New UN scheme to tackle costly obstacles to trade in the Asia-Pacific region

The Asia-Pacific arm of the United Nations has launched an initiative aimed at cutting through the red tape that is adding as much as 15 per cent to the cost of goods traded in the region.

The scheme will pool expertise and experience of countries in the region to remove hidden trade barriers, such as delays at border crossings, harbours and docks caused by cumbersome procedures and excessive paperwork.

The UN Network of Experts for Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (UN NExT) initiative was launched at a high-level meeting this week in Bangkok, which was organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).

Ravi Ratnayake, Director of the Trade and Investment Division of ESCAP, said hidden trade barriers have resulted in the “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 turmoil 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.”

Capacity building, training, sharing experience on successful trade facilitation measures, and sensitizing policy makers on the importance of trade facilitation were among the elements of a work programme presented by UN NeXT at the end of the meeting.