Abstract
This study examines the relevance of trade facilitation reforms in maximizing the economic impactof infrastructure connectivity investments through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It providesan overview of trade facilitation performance in BRI economies, with a focus on those countriesinvolved in six key land corridors. This overview is based on three categories of data: international indicators for trade facilitation performance, notably Doing Business, the Logistics Performance Index, the Enabling Trade Index, and the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators; publicly-available literature and analysis on the BRI corridors; and analysis conducted through World Bank projects involving BRI economies. A key finding is that, in a global context, trade facilitation along the BRI corridors is weak, with performance for most corridors below global averages according to most indicators. There is also wide variation in performance between countries along each corridor, providing a significant barrier to the efficient utilization of the corridors for predictable, timely cross-border transportation of goods. Based on the review of corridor performance, the study recommends priority trade facilitation reforms for the BRI economies, as well as recommendations on the implementation of these reforms, based on international experience.
Highlights
Trade facilitation reform will be critical to achieving the objectives of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Inefficiencies relating to trade procedures are a major source of trade costs, and trade facilitation reform is intended to streamline these trade procedures, while ensuring that border agencies can accomplish revenue, safety and community protection objectives
Trade facilitation is a necessary complement to the infrastructure connectivity investments that will be made through the BRI
Summary
This series is produced by the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment (MTI) Global Practice of the World Bank. The papers in this series aim to provide a vehicle for publishing preliminary results on MTI topics to encourage discussion and debate. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. Citation and the use of material presented in this series should take into account this provisional character
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