Perhaps the major accomplishment of the Uruguay Round is agreements reached on nontariff barriers (NTBs). All NTBs imposed under the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA) will be phased out over 10 years, and all"voluntary"export restraints will be abolished. OECD countries'NTBs on agricultural goods...

OECD barriers did not play a significant role in sub-Saharan Africa's declining position in world trade over the last three decades. The detrimental effects of the African countries'own policies, such as those that influence international transport costs, were considerably more important....

The authors explore the argument that trade between the Mercosur countries should be stimulated by preferential policies because of their geographic proximity. That is, that the Mercosur countries are candidates for natural integration. They find that, on average, transportation margins on trade...

From the mid-1950s to 1990, sub-Saharan Africa's share of global exports fell from 3.1 to under 1.2 percent, a decline that implies associated export earning losses of about $65 billion annually. Previous studies show that foreign trade barriers do not account for this poor performance. Indeed,...

The authors analyze empirical information on the nature and magnitude of, and motivation for, international production sharing in East Asia. To do so, they use a largely untapped source of data on inter- and intra-regional trade in parts and components. Some of their findings: East Asian trade...

In establishing the value of imports for tariff assessment, most countries apply duties either to the cost-insurance-freight (c.i.f.) or the free-on-board (f.o.b.) value of the traded good. One effect of using the far more common c.i.f. base is to place a disproportinate burden on countries that...

Economists often argue that the level and structure of a country's trade barriers and the quality of its governance policies (for example, regulating foreign investment or limiting commercial activity with red tape) have a major influence on its economic growth and performance. One problem...

In the mid-1950s sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 3.1 percent of global exports. By 1990 this share had fallen to 1.2 percent. The authors of this report find that Africa's extensive loss of competitiveness played a key role in its decline in world trade. If Africa had merely retained its...

World Bank demographic and country characteristic statistics identify 16 small landlocked countries that are similar to Lesotho. The authors attempt to determine what useful policy information can be derived from the recent trade performance of these"comparators."Among questions they pose are...

Exports in the Middle Eastern countries should increase from $800 million to $900 million as a result of the tariff cuts agreed on in the Uruguay Round, according to the author.This represents an annual expansion of less than 1 percent. Projected gains are small because the erosion of tariff...