Economic research and trade policy analysis

On the basis of an overview of the existing academic economic literature the study provides an impartial view of what can be said and with what degree of confidence on the relationship between trade and employment an often contentious issue of public debate. Its focus is on the connections between trade policies and labour and social policies and it will be useful to all those who are interested in this debate: academics and policy-makers workers and employers trade and labour specialists.

The theme of this year’s Report is “Trade in a Globalizing World”. The Report provides a reminder of what we know about the gains from international trade and highlights the challenges arising from higher levels of integration. It addresses a range of interlinking questions starting with a consideration of what constitutes globalization what drives it what benefits does it bring what challenges does it pose and what role does trade play in this world of ever-growing inter-dependency. The Report asks why some countries have managed to take advantage of falling trade costs and greater policy-driven trading opportunities while others have remained largely outside international commercial relations. It also considers who the winners and losers are from trade and what complementary action is needed from policy-makers to secure the benefits of trade for society at large. In examining these complex and multi-faceted questions the Report reviews both the theoretical gains from trade and empirical evidence that can help to answer these questions.

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated around the world in the past two decades and now nearly all members of the WTO are party to at least one. Besides tariffs and rules of origin regulating trade in goods many RTAs now include provisions on services investments technical barriers to trade and competition rules as well as a host of issues not directly related to trade. The geographic reach of RTAs is expanding with transcontinental agreements spreading forcefully alongside intra-regional agreements. ‘Multilateralizing Regionalism’ was the title of a major conference held from 10–12 September 2007 at the WTO in Geneva. Brought together in this publication the conference papers achieve two things. First they marshall detailed new empirical work on the nature of the ‘Spaghetti Bowl’ and the problems it poses for the multilateral trade system. Second they contribute fresh and creative thinking on how to ‘tame the tangle’ of regional trade agreements.

A collection of papers by some of the world’s leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multidisciplinary with contributions from economists political scientists supply chain management specialists practitioners and policymakers.

En la era digital son cada vez más los gobiernos que han adoptado políticas encaminadas a impulsar el crecimiento por medio de la innovación y la modernización tecnológica. En el Informe sobre el comercio mundial 2020 se examinan esas tendencias y el papel que desempeñan el comercio y la OMC en este contexto. Un rasgo definitorio de las políticas gubernamentales adoptadas en los últimos años ha sido su apoyo a la transición a la economía digital. Tradicionalmente el comercio y las políticas comerciales han sido importantes motores de innovación. En particular el sistema multilateral de comercio ha contribuido considerablemente a la innovación y la difusión de tecnología a nivel mundial al fomentar unas condiciones del mercado mundial previsibles y al sustentar el desarrollo de las cadenas de valor mundiales. Habida cuenta de que los datos se han convertido en un insumo esencial de la economía digital las empresas dependen más de los activos intangibles que de los físicos y las empresas digitales pueden llegar más deprisa a los mercados mundiales sin la cantidad de inversión física que se necesitaba antes en otros sectores. En el contexto de la economía digital el éxito dependerá de la apertura el acceso a los bienes y servicios de tecnología de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC) la colaboración en los proyectos de investigación y la difusión de los conocimientos y las nuevas tecnologías. En el Informe sobre el comercio mundial 2020 se muestra que la cooperación internacional contribuye de manera significativa a fomentar el desarrollo digital y la innovación tecnológica con mayor eficacia minimizando al mismo tiempo los efectos indirectos negativos de las políticas nacionales. Los Acuerdos de la OMC alcanzados hace un cuarto de siglo han demostrado tener una notable visión de futuro al proporcionar un marco que ha favorecido el establecimiento de economías basadas en las TIC en todos los niveles de desarrollo. Una mayor cooperación internacional en la OMC y en otros foros permitiría seguir innovando y reducir las tensiones comerciales para ayudar a los mercados internacionales a funcionar de manera más previsible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization in all sectors including international trade which remains hindered by inefficient paper-intensive processes. Of particular interest for trade digitalization are projects leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) – commonly referred to as Blockchain. The tamper-proof and decentralized nature of DLT makes it useful for breaking the silos that constrain international trade. Many projects that were at an exploratory stage when the first “Blockchain and DLT in Trade” publication was launched in November 2019 have matured and reached the production stage. This publication looks at the current situation. The publication updates the original “periodic table” of DLT projects in trade launched in November 2019 by the International Chamber of Commerce the WTO and Trade Finance Global a trade finance platform at the WTO Global Trade and Blockchain Forum. The periodic table provides a means of differentiating between the countless initiatives projects consortia and companies operating in the broad space that can be described by “DLT in trade”. While no simplified diagram of the landscape can encapsulate the minutiae of each project the table provides a starting point for understanding and analyzing the industry. This publication maps 44 projects related to trade finance insurance know your customer shipping/logistics and supply chain digitalization of trade documents and trade processes as well as other projects such as marketplaces and assesses their level of maturity. A new section on standardization initiatives provides an overview of projects that work towards creating digital standards relevant for trade to drive digital interoperability. The report also showcases the results of a supplementary survey analyzing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the projects featured.

