Trade Facilitation Capacity Needs

Trade Facilitation Capacity Needs
Author: Gbadebo Odularu
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2019-02-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030059464

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of both national and regional trade facilitation capacities, issues, challenges and lessons, with a special interest in sustainably advancing West Africa’s regional trade facilitation agenda. It examines the contributions of trade facilitation towards enhancing regional integration and economic expansion in the face of increasing non-tariff barriers that highly characterises West African agri-food and non-agricultural markets. The authors recommend new conceptual frameworks, appropriate initiatives, and workable policy recipes towards enhancing West Africa’s trade facilitation agenda as well as the regional economic transformation trajectory in the face of the ongoing African Continental Free Trade Agreements (AfCFTA). The book underscores the geopolitics, opportunities and challenges that confront West Africa in the increasingly dynamic regional trade facilitation policy space. Readers will learn how West Africa can improve its regional trade facilitation game amidst emerging capacity challenges.

Assessing the Potential Benefit of Trade Facilitation

Assessing the Potential Benefit of Trade Facilitation
Author: John S. Wilson
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

The relationships between trade facilitation, trade flows, and capacity building are complex and challenging to assess, both empirically and in implementation. The authors measure and estimate the relationship between trade facilitation and trade flows across 75 countries in global trade, considering four important categories: port efficiency, customs environment, regulatory environment, and service sector infrastructure. A gravity model is employed that accounts for bilateral trade flows in manufactured goods in 2000-01 between the 75 countries, using traditional factors such as GDP, distance, language, and trade areas, and is augmented by the trade facilitation measures in the four categories for each country. The results suggest that both imports and exports for a country and for the world will increase with improvements in these trade facilitation measures. Potential gains from trade facilitation reforms are predicted by using the estimated parameters. The gains from trade facilitation are presented by comparing the gains across geographical regions and trade facilitation categories, and by domestic and partner improvements. The total gain in trade flow in manufacturing goods from trade facilitation improvements in all the four areas is estimated to be $377 billion. All regions gain in imports and exports. Most regions gain more in terms of exports than imports, in large part through increasing exports to the OECD market. The most important ingredient in getting these gains, particularly to the OECD market, is the country's own trade facilitation efforts. The detailed presentation of the results of the analysis may help inform policy decisions and capacity building choices.

Regionalism and Trade Facilitation: A Primer

Regionalism and Trade Facilitation: A Primer
Author: Jean-Christophe Maur
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2008
Genre: Border crossing
ISBN: 0103113436

Abstract: This paper investigates when trade facilitation reform should be undertaken at the regional level. First, looking at both efficiency and implementation considerations, it confirms the perception that the regional dimension matters. Investigating where efficiency gains can be made, this research explains why national markets alone fail to produce the full scale economies and positive externalities of trade facilitation reform. Second, because trade facilitation policies need to address coordination and capacity failures, and because of the operational complexity challenge, the choice of the adequate platform for delivering reform is crucial. The lessons are that regional trade agreements offer good prospects of comprehensive and effective reform and can effectively complement multilateral and national initiatives. However, examples of implementation of trade facilitation reform in regional agreements do not seem to indicate that regional integration approaches have been more successful than trade facilitation through specific cooperation agreements or other efforts, multilateral or unilateral. Customs unions may be an exception here, and the author suggests reasons why this could be the case.

Trade Facilitation and the Global Economy

Trade Facilitation and the Global Economy
Author: Collectif
Publisher: OECD
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2018-05-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9264300317

In a globalised world, where goods cross borders many times as intermediate and as final products, trade facilitation is essential to lowering overall trade costs and increasing economic welfare, in particular for developing and emerging economies. Facilitation efforts undertaken by various countries around the world also show that the benefits of such measures clearly compensate the costs and challenges posed by their implementation.

Assessing the Potential Benefit of Trade Facilitation

Assessing the Potential Benefit of Trade Facilitation
Author: John S. Wilson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

The relationships between trade facilitation, trade flows, and capacity building are complex and challenging to assess, both empirically and in implementation. Wilson, Mann, and Otsuki measure and estimate the relationship between trade facilitation and trade flows across 75 countries in global trade, considering four important categories: Port efficiency, customs environment, regulatory environment, and service sector infrastructure. A gravity model is employed that accounts for bilateral trade flows in manufactured goods in 2000-01 between the 75 countries, using traditional factors such as GDP, distance, language, and trade areas, and is augmented by the trade facilitation measures in the four categories for each country. The results suggest that both imports and exports for a country and for the world will increase with improvements in these trade facilitation measures. Potential gains from trade facilitation reforms are predicted by using the estimated parameters. The gains from trade facilitation are presented by comparing the gains across geographical regions and trade facilitation categories, and by domestic and partner improvements. The total gain in trade flow in manufacturing goods from trade facilitation improvements in all the four areas is estimated to be $377 billion. All regions gain in imports and exports. Most regions gain more in terms of exports than imports, in large part through increasing exports to the OECD market. The most important ingredient in getting these gains, particularly to the OECD market, is the country's own trade facilitation efforts. The detailed presentation of the results of the analysis may help inform policy decisions and capacity building choices.This paper - a joint product of the Transport Unit, Urban Development Department, and Trade, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to explore the link between trade and development.

Economics of Trade Facilitation

Economics of Trade Facilitation
Author: Nirmal Sengupta
Publisher:
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This book for the first time introduces trade facilitation, a measure that improves the capabilities of business, trade, and administrative organizations. The concept is explained through examples, theory, organizations involved, their development impacts, and implementation problems.

Fostering Trade in Africa

Fostering Trade in Africa
Author: Gbadebo O.A. Odularu
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2020-03-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030366324

This book discusses trade relations and facilitation issues at both the regional and the continental African level, highlighting the increasing business opportunities and challenges that confront Africa in the digital age. It also examines the effects of trade policies and other policy instruments on Africa’s economic development and presents workable policy measures for a more business-friendly ecosystem. Discussing various topics, including trade relations between African countries, African and international trade agreements, and trade liberalization policies, the book appeals to scholars of economics, business and management as well as professionals and policymakers interested in fostering free trade and sustainable business development in Africa.

Quantifying Aid for Trade

Quantifying Aid for Trade
Author: Elizabeth Turner
Publisher: Commonwealth Secretariat
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780850928884

Using Tanzania as a case study this book shows how different definitions of Aid for Trade lead to different estimates of the amount being delivered. It suggests an alternative simple and practical methodology for recipient countries to classify and quantify it.