Trade Facilitation

News & Events

News

Exchange rate levels can affect trade flows, says new OECD study

12-Oct-2011

Exchange rate levels affect trade flows, according to a new OECD study of trade in agriculture and the manufacturing and mining sector in China, the Euro area and the United States. However, they do not explain in their entirety the trade imbalances in these three economies. Meanwhile, exchange rate volatility has only a slight impact on trade flows, the paper finds.

Improve logistics services to boost trade, says new OECD paper

17-Mar-2011

Trade can be impeded by inefficiencies in transport infrastructure, border procedures or information flows. Better logistics services reduce trade costs for businesses and improve the competitiveness of a country's exports, according to this study. (OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No. 108)

Trade in raw materials: breaking free from export restrictions

11-Mar-2011

Producer countries are making greater use of export restrictions on industrial raw materials such as timber and rare earths. Food commodity exports have also been restricted in recent years. OECD analysis shows that countries can use more effective and less costly alternatives to export restrictions. 

Export restrictions on raw materials

15-Feb-2011

Raw materials such as metals, minerals and rare earths are used in high-tech products like computers and hybrid vehicles, while timber and gas remain important industrial inputs. Businesses and policymakers are concerned by recent trends of some producer countries in export restrictions that distort trade in these raw materials. OECD is working to bring more transparency and discipline to the use of these restrictions.

Raw materials: export restrictions and their economic effects

19-Nov-2010

Export restrictions on raw materials can have a negative impact on allocation of resources, international trade and the competitiveness and development of industries in both importing and exporting countries. This collection of papers looks at the economic effects of these restrictions, including case studies of specific materials and countries.

International Standards and Trade - A Review of the Empirical Literature

18-Jun-2010

How do international standards affect international trade? This paper surveys empirical studies investigating this relationship. Its main focus is on econometric studies, but surveys and some of the literature investigating the relationship between standards and other economic measures, such as productivity, growth and welfare are also covered.

The Availability and Cost of Short-Term Trade Finance and its Impact on Trade

18-Jun-2010

Trade fell significantly in the aftermath of the financial crisis, even more than the large drop in global production levels.  This paper examines to what extent short-term trade finance may have impacted trade levels before and after the crisis hit.

Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements and Technical Barriers to Trade: An African Perspective

16-Jun-2010

Using key principles and provisions of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) as a yardstick for analysis, this paper examines whether and how eight major regional integration agreements in Sub-Saharan Africa address TBT.  It finds that TBT have not been not an important issue in those agreements and investment in related institutional infrastructure has not been significant.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Technical Barriers to Trade

14-Jun-2010

The OECD recently held a Workshop on Technical Barriers to Trade : Promoting Good Practice in Support of Open Markets. These proccedings bring together the presentation and background papers prepared for this workshop which attracted over 90 trade officials, regulators and other stakeholders from OECD and non-OECD countries to discuss developments in the TBT field and the associated policy challenges.

Informal Cross-Border Trade and Trade Facilitation Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

02-Mar-2009

The informal sector still constitutes an important part of developing country economies. In Africa, it is estimated to represent an average 43 percent of GDP. This study examines the extent and nature of informal cross-border trade in selected Sub-Saharan African countries and identifies which trade facilitation measures have the potential to encourage traders to switch from informal to formal trade.




Top of page