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The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study identifies the following
actions centered around four pillars to sustain and accelerate
export growth: (1) breaking into new markets through a) better
trade logistics to reduce delivery lags; as world markets become
more competitive and newer products demand shorter lead times, to
generate new sources of competitiveness and thereby enable market
diversification; and b) better exploitation of regional trading
opportunities in nearby growing and dynamic markets, especially
East and South Asia; (2) breaking into new products through a) more
neutral and rational trade policy and taxation and bonded warehouse
schemes; b) concerted efforts to spur domestic investment and
attract foreign direct investment, to contribute to export
promotion and diversification, including by easing the energy and
land constraints; and c) strategic development and promotion of
services trade; (3) improving worker and consumer welfare by a)
improving skills and literacy; b) implementing labor and work
safety guidelines; and c) making safety nets more effective in
dealing with trade shocks; and (4) building a supportive
environment, including a) sustaining sound macroeconomic
fundamentals; and b) strengthening the institutional capacity for
strategic policy making aimed at the objective of international
competitiveness to help bring focus and coherence to the
government's reform efforts.
This toolkit provides a novel approach and a set of tools that
allow policymakers and analysts to identify non-tariff measures
(NTMs), assess their trade restrictiveness and impact on prices and
welfare, and to strengthen the institutional coordination
mechanism, transparency, and regulatory governance on NTMs. It also
aims at encouraging economies to increasingly address the NTM
agenda from a domestic competitiveness and/or poverty perspective
rather than from a mercantilist standpoint of concessions to
trading partners. NTMs are policy measures, other than ordinary
customs tariffs, that can potentially have an economic effect on
international trade in goods, changing quantities traded, or prices
or both. While most NTMs are already subject to WTO disciplines,
the main challenge is to allow governments to address public policy
concerns without unnecessarily hurting trade competitiveness and
while preventing disguised protectionism. This toolkit is
predicated on the idea that the complexity and diversity of NTMs
should be recognized. Problems should be identified at the country
level through consultations with the private sector, and technical
solutions should be sought through careful analysis and
private/public dialogue. The underlying philosophy is similar to
what is known as "Regulatory Impact Assessment" (RIA), but applied
to the review of existing measures (no ex ante analysis), in
response to specific demands from countries struggling with
legacies of complicated and penalizing regulations. Dealing with
existing measures has the advantage of responding to an immediate
need and focusing on measures whose effects are known. The toolkit
is organized as follows. Chapter 1 discusses the newly revamped NTM
classification and pervasiveness of NTM. Chapter 2 elaborates on
the analytics of an NTM review, walking the reader step by step
through the key questions. Chapter 3 focuses on the institutional
set up and key principles to successfully pursue the streamlining
of regulations. Finally, chapters 4 and 5 provide some practical
cases of streamlining both at the country and regional levels, and
for product specific examples.
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest U.S.
investment bank filed for bankruptcy. Global credit markets
tightened. Spreads skyrocketed. International trade plummeted by
double digits. Banks were reportedly unable to meet the demand from
their customers to finance their international trade operations,
leaving a trade finance 'gap' estimated at around US$25 billion.
Governments and international institutions felt compelled to
intervene based on the information that some 80-90 percent of world
trade relies on some form of trade finance. As the recovery
unfolds, the time has come to provide policy makers and analysts
with a comprehensive assessment of the role of trade finance in the
2008-09 great trade collapse and the subsequent role of governments
and institutions to help restore trade finance markets. After
reviewing the underpinning of trade finance and interfirm trade
credit, 'Trade Finance during the Great Trade Collapse' aims to
answer the following questions: - Was the availability and cost of
trade finance a major constraint on trade during the 2008-09 global
economic crisis? - What are the underpinnings and limits of
national and international public interventions in support of trade
finance markets in times of crisis? - How effective were the public
and private sector mechanisms put in place during the crisis to
support trade and trade finance? - To what extent have the new
banking regulations under Basel II and Basel III exacerbated the
trade finance shortfall during the crisis and in the post-crisis
environment, respectively? 'Trade Finance during the Great Trade
Collapse' is the product of a fruitful collaboration during the
crisis among the World Bank Group, international financial
partners, private banks, and academia. 'Trade is the lifeblood of
the world economy, and the sharp collapse in trade volumes was one
of the most dramatic consequences of the global financial crisis.
It was the moment the financial crisis hit the real economy, and
when parts of the world far from the epicenter of financial
turbulence felt its full fury. This book is extremely timely and
full of critical insights into the role of trade finance and the
potential damaging impact from the unintended consequences of
regulatory changes.' --Peter Sands, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank
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