In 2004, China became the third largest trading economy in the world. Although official overall average import tariff rate was reduced to 9.9% as of January 2005, actual tariff rates are likely much lower. Although further tariff reductions may lead to renewed and expanded global trade growth, trade facilitation will play an increasingly important role in promoting global trade. The Chinese government has made great efforts in trade facilitation and huge investments in related infrastructure, mainly as part of its “Fast Customs Clearance System”.

Though trade liberalization in India was launched as early as 1991, major policy attention paid to trade facilitation is a rather recent phenomenon. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), a key government agency responsible for trade facilitation, has consolidated different initiatives in the past two years. The CBEC has accepted and implemented most of the key recommendations of Working Group on Trade Facilitation (WGTF).

After a review of implementation cost information found in WTO members proposals to the NGTF and relevant research and policy studies, results of an expert survey on the implementation costs associated with 12 trade facilitation measures (TFMs) relevant to the negotiations are presented. Long-term savings greatly exceed the perceived implementation costs for all measures considered.

Over the past two decades, an integral part of some Pacific island countries (PICs’) economic policy rhetoric has been export-led growth. However, despite the policy and technical support provided by many international organizations and bilateral donors, and an abundance of natural resources, their export sectors remain narrow and, with few exceptions, export industries have experienced little growth. Therefore, if these countries are to do better, it is critical to understand the supply- side constraints to export-led growth.

The informal meeting of core Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT) research institutions organized by UNESCAP and IDRC in June 2004 in Bangkok highlighted the need for capacity building of research institutions from Least Developed Countries in the region. Llittle research or information is, however, available on what the needs of these research institutions are, their existing trade research capacity and how this differs across countries.