The collapse of global trade, murky protectionism, and the crisis:

More documents

Recommendations

Info

VOX Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists About the authors Simon J. Evenett is Professor of International Trade and Economic Development, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and Programme Director of the International Trade and Regional Economics Programme at the Centre of Economic Policy Research CEPR. Professor Evenett is an expert in the commercial policy and strategies of the USA, EU, and the rising economic powers, such as China. He also closely follows WTO trade negotiations and bilateral and regional trade negotiations. Professor Evenett obtained his bachelors degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and his doctoral degree in economics from Yale University. Previously he has taught at Oxford University and for ten years held fellowships at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC. He was also Director of Economic Research at the World Trade Institute, and has twice served as a World Bank official. Professor Evenett has served as a Member on several high-level committees on international commerce, including The French Trade Minister's High Level Group on Globalisation; The Warwick Commission on the Future of the Multilateral Trading System; and The Zedillo Committee on the Global Trade and Financial Architecture. He is widely published and is a frequent public lecturer, including speaking to corporate executives about international business strategy. John Whalley is William G. Davies Chair in International Trade and Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, and a Distinguished Fellow at CIGI. 98
19. Keep the trade flowing by cutting red tape Gerard McLinden World Bank The current economic crisis will lead to the first decline in international trade in 25 years – pushing millions of developing world citizens back into crippling poverty. Recent protectionist responses are likely to deepen the crisis and delay recovery. G20 pledges to foreswear protectionism, or agreements on standstills and surveillance as other suggest in this book are all useful. But the G20 could counter protectionism more directly. It could adopt a proactive, pro-trade strategy of supporting reforms that cut the red tape and reduce the transaction costs facing traders around the globe. The WTO trade facilitation negotiations offer a very practical opportunity to offset some of the impact of the current economic crisis. The payoff to developing countries which depend heavily on trade could be particularly high. This chapter explains how the current trade facilitation negotiations can act as a positive catalyst for deep and meaningful reform in this area. Trade facilitation as an active counter to falling trade Excessively bureaucratic and outdated border processing systems and procedures as well as inadequate infrastructure result in high transaction costs for traders, long delays and unpredictability in the clearance of goods – often accompanied by high levels of corruption. Red tape equals lost opportunities. Governments lose because slow and inefficient processes encourage noncompliance and fraud, exporters lose because high costs and unreliability make them uncompetitive on regional and global markets, local manufacturers lose because the costs of their imported inputs are too high and unpredictability in supply means they are forced to maintain unnecessarily high and costly inventories, and consumers lose because high transaction costs and inefficiencies translate into additional prices at the shops. Research suggests that it takes three times as many days, nearly twice as many documents and six times as many signatures to import goods in poor countries than it does in rich ones (World Bank, Doing Business Report 2007). Africa, in particular, fares poorly with the time taken between the submission of customs declarations and ultimate clearance taking four times longer than in OECD countries (World Bank, Logistics Performance Index, 2007). Delays, unpredictability and high trade transaction costs at the border undermine a country's competitiveness, either by taxing imported inputs with deadweight inefficiencies or by adding costs and reducing the competitiveness of exports. The evidence is overwhelming that attention devoted to eliminating unnecessary red tape, removing opportunities for corruption and improving trade related infrastructure is likely to attract investment and make small and medium sized enterprises more competitive players in the international trading system. For all these reasons 99
Page 1:
The collapse of global trade, murky
Page 4 and 5:
Centre for Economic Policy Research
Page 6 and 7:
Centre for Economic Policy Research
Page 8 and 9:
10. Trade protection: incipient but
Page 11 and 12:
Introduction and recommendations fo
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19:
Page 23 and 24:
1. Protectionism and the global eco
Page 25 and 26:
2. The multilateral trading system:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
3. Keeping borders open: why is it
Page 33:
Page 36 and 37:
VOX Research-based policy analysis
Page 39 and 40:
5. What can the G20 do on trade tha
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
6. East Asia must share Obama’s l
Page 47 and 48:
7. Protectionism and the crisis Ann
Page 49 and 50:
8. The Lithium President: fight pro
Page 51:
Page 55 and 56:
9. The collapse of global trade: th
Page 57 and 58: The collapse of global trade, murky
Page 59 and 60: 10. Trade protection: incipient but
Page 63: The collapse of global trade, murky
Page 66 and 67: VOX Research-based policy analysis
Page 69 and 70: 12. Commodities, export subsidies,
Page 73: The collapse of global trade, murky
Page 115: Trade was a side issue when G20 lea
show all

The collapse of global trade, murky protectionism, and the crisis:

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?