Proper measurement and aggregation of trade costs is of paramount importance for sound academic and policy analysis of the determinants - particularly those of policy - of economic outcomes. The international trade profession has witnessed signifcant new developments, both on the theoretical and...

The WTO Secretariat has published a new information note warning of possible increases to trade costs due to COVID-19 disruptions. The note examines the pandemic’s impact on key components of trade costs, particularly those relating to travel and transport, trade policy, uncertainty, and...

"This Advanced Guide has been developed to contribute to the engancement of developing countries' capacity to analyse and implement trade policy. It is aimed at government experts engaged in trade negotiations, as well as graduate students and researchers involved in trade-related study or...

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization in all sectors, including international trade, which remains hindered by inefficient paper-intensive processes. Of particular interest for trade digitalization are projects leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) – commonly referred...

Eighty countries and customs territories so far have introduced export prohibitions or restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic according to a new report by the WTO Secretariat. The report, which is based on information from official sources and news outlets, draws attention to the...

Over the past 20 years, trade in services has become the most dynamic segment of world trade, growing more quickly than trade in goods. Developing countries and transition economies have played an increasingly important role in this area, increasing their share in exports of world services from...

This paper argues that interests of nationals and owners of home-based foreign capital in the formation of a Trade Agreements (TA) are not antagonistic, except under rather particular assumptions on initial tariffs among potential members. Further, if initial tariffs are endogenously determined...