En el Informe sobre el comercio mundial 2017 se examina cómo afectan la tecnología y el comercio al empleo y los salarios. Se analizan las dificultades a que se enfrentan los trabajadores y las empresas para ajustarse a los cambios en los mercados de trabajo y la manera en que los Gobiernos pueden facilitar ese ajuste para que el comercio y la tecnología sean inclusivos.

For many micro small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) around the world today access to financing can mean the difference between prosperity and bankruptcy. Working to identify understand and ultimately overcome the challenges that MSMEs face in their quest for acquiring financing will help to ensure that the next great technological idea does not cease to exist before it has a chance to change the world. This publication seeks to identify some of the most pressing of these challenges understand them and explore the potential application of digital technologies to mitigating their impact. To that end the authors conducted interviews and surveys with experts in the field of MSME financing including in some cases trade financing to shed light on these issues and explore the ways in which technology can be used. This publication begins by examining some of the challenges that have been identified as impacting MSME financing as well as the role that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in moulding the landscape. Next it moves on to examining key digital technologies their potential benefit to the industry – in particular to MSME financing – a selection of case studies and of companies utilizing these technologies the adoption challenges they face and recommendations for overcoming these challenges. The technologies in question include cloud computing optical character recognition the Internet of Things big data analytics artificial intelligence quantum computing distributed ledger technology and application programming interfaces.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect of increasingly frequent and more intense natural and man-made disasters raise important questions about the resilience of the global economy to such shocks. The World Trade Report 2021 explores the basic binary assumption driving much of the current debate about economic resilience namely the inherent trade-off between global trade interdependence and national economic security and suggests that this can be a false dilemma. Due to its interconnected nature international trade can increase an economy’s exposure to risks and contribute to the transmission of shockwaves. At the same time it can bolster economic resilience particularly when backed by domestic policies and effective global cooperation. As a driver of economic growth trade can generate the resources and knowledge needed to prepare for crises. It can also help countries recover by facilitating the provision of goods and services needed to cope with a crisis. Policies aimed at increasing economic resilience by re-shoring production and unwinding trade integration ultimately reduce economic resilience. Conversely trade diversification can contribute to economic resilience by allowing countries to be less dependent on a limited number of importers exporters and sectors. The World Trade Report 2021 shows that a more open inclusive and predictable trade environment is needed to promote diversification and contribute to economic resilience. The WTO already plays a key role in making economies more resilient by promoting lower trade barriers and greater transparency in trade policies. Further international cooperation at the WTO can strengthen the mutual supportiveness of trade openness and economic resilience so that the world is better prepared to deal with future crises.

Este diccionario es una guía accesible al vocabulario empleado en las negociaciones comerciales. En él se explican unos 3.000 términos y conceptos en un lenguaje sencillo. Se dedica especial atención al sistema multilateral de comercio representado por los acuerdos de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC). El diccionario abarca además muchas de las actividades resultados y términos relacionados con el comercio utilizados en otras organizaciones internacionales tales como la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (UNCTAD) la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI) la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO) el Foro de Cooperación Económica de Asia y el Pacífico (APEC) y la La Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). En el pasado decenio se ha prestado considerable atención a la facilitación del comercio y las inversiones la sostenibilidad y la formación de zonas de libre comercio en todas las partes del mundo. El diccionario dedica un amplio espacio al vocabulario relacionado con esa evolución. Ofrece por ejemplo explicaciones claras de los conceptos utilizados en la administración de las normas de origen preferenciales. Más recientemente la facilitación del comercio ha sido objeto de gran atención. Otras de las esferas abarcadas son los nuevos temas comerciales y las cuestiones relacionadas en particular con las preocupaciones de los países en desarrollo. Durante muchos años Walter Goode fue funcionario del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Comercio Internacional de Australia. En el ejercicio de sus funciones adquirió una amplia experiencia en la formulación de la política comercial internacional y la celebración de negociaciones comerciales bilaterales y multilaterales. En particular participó en negociaciones y reuniones en el APEC el GATT la OMC la UNCTAD y la OCDE. Ha ocupado puestos relacionados con el comercio en Ginebra Beijing Shanghái y Tokio. Impartió numerosos cursos de formación sobre política comercial en particular bajo los auspicios del APEC. En la actualidad está jubilado. Entre sus publicaciones figuran: Australian Traded Services Uruguay Round Outcomes: Services y Negotiating Free-Trade Agreements: A Guide.