This study provides data on the costs and challenges of implementing trade facilitation measures currently under negotiation in the WTO. It updates an earlier study undertaken in 2005, presenting data and insights from nine additional developing countries. The study confirms earlier findings...

Understanding trade costs is essential for formulating policy interventions designed to reduce such costs. This report synthesises all OECD work on cost factors across the entire trade chain. These factors can be located behind the border, such as non-tariff regulatory measures, market access...

This report presents the findings of the OECD indicators for assessing the impact of specific trade facilitation measures on developing countries’ trade. Sixteen trade facilitation indicators (TFIs) have been constructed, corresponding to the main policy areas under negotiation at the WTO,...

This report assesses how specific border procedures impact on the operation of supply chains and the resulting policy implications, using data from the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs) database and from the OECD-WTO database on trade-in-value-added. The assessment focusses on the impact...

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for logistics services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers. The indices are calculated for 40...

A country or firm's position in the value chain will largely depend on its comparative advantage, and therefore the mix of skills and resource endowments it brings to international production. For some, this might initially involve specialising in the labour intensive segments while others may...

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in generating economic activity and employment in developing and developed countries. However, partly due to remaining at-the-border trade costs, SMEs continue to be less represented in international trade – as direct exporters...

Although global value chain (GVCs) participation in Southeast Asia has been growing, little is known about whether the benefits from participation are accruing to larger firms or if small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up the majority of companies and employ the bulk of the...

Against the background of rising anti-globalisation sentiment, this report argues that, while there are good reasons for some people to be angry, trade is not the root of many problems, nor can it solve them on its own. What is needed is an integrated approach to make the whole system work...

Corruption at the border distorts resource allocation, undermines the level playing field for businesses, hampers the attractiveness of affected markets, and may result in significant revenue losses for developing countries. Trade facilitation policies could potentially reduce the incentives and...