Digital and Sustainable Trade

Facilitation in Asia and the Pacific:

Key findings from the UN Global

Survey 2019

Soo Hyun KimEconomic Affairs Officer

Trade Policy and Facilitation Section

Trade, Investment and Innovation Division

ESCAP

AFACT Steering Committee Meeting

19 November 2019, Bangkok, Thailand

➢ UN ESCAP - Asia and the Pacific Regional Branch of the United Nations Secretariat

➢ 53 member countries covering Central, South, Southeast, East and South Pacific countries

➢ Mandate: Promote sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development in Asia and the Pacific - through regional cooperation

➢ Areas covered: Trade, Investment and Innovation, Transport, Macroeconomic Policy, Environment, Emerging Social issues, Information and Communication Technologies…

❑ Trade, Investment and Innovation:

(1) Trade Policy and Facilitation;

(2) Investment and Enterprise Development;

(3) Science, Technology and Innovation

United Nations ESCAP Secretariat, Bangkok

UN ESCAP Trade Facilitation Programme

Legislative

CapacityBuilding

Knowledge

❑ Enabling paperless trade (Res. 68/3)

❑ Interim Intergov. Steering Group on Cross-border Paperless Trade Facilitation (Res. 70/6)

❑ Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (UN treaty, 2016)

❑ ESCAP-World Bank Trade Cost Database❑ UN Global Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation Survey

(UNtfsurvey.org)❑ UNNExT Single Window & Paperless Trade Implementation Guides &

Impact analyses❑ ESCAP-OECD Guide on Indicators for Trade Facilitation❑ NTM indicators for sustainable development, cost estimates, case

studies

❑ WTO TFA related implementation support❑ Business/Trade Process Analysis❑ Single Window & Paperless Trade

Implementation❑ UNNExT Masterclass

❑ Trade & Transport Facilitation Monitoring Mechanism

❑ Agricultural & SME trade facilitation❑ NTM data collection (with UNCTAD)

UNTFSURVEY.ORG

UN Global TF Survey: Background

2015: 1st global survey on trade

facilitation implementation; presented at

the 5th Global Review of Aid for Trade.

[partnerships with UNCTAD, ITC, OECD,

Subregional org…]

2018: Launch of interactive website (now

UNTFSURVEY.ORG)

• To monitor progress

on trade facilitation

(TF), including

paperless trade and

other forward-looking

measures towards

SDGs

• To enable evidence-

based policy making,

and capacity building

and tech. assistance

Objective

2017: 2nd global survey; presented at the

6th Global AfT Review. [new partnerships:

ADB, Rep. of Korea…]

2012-14: Regional (Asia-Pacific) surveys

conducted since 2012

2019: 3rd global survey – Digital and

Sustainable Trade Facilitation [new

partnerships: ICC (Banking Commission)]

UN Global TF Survey Scope: WTO TFA+

– WTO TFA related measures +• Institutional arrangement and cooperation

• Transparency

• Formalities

• Transit

– Paperless trade / Digital TF measures +• Paperless trade

• Cross-Border Paperless Trade

– Sustainable TF measures• Trade facilitation for SMEs

• Agricultural trade facilitation

• Women in trade facilitation

– Others (varies by UNRCs, e.g., Trade finance facilitation)

Data collected from 128 countries in 2019

Key finding #1: South-East and East Asia

leading other developing world regions

Key finding #2: Implementation varies

widely across countries and subregions

Key finding #3: Implementation accelerated

in all subregions, in North & Central Asia in

particular

Key finding #4: Implementation of cross-

border paperless trade still a challenge

Key finding #5: Limited attention to TF

needs of special groups (SMEs, women)

Key finding #6: Lack of integration

between trade facilitation & trade finance

Facilitation of access to finance through Single Window?

Key finding #7: Significant room to cut

trade costs through trade digitalization

Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2019: Bridging Trade Finance Gaps through Technology

https://www.unescap.org/resources/asia-pacific-trade-facilitation-report-2019-bridging-trade-finance-gaps-through-

technology

www.unescap.org/publications/APTIR2019

Readiness assessment for cross-

border paperless trade

• Technical + Legal assessments

– Based on checklist developed

by the intergovernmental

steering group

• Conducted in Armenia,

Mongolia, Myanmar and

Uzbekistan in 2018-19

• Four more upcoming:

Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal

and Timor Leste

https://www.unescap.org/resources/readiness-assessments-cross-border-

paperless-trade

Way forward• Further develop inter-agency collaboration and

human resource capacity

• Take a TFA+ approach to trade facilitation,

encompassing infrastructure and B2B trade

procedure facilitation

• Be ambitious and plan on digitalization, including by

acceding to the Framework Agreement on

Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia

and the Pacific

www.unescap.org/publications/APTIR2019

Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-

Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific

A UN treaty to facilitate

trade digitalization

http://bit.ly/ESCAP_FA

THANK YOU

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