Economic research and trade policy analysis
Estimating total trade finance assets: methodology
The estimation of the total value of trade finance in a country considers the relationship between bank assets in the country, based on published data, and trade finance assets identified in the survey. This relationship can take the functional forms of either a power law distribution or the asset variables can be proportional to each other.
Counterfactual analysis
The bank survey contains information on the costs of trade finance, the share of trade covered by trade finance and the trade finance gap. This information is used to generate projections of the trade effects of changes in the price and availability of trade finance. The WTO Global Trade Model (GTM), a computable general equilibrium model, is used to simulate the effects of changes in trade costs because of changes in the price and availability of trade finance. This annex describes the economic model employed, explores how the trade costs of financing international trade are modelled and outlines how trade finance shares and the costs of the trade finance instruments are calibrated in the baseline and counterfactuals.
Executive summary
Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Viet Nam – referred to here as the Mekong-3 – have established themselves as one of the most dynamic and trade-led regions of the world. In 2022, the value of trade flows surpassed GDP in all three economies. The trade-to-GDP ratio was particularly high in Cambodia and Viet Nam at over 210 and 185 per cent, respectively – several times higher than the global average of 62 per cent. The value of total trade flows has tripled in Cambodia and Viet Nam and more than doubled in the Lao PDR in the past decade.
Conclusions
The Mekong-3 – Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Viet Nam – are deepening their trade integration, increasing the volume and value of their exports and strengthening their participation in global value chains (GVCs). This expansion of opportunities for new traders in new markets generates expectations of growing demand for trade finance in the coming years.
Acknowledgements
This publication is the result of a joint effort of the IFC and the WTO and was prepared under the guidance of Susan Lund, Vice President of Economics at the IFC, and Ralph Ossa, Chief Economist of the WTO. Nathalie Louat and Denis Medvedev of the IFC and Marc Auboin of the WTO provided leadership for the research. Marcio Cruz, Maty Konte, Francesca de Nicola, Alexandros Ragoussis and Trang Thu Tran of the IFC and Eddy Bekkers and Alexei Timofti of the WTO managed the project teams across the two organizations. Working team members included: Karlygash Dairabayeva, Milagros Deza and Gianluca Santoni of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); Stephanie Annijas, Gbenoukpo Robert Djidonou, Sarah Hebous, Ibrahim Nana, Alexander Vanezis and Ariane Volk of the IFC; and Kirti Jhunjhunwala, Saptarshi Majumdar and Ruoyi Song of the WTO.
Foreword
The Global Value Chain Development Report 2023: Resilient and Sustainable GVCs in Turbulent Times, the fourth in this biennial series, is released at a critical juncture in the evolution of Global Value Chains (GVCs). It first provides an update on trends in GVCs highlighting that international production networks remain a central part of globalization despite mounting pressures. The report then turns to its main theme which is informed by the fact that the intricate networks of international flows of goods, services, capital, and technology are currently facing exceptional challenges arising from geopolitical complexities and the impacts of climate change in the Post-COVID era.
Literature review on studies analysing the customs revenue implications of the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions
The first attempt to estimate the foregone customs revenue of the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions was undertaken by Schuknecht and Pérez-Esteve (1999). They used a list of goods that included cinematographic film, newspapers and videogames to provide upper bound estimates of possible tariff revenue losses, based on the assumption that all trade that could be digitized would be digitized. The analysis suggests that the potential foregone revenue effects would amount to less than 1 per cent of total tariff revenue across most economies. The paper also highlighted the strong potential for electronic transmissions to enhance services trade, underscoring that tariff revenue losses would need to be weighed against gains arising from growing trade in services (see also Mattoo and Schuknecht (2000) and Mattoo, Pérez-Esteve and Schuknecht (2001).
Executive summary
Trade has an important role to play in the global response to climate change, providing economies with tools to draw on in their efforts to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its consequences.
Executive summary
This report explores the opportunities and challenges for developing economies arising from digital trade and discusses the role of international cooperation in tackling these opportunities and challenges. The report considers policy actions in the areas of digital infrastructure, skills, international support for capacity development, and the regulatory and policy environment. Specific policy issues include the WTO e-commerce moratorium, regulation of cross-border data flows, competition policies and consumer protection.
Foreword
The expansion of trade depends on reliable, adequate and cost-effective sources of trade financing, which help to fill the time gap during which goods are produced, shipped and paid for. Trade finance is routinely supplied to exporters and importers by banks and other financial intermediaries, which mitigate the financial and payment risk involved in crossborder trade. While developed countries can often rely upon large and advanced economic sectors mobilizing sophisticated trade finance instruments, such as supply chain finance, significant shortages exist in developing countries. These shortages can have many reasons, both international (inflation, availability of correspondent banking relationships, country risk) and local (level of development and expertise of the financial sector, cost, access to finance by local firms).
Clarifying: Transparency in a pandemic
Alongside the scramble for critical goods such as personal protective equipment (PPE), the early stages of the pandemic saw an urgent need for accurate and credible information, a necessity for governments across the world confronted with an unprecedented global threat, not only to human health but also to economic and social well-being.
Conclusion: Looking back to look ahead
This overview of the WTO’s response to the pandemic is not intended to be exhaustive or authoritative and focuses exclusively on the critical period of the pandemic from 2020 to 2023.
