Trade facilitation

In a globalised world where goods often cross borders many times as both intermediate and final products, trade facilitation helps lower overall trade costs and increase economic welfare, in particular for developing and emerging economies. Whether exporting or importing goods, trade facilitation benefits all countries by allowing better access for businesses to production inputs from abroad and by supporting greater participation in global value chains.

This video provides a short explanation of the importance of trade facilitation, including the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, how this is analysed using the TFIs, and why trade facilitation helps make trade work for all. 

Domestic and cross-border agency co-operation are the top areas of progress in 2024. Domestic border agency co-operation, shaped by a combination of institutional and regulatory reforms, not only enhanced efficiency within national borders but also served as a catalyst for stronger cross-border agency co-operation. Already the leading area of reform in 2022, domestic border agency co-operation laid the groundwork for increased coordination with trading partners, reinforcing integrated trade facilitation efforts. However, border agency co-operation began from a relatively limited baseline and holds the largest potential for further improvement. The streamlining of procedures and the availability of trade-related information are the other areas showing notable progress. Although the automation of border processes continues to improve, there is a slowdown in implementation due to interoperability challenges, regulatory fragmentation, and uneven adoption of digital standards across countries.

The Trade Facilitation Policy Simulator allows you to quickly obtain an overview of the indicators and the key measures that drive the overall performance of a selected country and to compare the selected country with other countries. It also allows for the simulation of potential policy reforms; by modifying the data in specific policy areas, you can obtain an “edited” performance bar showing the impact of policy modifications on the overall performance of the selected country and on its relative performance in comparison to other countries. The information obtained can be shared, referenced, and downloaded.