Global value and supply chains

Improving the trade facilitation policy environment is key to increasing efficiency, lowering trade costs, and enabling broader participation in global value chains. The OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators help countries identify specific actions to make trade more efficient and transparent.

Conventional measures of international trade often miss how value is created and shared across borders. To fill this gap, the OECD provides tools and data that offer a clearer picture of how global supply chains actually function. At the core is the Trade in Value-Added (TiVA) dataset, which reveals commercial relationships between countries and where value is added along supply chains, helping policymakers design more targeted and effective trade policies. This is supported by additional analysis and monitoring of trade flows and specific supply chains.

There is growing demand for global supply chains to be both environmentally and socially sustainable. In response, a wide range of trade policies, voluntary standards, and corporate accountability tools are emerging to support responsible practices. The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct is a cornerstone of this effort, helping companies manage risks and improve sustainability outcomes across supply chains. Trade facilitation also plays a key role in greening trade while keeping compliance costs low.