Cooperating: From information and dialogue to action
Effective engagement with the multifaceted challenges of the pandemic required the WTO to undertake extensive cooperation, both with established international partners and with new partners, including the creation of new cooperative arrangements.
Convening: Sharing experience and reviewing policy responses
The convening power of a multilateral organization such as the WTO becomes even more valuable in a truly global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Catalysing and consolidating: Building future responsiveness and resilience
The June 2022 Pandemic Declaration, adopted when the pandemic remained an international health emergency, was a historic development, a unanimous statement responding to a current crisis affecting communities in all members and observers and resulting from members’ input from across the spectrum.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2024 was prepared under the general responsibility and guidance of Johanna Hill, WTO Deputy Director-General, and Ralph Ossa, Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Chief of Staff Bright Okogu and Trineesh Biswas from the Office of the Director-General provided valuable advice and guidance.
Note générale et abréviations
Les statistiques relatives aux droits appliqués et aux importations sont calculées sur la base de données établies selon la nomenclature du SH adoptée par le pays pour l’année de référence. Les statistiques sur les droits consolidés sont calculées sur la base de la liste de concessions approuvée du Membre de l’OMC. Dans les précédentes versions des Profils tarifaires dans le monde, chaque liste reposait sur la version du SH utilisée par le Membre lors de son accession à l’OMC. En commençant par la version 2010 de cette publication, les statistiques sur les droits consolidés sont fondées sur la liste de concessions approuvée pour chaque Membre dans la version la plus récente du SH. Cet élément pourrait avoir certaines conséquences sur les séries chronologiques de plusieurs indicateurs de droits consolidés sur lesquels l’utilisation d’une nomenclature différente a une incidence. Bien que la transposition n’ait entraîné aucun changement au niveau des engagements des Membres, le passage à une autre version du SH a pu avoir des répercussions sur certaines statistiques globales.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the African Continental Free Trade Area: What lessons can be learnt from the SADC?
The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Agreement), which has been signed by 54 out of the 55 African countries, seeks to create a single continental market for goods and services and facilitate the free movement of people on the continent thereby enhancing the competitiveness of intra-African trade and boosting intra-African trade. This will generate employment and improve the welfare of mostly young men and women on the continent. However, whilst the AfCFTA Agreement, under Article 3(e), emphasizes that one of the general objectives of the AfCFTA is to promote gender equality, experiences in other African regional economic communities have proven that gender and gender equality have not been adequately mainstreamed in implementing free trade areas, which has resulted in gender inequalities in international trade and commerce. As a result of this, the majority of women have been left marginalized in trade and faced with serious challenges in accessing opportunities created by regional trade agreements.
Nota / Abreviaturas / Descargo de responsabilidad
La Unión Europea sucedió a la Comunidad Europea para los fines de la OMC el 1º de Diciembre de 2009.
Re-globalization to reduce poverty and inequality
This chapter discusses how fragmentation could have a negative impact on growth, poverty and inequality, and how re-globalization could help to ensure that the gains from trade are spread more broadly both between and within economies. Opening up trade in agriculture and services and developing new e-commerce rules could boost growth, reduce poverty and make the global economy more inclusive. The WTO can help to facilitate a more inclusive global trading system by updating trade rules at the multilateral level and by working with other international organizations to ensure more people benefit from world trade.
Re-globalization to promote environmental sustainability
This chapter examines the complex interplay between trade and environmental sustainability. It evaluates the potential risks associated with a fragmented approach to climate change and other environmental challenges, and it explores the benefits of re-globalization – or greater international cooperation – for sustainability in the context of various types of environmental policies and their cross-border effects. The chapter also emphasizes the critical importance of multilateral cooperation in enabling effective environmental protection while fostering equitable global growth.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2023 was prepared under the general responsibility and guidance of Anabel González, WTO Deputy Director-General, and Ralph Ossa, Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chief of Staff Bright Okogu, and Trineesh Biswas from the Office of the Director-General provided valuable advice and guidance. The report was coordinated by Alexander Keck and Victor Stolzenburg.
Executive summary
The multilateral trading system overseen by the World Trade Organization was created just over 75 years ago based on the vision that fostering interdependence among economies would play a crucial role in achieving peace and prosperity. This vision had emerged as a central lesson from three disastrous decades of deglobalization, marked by two world wars, the Great Depression, and political extremism. For three-quarters of a century it has guided policymakers as they laid the foundations for the integrated world we inhabit today.
Introducción
Los nuevos Perfiles comerciales contienen información detallada sobre las corrientes del comercio de mercancías, incluidos los principales productos con que comercia cada economía, una sección más amplia sobre el comercio de servicios comerciales y estadísticas sobre propiedad intelectual. Esta información, que está a disposición de los Miembros de la OMC, los observadores ante la Organización y otras economías determinadas, proviene de múltiples fuentes, como las estadísticas aduaneras, las cuentas nacionales, las estadísticas sobre la balanza de pagos, el comercio de servicios de filiales extranjeras y la propiedad industrial. Los datos se han obtenido de la Secretaría de la OMC y de fuentes externas. Se presentan en un formato normalizado y fácil de visualizar, para su rápida consulta.