Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic

Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic
Author: Yelena Vassilevskaya
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:
GET BOOK

Download Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated attempts to contain its spread have created unprecedented hurdles to international trade. This paper reviews trade facilitation measures implemented in North and Central Asia (NCA), including transport and trade finance facilitation. All NCA countries have sought to protect the public health by restricting movement of people (including across borders) and applying special sanitary regulations at border crossings. These have included requirements to sanitize trucks, protect customs officials, change drivers, and requiring COVID-19 tests from drivers. Such requirements continue to create significant logistical issues, with often insufficient facilities for drivers. Sanitary requirements have proved simpler to implement for rail freight, creating an advantage for countries with well-developed rail networks. A number of common patterns emerge from the efforts of NCA countries to facilitate trade and transit. First, all governments have formed intragovernmental bodies to coordinate their COVID-19 responses. However, these bodies often lack the competency, mandate or reach to implement effective trade facilitation measures. Second, countries have simplified customs procedures for essential goods, typically food and medical supplies. Some countries initially implemented restrictions on the export of essential goods, but these have since been lifted. Third, countries have attempted to compensate for logistical and border transit issues caused by special sanitary requirements by expanding infrastructure; and simplifying and digitizing procedures on both road and rail. Fourth, all NCA countries have created online outreach portals and attempted to digitize various government services. However, their success varies greatly depending on the existing state of their paperless trade systems and infrastructure. Trade digitalization can support social distancing, while increasing trade efficiency, and inform businesses (especially SMEs) on the rapidly evolving regulatory environment under COVID-19. It is therefore recommended for countries to accelerate trade digitalization efforts, including by joining the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific.

Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic

Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic
Author: Jiangyuan Fu
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:
GET BOOK

Download Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The COVID-19 pandemic is considered the most serious health crisis and the greatest challenge to humankind since the Second World War. Although countries in East and North-East Asia (ENEA) were the first to be hit by COVID-19, they have so far been successful in controlling the outbreak with relatively low fatalities, partially thanks to various containment measures. The ongoing impact of the pandemic and its local resurgences have caused major disruption to the global economy. The ENEA sub-region is no exception. In this context, the spotlight has been placed on trade facilitation measures to maintain the flow of trade in times of crisis. All ENEA countries have introduced various measures to facilitate trade, although details of how these measures are applied on the ground vary based on the different cultural, societal and economic contexts of each country. This paper provides descriptive yet organized information on the trade facilitation measures taken by countries in the sub-region in response to the pandemic with a focus on China and the Republic of Korea. Typically, these measures include: institutional cooperation to control the virus and facilitate the imports of critical supplies; the simplification of customs procedures and expedited clearance; measures to facilitate transport and logistics; facilitating trade through digital information technologies; measures to support businesses- especially SMEs and the agricultural sector; and cross-border trade finance support. Based on accumulated lessons and practices in ENEA countries during COVID-19 pandemic, the paper asses the measures that can be adopted by other countries in their battle against the pandemic. It also discusses measures that can be maintained in the post-pandemic "new normal", as well as preparedness that should be institutionalized for future emergencies. As countries in this sub-region begin to reopen and resume work, it is essential that we prevent a second wave of the pandemic, make supply chains more resilient and boost confidence in the global economy through strengthened coordination, as well as improved and holistic trade facilitation measures. Countries that have not yet implemented these trade facilitation measures should accelerate their process.

Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic

Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic
Author: Jiangyuan Fu
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:
GET BOOK

Download Trade Facilitation in Times of Pandemic Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The world and regional economies have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. The combined effects of the pandemic and global and national lockdowns have caused havoc in the countries of South and South-West Asia (SSWA), with their trade severely impacted. This paper investigates the subregion's experience implementing trade facilitation measures in the times of COVID-19. The paper indicates that the SSWA countries have achieved remarkable progress in trade facilitation, especially as the COVID-19 crisis progressed. Although the policy responses in the initial months of the outbreak appeared to be fragmented and lacked coherence, countries in SSWA have shown convergence toward simplification of trade procedures, and enhanced transport and logistics and digital trade facilitation. While these measures have helped the SSWA countries secure supply of essential goods and services, some have simultaneously enforced stringent protection measures which represent a risk. The responses to the COVID-19 crisis suggest a greater scope of regional cooperation in the subregion. A cross-border regional protocol may strengthen the preparedness for future pandemics or similar disasters in future. As the current pandemic recedes, there are other opportunities such as in trade finance, cross-border e-commerce, and innovative application of emerging technologies, among others. Digitalizing the trade processes in SSWA, including by signing on to the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, would be the next step toward the needed paperless trade environment.

