Trade Facilitation and its Implication for Development

Abstract

The issue of trade facilitation has gained more serious attention since it was first introduced to the WTO at the Singapore Ministerial Conference in 1996. As well as the WTO, there also exists a multitude of international organizations working on the issue. This is because trade facilitation is presumed to generate positive developmental gains, particularly in developing and least-developed countries where there remain various challenges related to border transactions.

However, despite the positive presumption on the linkage between trade facilitation and developmental gains, developing and least-developed countries are concerned about the cost of implanting trade facilitation measures. With this concern remaining, they find it ambiguous to find a clear linkage between trade facilitation and development. This paper evaluates this linkage so as to draw an implication on development by analyzing the case study of Cambodia as qualitative evidence. The implication on development is both for the developed and the developing, while claiming the significance of the multilateral initiative for trade facilitation to be implemented.