This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Trade facilitation is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
See also Trade Facilitation and Development.
Trade facilitation looks at how procedures and controls governing the movement of goods across national borders can be improved to reduce associated cost burdens and maximise efficiency while safeguarding legitimate regulatory objectives. Business costs may be a direct function of collecting information and submitting declarations or an indirect consequence of border checks in the form of delays and associated time penalties, forgone business opportunities and reduced competitiveness.
Understanding and use of the term “trade facilitation” varies in the literature and amongst practitioners. "Trade facilitation" is largely used by institutions which seek to improve the regulatory interface between government bodies and traders at national borders. The WTO, in an online training package, once defined trade facilitation as: “The simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures” where trade procedures are the “activities, practices and formalities involved in collecting, presenting, communicating and processing data required for the movement of goods in international trade”.
In defining the term, many trade facilitation proponents will also make reference to trade finance and the procedures applicable for making payments (e.g. via a commercial banks). For example UN/CEFACT defines trade facilitation as "the simplification, standardization and harmonisation of procedures and associated information flows required to move goods from seller to buyer and to make payment".
Occasionally, the term trade facilitation is extended to address a wider agenda in economic development and trade to include: the improvement of transport infrastructure, the removal of government corruption, the modernization of customs administration, the removal of other non-tariff trade barriers, as well as export marketing and promotion.
Contents |
Examples of regulatory activity in international trade
Fiscal: Collection of customs duties, excise duties and other indirect taxes; payment mechanisms
Safety and security: Security and anti smuggling controls; dangerous goods; vehicle checks; immigration and visa formalities
Environment and health: Phytosanitary, veterinary and hygiene controls; health and safety measures; CITES controls; ships’ waste
Consumer protection: Product testing; labelling; conformity checks with marketing standards (e.g. fruit and vegetables)
Trade policy: Administration of quota restrictions; export refunds
Topics and issues in trade facilitation
Trade facilitation has its intellectual roots in the fields of logistics and supply chain management. Trade facilitation looks at operational improvements at the interface between business and government and associated transaction costs. Trade facilitation has become a key feature in supply chain security and customs modernisation programmes. Within the context of economic development it has also come to prominence in the Doha Development Round. However, it is an equally prominent feature in unilateral and bilateral initiatives that seek to improve the trade environment and enhance business competitiveness. Reference to trade facilitation is sometimes also made in the context of "better regulation". Some organisations promoting trade facilitation will emphasis the cutting of red tape in international trade as their main objective.
References
- Grainger, A 2007. Trade Facilitation: A Review Working Paper
- Grainger, A 2007. Customs and Trade Facilitation: from concepts to implementation World Customs Journal, Volume 2, Number 1
- OECD. 2002. Business Benefits of Trade Facilitation
External links
EUROPRO: An umbrella body for European trade facilitation committees and other like-minded, non-profit-making bodies.
Global Facilitation Partnership: A collaborative tool for practitioners and policy makers involved in trade facilitation and transport facilitation (TTF).
SITPRO: United Kingdom's Trade Facilitation Agency dedicated to making international trade simpler by cutting red tape.
TFC Publications Database Collection of trade facilitation papers
Trade Costs and Facilitation: The Development Dimension: A World Bank research project on trade facilitation and development.
United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business Webage with links to UN Trade Facilitation Recomendations
World Customs Journal: Special Issue on Trade Facilitation (free access)
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 20 November 2008, at 16:36.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Trade facilitation".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.