TRADE FACILITATION INDICATORS: THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF TRADE FACILITATION ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES’ TRADE - addendum

This document is the addendum to the paper TAD/TC/WP(2012)24 and provides findings on transit trade indicators. JT03331822 Complete document available on OLIS in its original format This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Summary of findings The addendum presents findings from the OECD analysis of transit trade indicators and complements the analysis undertaken for the import/export TFIs. It provides preliminary results for the impact of transit trade measures and identifies the challenges implied by further research in this area. Transit trade was recognized as a significant issue for developing landlocked and transit countries and separate transit indicators were developed within the current phase of work. Available public data in the area of transit measures are very limited. Data were thus collected for twenty seven African and Asian countries through a direct collaboration with the USAID Trade Hubs for West Africa and Southern Africa and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). The quantitative analysis focuses on developing landlocked and transit countries and provides important insights with respect to the status of implementation of different transit measures, as well as first potential impacts of such identified measures on trade flows patterns. Preliminary estimations point to a rather important impact of transit formalities and transit agreements and cooperation. Results are rather similar and robust at the manufacturing sector level, but much less so at the agricultural level. The import/export TFIs also have a significant impact on landlocked countries' trade, including here the Formalities and the Information availability dimensions. More precise results would be subject to the improvement of the information available in the database for transit measures and to addressing remaining methodological challenges.