrepreneurial opportunities. This hearing offered a rich assessment of these opportunities. It provided the Legislature with examples of successful ethnic entrepreneurs, how they succeeded and the pitfalls they had to overcome. There are a number of ideas presented here for how we can facilitate increased opportunities. Also, the materials presented in this report offer a unique resource to businesses wishing to enter into the international market by outlining the various federal, state and non-governmental services that are offered to businesses wishing to expand their markets

The Year in Trade 2008: Operation of the Trade Agreements Program

[Excerpt] This report is the 60th in a series of annual reports submitted to the U.S. Congress under section 163(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2213(c)) and its predecessor legislation. Section 163(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 states that “the International Trade Commission shall submit to the Congress at least once a year, a factual report on the operation of the trade agreements program.” This report is one of the principal means by which the U.S. International Trade Commission provides Congress with factual information on trade policy and its administration for calendar year 2008. The trade agreements program includes “all activities consisting of, or related to, the administration of international agreements which primarily concern trade and which are concluded pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the Constitution” and congressional legislation

Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade: 2009 Annual Report

Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2009 Annual Report focuses principally on professional services (advertising, education, healthcare, and legal services), which provide critical inputs to various goods and service industries, as well as specialized services directly to individual consumers. The largest professional service firms in terms of revenue are located in developed countries and offer their services across the globe through both cross-border trade and affiliate transactions. The markets of many developing countries are growing rapidly and offer larger professional service firms significant merger, acquisition, and investment opportunities. U.S. services overall, and professional services in particular, grew faster in 2007 in terms of contribution to gross domestic product, employment, and cross-border exports than the average annual rate of the preceding five-year period. Services supplied to foreign consumers by foreign-based affiliates of U.S. firms, including those in professional services, also experienced recent strong growth

Internationally recognised core labour standards in Korea

노트 : Report for two general council review fo the trade policies of Korea (Geneva, 15 and 17 September 2004