Trade Facilitation (TF), or streamlining regulatory and other procedures involved in the import or export of goods, has received increasing attention in recent years as governments realize the significant impact inefficient trade procedures can have on their countries' trade competitiveness....

The global economic crisis has attracted renewed attention to the issue of trade finance as exporters in some countries, particularly SMEs, struggle to secure much needed short-term financing and protection against rising commercial risks at a time when demand for their products has fallen...

This paper explores the trade facilitation performance of India and Mekong countries using a new measure of bilateral comprehensive trade costs, complemented by a review of specific trade policy and trade facilitation-related indicators. A model of comprehensive trade costs is then developed and...

The coverage of trade facilitation is found to have become very extensive, with the details of provisions in some agreements matching that in the draft WTO agreement on trade facilitation. Trade facilitation provisions and principles are increasingly seen to apply not only to Customs procedures...

This paper presents findings from an initial analysis of new non-tariff trade cost estimates and their determinants, based on a bilateral database of comprehensive trade cost maintained by ESCAP. Results of the non-tariff policy-related trade costs modeling exercise strongly suggest that...

There is ample evidence that successful implementation of bilateral or regional trade and economic integration initiatives would have a very significant impact on intraregional trade in Asia and the Pacific. However, little is known about the level of intraregional trade costs in the region and...

this chapter introduces the concept of trade facilitation beyond the ongoing multilateral trade negotiations, and it serves both as an introduction and a synthesis of the studies presented in the remaining chapters.

This chapter asesses private sector perception of the level of implementation of various trade facilitation measures

This book reviews latest trends in trade and investment policy issues facing Asia-Pacific region.