Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2021


Book Description

Supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have underscored the need for digital and paperless trade procedures to facilitate trade. This report reviews the impact of trade facilitation initiatives on trade costs in Asia and the Pacific since the pandemic began. A special chapter examines the pandemic’s impact on the supply chains of critical goods such as vaccines, personal protective equipment, and food, and provides policy suggestions toward enhancing supply chain resilience along with trade facilitation. This is the third biennial progress report on trade facilitation implementation in Asia and the Pacific jointly prepared by the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.




Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2021: Supply Chains of Critical Goods Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic-Disruptions, Recovery, and Resilience


Book Description

This report reviews the impact of trade facilitation initiatives in Asia and the Pacific since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began and discusses how to increase supply chain resilience. Supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have underscored the need for digital and paperless trade procedures. A special chapter examines the pandemic's impact on the supply chains of critical goods such as vaccines, personal protective equipment, and food, and provides policy suggestions for enhancing supply chain resilience and trade facilitation. This is the third biennial progress report on trade facilitation implementation in Asia and the Pacific jointly prepared by the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.




Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2024


Book Description

This report examines the progress of trade facilitation in Asia and the Pacific, highlights recent trends in paperless trade, and evaluates the impact of trade facilitation initiatives on trade costs and overall trade. Trade facilitation plays an increasingly important role in creating sustainable and resilient supply chains amid economic uncertainty caused by inward-looking trade policies, geopolitical conflicts, and the intensifying effects of climate change. The report includes a special chapter that discusses how trade facilitation, especially through digitalization, contributes to environmentally sustainable and disruption-resilient global value chains.







Trade Facilitation and Better Connectivity for an Inclusive Asia and Pacific


Book Description

Trade facilitation increases trade flows, lowers trade cost, and ultimately contributes to sustainable and inclusive growth. This publication, jointly prepared by the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, reviews the state of play of trade facilitation and paperless trade in Asia and the Pacific. It investigates the evolution of trade costs in the region, examines trade facilitation and paperless trade implementation, and highlights the key initiatives and efforts in Central Asia, the Greater Mekong Subregion, South Asia, and the Pacific. It includes impact assessments of trade facilitation implementation and corridor performance on reducing trade costs and increasing trade.




Trade Facilitation for a More Inclusive and Connected Asia and Pacific Region


Book Description

This publication provides an overview of assessments from the 2017 global survey on trade facilitation and paperless trade in the Asia and Pacific region. The survey uses the final list of provisions included in the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA) and the draft text of the regional United Nations (UN) treaty on cross-border paperless trade facilitation under negotiation at Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Implementation levels of 44 countries in Asia and the Pacific were calculated based on 31 trade facilitation and paperless trade measures. This study also describes trade facilitation projects that promote development through deepening regional cooperation and integration. It also discusses digital trade as a major opportunity for SMEs to better access international markets and global supply chains, giving them the chance to growth both quickly and sustainably. The progress and challenges in the regional and subregional trade facilitation efforts being made to streamline trade procedures are also presented. ADB and UNESCAP jointly prepared this publication.




Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2019


Book Description

The report reviews trade facilitation progress in Asia and the Pacific and explores how technology can help bridge trade finance gaps. Trade facilitation initiatives can make an important contribution to economic growth and poverty reduction by lowering trade costs and increasing trade flows. This report reviews trade facilitation progress in the region, including recent trends in paperless trade and transit facilitation and the impact of trade facilitation initiatives on trade costs. It also features a special chapter on how trade finance gaps--especially prevalent for small and medium-sized enterprises--can be bridged by technology, and the supporting policies and actions required to make this happen.




Trade Facilitation


Book Description




Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade


Book Description

This book features the results of the 2015 UNRC Joint Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade Implementation for the Asia-Pacific Region and incorporates them into an econometric analysis estimating the impact of trade facilitation on trade costs. It shows that there is a strong, negative relationship between Asia-Pacific countries' international trade costs and their level of trade facilitation implementation. Reducing trade costs is essential for developing economies to participate in international production networks and effectively use trade as an engine of growth and sustainable development. One effective way to reduce trade costs is to tackle non-tariff barriers and address regulatory procedures and documentation requirements. Trade facilitation, including paperless trade, has taken increasing importance as evidenced by the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement reached in December 2013, as well as the growing number of regional and subregional initiatives aimed at facilitating the electronic exchange of trade related information and documents along international supply chains.




Digital Trade Facilitation in Asia and the Pacific


Book Description

The study on 'Digital Trade Facilitation in Asia and the Pacific' reviews the state of play in implementation of trade facilitation and paperless trade in the Asia and the Pacific region. It also provides estimates of the trade cost reduction potential of trade facilitation implementation scenarios, from basic compliance with the WTO TFA to full digital trade facilitation. The stduy also includes a review of paperless trade provisions in regional trade agreements as well as an introduction to the Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, as new tool to accelerate digital trade facilitation implementation in the region.