The average trade transaction involves more than 200 elements of data, according to a recent report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). There are as many as 30 different participants (brokers, banks etc.) in the average cross-border transaction, generating up to 40 separate documents, with each one requiring manual preparation and processing in a paper-based environment.

Trade facilitation reduces the complexity and cost of the trade transaction process, ensuring that trade activities take place in an efficient, predictable manner, based on internationally accepted norms, standards and best practices. For more information on issues of concern see the World Bank’s recently updated report “Connecting to Compete – Trade Logistics in the Global Economy”. 

ITC works with TSIs to produce Technical Assistance Guidelines for SME cross-border traders, increasing their knowledge of their customs-related obligations and rights.

 NTMs vary across countries and products, and often change quickly and with little notice. Businesses need to comply with a wide range of requirements, including technical regulations, product standards and customs procedures. The business sector in developing countries often lacks the information, capabilities, and facilities needed to meet the NTMs complex requirements and demonstrate compliance at reasonable costs. National policy makers often lack a clear picture of what their business sector currently perceives as predominant obstacles to trade, and this makes it difficult to develop appropriate trade-related policies. ITC aims to increase transparency and understanding of NTMs. ITC and its national partners are conducting surveys in 30 developing countries, interviewing 200-600 businesses in each country about the most important NTM obstacles that they face in their daily operations. For more information, see our page on the NTM survey and preliminary results.

 

With tariff levels falling, NTMs are becoming the largest impediment to the trade of agro-based products, according to preliminary results of ITC’s enterprise level surveys, conducted in 30 countries in 2010-2012. For more information, see our page on the NTM survey and preliminary results.

 To read more about our trade facilitation project aiming at Ugandan cross-border traders, click here.

 

• Creating a favourable business environment for women exporters and informal cross-border traders: We are developing training modules on the legal rights of women SME and informal exporters under the East Africa Customs Protocol and will disseminate the modules through TSIs, including customs agencies in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan. We will also produce guidelines for TSIs to effectively assist women SMEs and informal cross-border traders in East Africa and beyond. To read more about our trade facilitation project aiming at Ugandan cross-border traders, click here.
• Streamlining of export processing procedures in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors to improve access to markets: ITC will identify home country constraints and costs that reduce the competitiveness of SMEs in selected agricultural and agro-processing sectors in Least Developed Countries in Africa and Asia. We will prepare proposals to amend the regulatory framework in support of these exporters, but will also work with TSIs to identify concrete, implementable solutions that will quickly lead to the reduction of transaction costs to SME-s.