Digital and sustainable trade facilitation in Pacific Island Developing Economies (PIDEs)

Abstract

Reducing trade costs is crucial for enabling economies to effectively participate in regional and global value chains and promote growth and sustainable development. However, the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis continues to impede international trade, with geopolitical conflicts creating new supply chain disruptions and high inflation, increasing trade costs and uncertainties. This has added further pressure to already high trade costs worldwide. Given this situation, trade facilitation assumes a pivotal role, facilitating more efficient and transparent trade procedures, thus reducing the vulnerability of global supply chains and overall trade costs. Consequently, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and regional initiatives have focused on trade digitalization, such as the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, offering guidance on measures that should be considered for implementation.

This report unveils the findings of the 2023 United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation, focusing on the progress made in trade facilitation across the 11 Pacific Island Developing Economies (PIDEs). The report offers a comprehensive analysis of 60 trade facilitation measures, categorized into four groups – “General Trade Facilitation”, “Digital Trade Facilitation”, “Sustainable Trade Facilitation”, “Other Trade Facilitation” and “Pilot-Tested.” Furthermore, these groups of measures encompass 11 sub-groups, including both binding and non-binding measures of the WTO TFA. They also include measures related to digital and sustainable trade.