Speeding up the implementation of digital trade schemes could reduce average trade costs in the Asia Pacific region by over 13 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2021 highlights that cross-border trade digitalization has great potential to help countries in Asia and the Pacific access critical goods, especially those most vulnerable to trade uncertainty and crisis.
Based on the latest data available, its analysis presented confirms that digital trade facilitation measures can result in significant benefits to the countries in the region.
“Full digital trade facilitation implementation beyond the WTO TFA (World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement) could cut average trade cost in the region by over 13 percent, 7 percentage points more than what could be expected from implementation of the WTO TFA,” it said.
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary General and ESCAP Executive Secretary, said result suggests that the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific --a United Nations treaty that entered into force in early 2021-- “provides a dedicated, inclusive, and capacity-building-focused intergovernmental platform to pursue this agenda.”
The report said the 2021 survey shows that the WTO TFA-related measures have been well implemented throughout the region by improving transparency (81.7 percent), streamlining the formalities (75.5percent), and enhancing institutional arrangement and cooperation mechanisms (68.4 percent).
However, implementation of cross-border paperless trade remains challenging with a regional average implementation rate below 40 percent despite continued improvement of digital infrastructure to facilitate trusted and secure sharing of trade-related data and documents in electronic form, it said.
“Implementation of bilateral and subregional paperless trade systems remain mostly at the pilot stage, although the pandemic contributed to the acceleration of digital transformation,” it added.
Bambang Susantono, ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, said the disruptions of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak have underscored the important role trade facilitation plays in economies and will play in the recovery.
“The pandemic also revealed the need for digital, paperless trade procedures to facilitate cross-border movement of critical goods during global health emergencies, while maintaining open trade regimes to maintain equitable access to essential goods,” he said.
Alisjahbana said measures are specifically needed to support small and medium-sized enterprises, women, and the agricultural sector to make the recovery more sustainable.
Source: PHILEXPORT News and Features
October 29, 2021
