OECD Trade Policy Studies Overcoming Border Bottlenecks: The Costs and Benefits of Trade Facilitation

International trade has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks in part to the progressive reduction of tariffs and quotas through successive rounds of multilateral trade liberalisation. However, this progress brings to light one of the remaining weak links of international trade, which prevents countries from drawing full benefits from the advantages of open global markets: border bottlenecks generated by inefficient, outdated and complex trade procedures and formalities. This book brings together six studies that examine to what extent and in which ways the costs of inefficient border processes influence trade and investment flows, how institutional and political factors affect the design and implementation of efficiency-enhancing measures, whether the expected benefits of these measures enough to justify the expenses of putting them in place, and whether the expenses involved are within the reach of developing and least developed countries, especially in light of other development priorities. Table of Content : Acronyms Executive Summary Chapter 1. Quantitative Assessment of the Benefits of Trade Facilitation by Peter Walkenhorst and Tadashi Yasui Chapter 2. Examining the Effect of Certain Customs and Administrative Procedures on Trade by Norbert Wilson Chapter 3. The Economic Impact of Trade Facilitation by Michael Engman Chapter 4. Trade Facilitation in theService of Development by Evdokia Moise Chapter 5. The Role of Automation in Trade Facilitation by Tadashi Yasui and Michael Engman Chapter 6. The Cost of Introducing and Implementing Trade Facilitation Measures by Evdokia Moise -Annex 6.A1. Trade Facilitation Measures Considered in the Context of the Country Studies Annex A. Report on the OECD Global Forum on Trade Facilitation, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 18-19 October 2005 by Evdokia Moise