An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia-Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations

This chapter is based on the case studies of Bangladesh, China, India, Indoesnia and NepalTrade facilitation, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Asia Pacific

An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia-Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations

This chapter concludes case studies on trade facilitation measures implementation in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, India, and Nepaltrade facilitation measures, Bangladesh, China, Indoesnia, India, Nepal

An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia-Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations

limitation, Asia Pacific, trade facilitation, WTO agreement

Trade and Investment Linkages and Policy Coordination: Lessons from Case Studies in Asian Developing Countries

The Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT) launched an exploratory study on trade and investment policy linkages and coordination in 2007 , which included exploratory surveys of private sector stakeholders in three South-Asian countries (Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka) on the need for improved trade and investment policy coordination and coherence based on the Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) developed by OECD. Following a short overview of trade and investment linkages from an Asian perspective, this paper summarizes the key findings from the exploratory surveys and draw preliminary policy implications.Trade and Investment Linkages and Policy Coordination, Asian Developing Countries

Economic Cooperation and Regional Integration in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)

Following a brief survey of the various economic cooperation programs and initiatives in which countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) - particularly Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) - are engaged, this paper examines the extent to which GMS economies have coveraged and become integrated, among themselves but also with other ASEAN countries. Preliminary evidence of stakeholders' involvement in selected subregional cooperation initiatives in also presented. Although all GMS countries have experienced rapid growth over the past 15 years, no evidence is found that participation of CLMV in subregional cooperation and integration initiatives has led to a narrowing of the gap between the least and most developed GMS and ASEAN countries. While significant progress has been made in reducing poverty, within-country inequality also increased during that period. In addition, while intra-GMS and intra-ASEAN trade both increased, trade of Cambodia and Lao PDR with other GMS or ASEAN countries remain small. If the various subregional cooperation frameworks are to significantly reduce the development gap among members, activities more directly aimed at this objective may need to be emphasized. Re-thinking institutional arrangements for regional cooperation at both the national and subregional/regional levels may be considered in order to facilitate participation of a more representative set of stakeholders in the prioritization of activities and to ensure synergies between the various initiatives can be captured.GMS, subregional trade and investment, regional integration, ASEAN, bilateral agreements, economic cooperation, stakeholder participation.

An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia-Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations

This paper presents the findings and results of an exploratory ARTNeT study on the needs for and costs of implementation of selected trade facilitation measures (TFMs) related to GATT Articles V, VIII and X. This summary paper is based on six ARTNeT working papers issued between January and April 2006, including five country case studies (available at www.artnetontrade.org).WTO, Trade Facilitation,GATT Articles V,VIII and X

Trade Facilitation in Regional Trade Agreements: Recent Trends in Asia and the Pacific

The coverage of trade facilitation is found to have become very extensive, with the details of provisions in some agreements matching that in the draft WTO agreement on trade facilitation. Trade facilitation provisions and principles are increasingly seen to apply not only to Customs procedures but more generally, as reflected in the number of recent agreements featuring separate Trade Facilitation and/or Transparency chapters (or equivalent). Other trade facilitation measures that seem to be increasingly common include those on Automation/Use of ICT, Risk Management, Advance Ruling and Single Window. The ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and its detailed commitment to implement a Trade Facilitation Work Programme stands out as it provides a concrete and specific way forward to ensure that progress is made towards actual implementation of the many trade facilitation measures mentioned in it.trade facilitation, regional trade agreements, RTA, bilateral, free trade agreements, FTA, free trade areas, customs, WTO, Asia, Pacific, paperless, single window, ICT

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

Intraregional Trade Costs in Asia-A Primer

While much has been said about the need to promote intraregional trade and the importance of reducing associated trade costs, quantitative estimates of such costs have been lacking. A new comprehensive measure of international trade costs is applied in this paper to calculate ad valorem trade costs within and between 4 Asian subregions, including ASEAN and SAARC. Extra-regional trade costs of the 4 subregions with free trade areas outside Asia, such as NAFTA and the EU as well as their trade costs with China, India, and Japan are also calculated. The analysis concludes with an evaluation of the importance of tariff in overall trade costs. Sharp differences across Asian subregions are identified. ASEAN is found to have much lower intra-subregional trade costs than other Asian subregions, as well as mostly lower trade costs with free trade areas outside Asia. While SAARC intra-subregional trade costs remain exceedingly high, South Asia is found to have made the most progress in reducing such costs since 2003. North and Central Asia, which groups together Russia and landlocked economies in transition, still faces prohibitive trade costs-sometimes exceeding 300% tariff equivalent. Within the East and North-East Asia subregion, a subset of three countries - Japan, China, and Republic of Korea - is found to have the lowest intra-group trade costs of any country groups examined in this paper, although the three countries have not signed free trade agreements with each other. Estimates of trade costs between Asian subregions and China, India and Japan, highlight how effective China has been in reducing its trade costs with ASEAN as well as other Asian and non-Asian subregions, achieving generally lower international trade costs than Japan as of 2007. Tariff costs account for a small portion of the overall international trade costs of Asian subregions - typically 10% or less - confirming the need for trade policy makers and negotiators to sharpen their focus on reducing non-tariff barriers.trade facilitation, trade costs, regional integration Subregion, Asia

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