Trade facilitation can help protect public health while minimizing disruptions to trade as a result of COVID-19. Crowded border posts and longer truck lines lead to delays during a time when efficiency and speed are of the utmost importance to respond to the pandemic. UNCTAD urges agencies to coordinate and cooperate within and among countries to ensure that critical goods reach consumers and hospitals, in coastal and landlocked countries in particular. Border agencies are im

Interview with Mia Mikic, former Director of Trade, Investment and Innovation Division, UNESCAP from 'Government Insider' The United Nations’ AI tool gives countries advice for negotiating trade deals. It suggests who to negotiate with, advocates which tariffs to lower, and lays out the benefits of each reduced tariff. This could be a game-changer for nations which lack the resources or experience with negotiations. “In many developed countries you have huge teams of people w

A new international agreement promoting paperless trade officially took effect on Sunday, which analysts said will further leverage advantages of China's huge market and provide broader market opportunities for all Asia-Pacific members. The Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, a UN treaty deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations, consists of 25 articles, mainly covering a trade facilitation policy frame

A new treaty aims to turn the idea of cross-border paperless trade into a reality Feb 20 marks the entry into force of a new international agreement promoting paperless trade, a timely reminder of how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought digital solutions to regional development challenges into the limelight. Paperless trade across borders has proven an effective way to mitigate trade disruptions since the onset of the crisis, enabling commerce to continue while limiting physica

The investment landscape in Asia and the Pacific has become increasingly uncertain and tied to the unfolding of current global and regional political economic risks, such as increased trade tensions, the retreat of multilateralism, and health risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, these risks have disrupted global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to, from and within Asia and the Pacific. HIGHLIGHTS • Globally, both FDI inflows and outflows started to recov

GTDW are delighted to share in the UN's International Anti-Corruption Day today, 9th December. United against corruption for development, peace and security Every year $1 trillion is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption – a sum equivalent to more than 5 per cent of the global GDP. In developing countries, according to the United Nations Development Programme, funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of off

Interactive visualization of Trade Facilitation & Paperless Trade data To help countries benchmark and reduce the time and cost of trading across border, the UN Regional Commissions jointly conduct the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation. The Survey currently covers 128 economies around the globe, and 53 measures related to the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), as well as emerging regional and global initiatives on paperless trade or e-trade