Bangkok--30 Mar--UNISBKK
Red tape costs 15% of the value of trade in the region, every year
The Untied Nations has launched an initiative in Asia and the Pacific aimed at removing hidden trade barriers which cost as much as 15% of the value of goods traded in the region.
The United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (UN NExT) will pool expertise and experience of countries in the region to address delays at border crossings, harbours and docks caused by cumbersome procedures and excessive paperwork.
The Network will undertake capacity building on international standards and solutions; help bridge the gap between policymakers and technical experts in trade facilitation; and act as a clearing house for sharing lessons from the countries in the forefront of trade facilitation.
UN NExT was launched this week in Bangkok at a High-Level Symposium on Building Regional Capacity for Paperless Trade organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia- Pacific (UNESCAP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Mr. Ravi Ratnayake, Director of the Trade and Investment Division of ESCAP said hidden trade barriers have resulted in “higher cost of exports and lost opportunities in trade, which the countries in the Asia-Pacific region cannot afford at a time of great economic turmoil.”
While commending the fiscal stimulus packages of the region in response to the on-going global economic crisis and the emphasis they place on physical infrastructure, Mr. Ratnayake said “we at ESCAP believe that the region should also take this opportunity to address its ‘soft infrastructure’ challenges—the many forms of institutional barriers to trade.”
Mr. Pan Sorasak, Secretary of State, Ministry of the Commerce, Kingdom of Cambodia, said trade has become a cornerstone in the country’s development agenda. Expressing his appreciation to ESCAP and ECE for “the very timely initiative”, he said “the Network can provide policymakers and experts a platform to exchange best practices and experience with their peers in the region.”
“The benefits of trade facilitation are not debatable. In the APEC alone, a mere reduction of five per cent over five years in the cost of doing business is by itself worthy of reporting to Ministers and Leaders," said Mr. Jos? Antonio Buencamino, Assistant Minister, Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippines. “For us in the region, the Network will be indispensable, because it can provide the missing link between policymakers and those who work on nuts and bolts of facilitating trade.”
Mr. Sugathadasa Ranugge, Secretary, Ministry of Export Development and International Trade, Sri Lanka, commented that trading within the Asia-Pacific region is constrained by cumbersome procedures. He said that exporters “prefer to do business with the USA and the EU countries” because “trading with those countries is efficient, transparent, and hassle free”.
He added that given the importance of trade facilitation in the country, “Sri Lanka would like to pledge its support and cooperation to this important Network and will actively participate in its work.”
UN NExT drafted and presented its work programme at the end of the meeting.
Capacity building and training; sharing experience on successful trade facilitation measures, and sensitizing policy makers on the importance of trade facilitation were among the elements of the programme.
For more information, please contact:
Shamika Sirimanne, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, ESCAP; Tel: +66 (0)2
288 1638; mobile: +66 (0) 86 620 0013; email: [email protected]
Bentley Jenson, UN Information Services (UNIS), ESCAP; Tel.: +66 (0)2 288
1869; Mobile: +66 84 (0)80 5025; Email: [email protected] and
[email protected]