Global value chains (GVCs) break up the production process so at different steps can be carried out in different countries. Today’s official statistical information systems, designed to measure economic activity in a pre-GVC world, have struggled to keep pace with these changes. Conventional...

History has shown that openness to trade is a key ingredient for economic success and for improved living standards. But simply opening the economy to international trade is not enough. Developing countries – especially the least developed – require help in building their trade-related...

This report, prepared by FAO and the OECD with inputs from ERIA, IFPRI, IFAD, and WTO, has been submitted to the G20 Presidency of Japan in response to the Presidency’s request for background notes on Sustainable, Productive and Resilient Agro-Food Systems: value chains, human capital, and the...

The WTO plays an important role in supporting efforts to achieve international regulatory cooperation (IRC) and to facilitate trade. First, the WTO provides a multilateral framework for trade among its 164 members, with a view to ensuring that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as...

The Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services is a joint publication of six agencies:- the UN, EC, IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, and WTO. It addresses a growing demand from governments, businesses and analysts for more relevant, detailed and internationally comparable statistics on services...