Facilitating Trade in Vaccines and Essential Medical Supplies

Facilitating Trade in Vaccines and Essential Medical Supplies
Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9292693840
GET BOOK

Download Facilitating Trade in Vaccines and Essential Medical Supplies Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The coronavirus disease or COVID-19 taught the world that it needs new investments and reforms to prepare for pandemics and disasters. Timely, accurate information must be available to support national and supranational responses. The guidance note offers information and insights on the global pandemic, focusing on trade facilitation and representing a snapshot in time, based on global knowledge shared in documents and online meetings. The note aims to build a shared framework to understand trade facilitation and border health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trade Therapy

Trade Therapy
Author: World Bank;World Trade Organization
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2022-08-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464818886
GET BOOK

Download Trade Therapy Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has exposed the upsides and downsides of international trade in medical goods and services. Open trade can increase access to medical services and goods—and the critical inputs needed to manufacture them—improve quality and variety, and reduce costs. However, excessive concentration of production, restrictive trade policies, supply chain disruptions, and regulatory divergence can jeopardize the ability of public health systems to respond to pandemics and other health crises. Trade Therapy: Deepening Cooperation to Strengthen Pandemic Defenses, coordinated by Nadia Rocha and Michele Ruta at the World Bank and Marc Bacchetta and Joscelyn Magdeleine at the World Trade Organization, provides new data on trade in medical goods and services and medical value chains, surveys the evolving policy landscape before and during the pandemic, and proposes an action plan to improve trade policies and deepen international cooperation to deal with future pandemics. As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, the focus of policy action is on the response, which includes actions aimed at removing bottlenecks and providing government support to promote equitable access to vaccines. As the emergency subsides, the focus should shift to prevention and preparedness. Steps to close information gaps—building on the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19, the ACT-Accelerator, and the open markets, for example—by negotiating tariff reductions on medical goods and greater market access in services should take priority. Also important are measures to improve the efficiency of markets, which include harmonizing regulation through mutual recognition or equivalence of standards and creating international standards for essential medical goods, inputs, and production processes. Agreement on a crisis rulebook to be deployed during an emergency—including clear and agreed limits on export policy flexibility and shared rules on intellectual property flexibilities—would provide a more solid policy foundation to address future challenges.

Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2021

Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2021
Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2021-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9292690639
GET BOOK

Download Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2021 Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have underscored the need for digital and paperless trade procedures to facilitate trade. This report reviews the impact of trade facilitation initiatives on trade costs in Asia and the Pacific since the pandemic began. A special chapter examines the pandemic’s impact on the supply chains of critical goods such as vaccines, personal protective equipment, and food, and provides policy suggestions toward enhancing supply chain resilience along with trade facilitation. This is the third biennial progress report on trade facilitation implementation in Asia and the Pacific jointly prepared by the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Getting Goods Across Borders in Times of COVID-19

Getting Goods Across Borders in Times of COVID-19
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 10
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:
GET BOOK

Download Getting Goods Across Borders in Times of COVID-19 Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This note updates Trade facilitation and the COVID-19 pandemic from April 2020 with insights into the evolution of new border protocols and trade facilitation measures impacting traders since COVID-19 and exploring what more can be done to prepare for the next stages of the pandemic as uncertainty persists. It highlights the importance of transparency and availability of timely trade-related information in mapping bottlenecks and risks, as well as the importance of trade facilitation measures in supporting business recovery and resilience across different goods sectors. Finally, it provides some preliminary insights for trade facilitation with respect to the distribution of vaccines.