The development of transport corridors and better trade facilitation enhance cross-border trade flows and stimulate economic integration via stronger regional cooperation. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to analyze the effect of trade facilitation indicators (TFIs) on trade flows in...

International supply chains are dependent on ease of crossing borders and efficient connectivity in terms of price, speed, and reliability. Initially responding to demand from automobile and electronics firms to connect their European and Chinese supply chains with faster and more reliable...

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it examines the effects of the implementation of trade facilitation (TF) measures on international trade flows and on participation in global value chains (GVCs). Second, it provides policy recommendations for developing Asia and the Pacific derived...

This study investigates the patterns of global value chain (GVC) participation of Pacific island countries (PICs) at the country, industry, and firm levels, utilizing UNCTAD-Eora GVC data (1999-2018) and the World Bank's Enterprise Survey data (2009 and 2015). It also uses the survey data to...

This paper uses export and import shares of intermediate goods to assess the extent of integration of G20 and non-G20 nations, including least developed countries (LDCs), in global value chains (GVCs). The G20's intermediate trade, especially the imports, recovered fast during and immediately...

The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011 was the biggest earthquake recorded in Japanese seismic history, and the fourth largest recorded in the world. The scope of the disaster far exceeded that of the Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. The repercussions of this disaster spread far beyond the...

In May 2013 the ASEAN+6 countries began to negotiate the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The objective of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of constructing such a region-wide agreement and to examine ways to multilateralize it. The paper first reviews free trade...

The continued difficulties of the World Trade Organization to achieve further multilateral trade liberalization in the Doha Round negotiations have raised questions about its continued relevance. This paper firstly identifies and assesses the key developments in the Doha Round that have...

In all the regions of the contemporary world - including Asia - there is a growing trend in market consolidation through regional collaboration in the form of bilateral and regional trade agreements. Regional cooperation and integration can facilitate the way for expanding markets and creating...

This paper considers emerging commercial policy challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region in light of the impasse reached at the Eighth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in December 2011. It underscores that, while marginal liberalization of trade barriers under the Doha...