In its first global report on implementation of measures to simplify import, export and transit procedures, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), together with all four other UN regional commissions, has said that India is top trade facilitation performer in South Asian sub-region, while Singapore and Korea lead East Asia in moving goods effectively.
The UN survey report which provides data for 119 countries and serves as a useful basis for benchmarking and monitoring trade facilitation performance has said that India tops the South Asian sub-region, with Russia and Turkey leading in Europe and Central Asia. The top trade facilitation performer among these economies is the Netherlands.
According to the new report, the global average implementation rate of the ambitious set of trade facilitation measures considered in the report is about 53 percent. Developed economies average more than 75 percent implementation, while Pacific Island developing economies barely reach 26 percent.
The report outlines the extent to which key measures of the recent WTO Facilitation Agreement are currently being implemented, showing that a significant number of developing economies, particularly in East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, have already acted on many of the commitments associated with the arrangement. As highlighted in the report, accelerating implementation of paperless trade measures will be crucial to reducing trade costs.