Search

This paper makes the case for the need to "upgrade" current analytical tools used for trade policy analysis and complement them with more detailed firm-level data. Such an upgrade should be based on the latest intellectual advancements in trade theories and the latest firm-level trade statistics that are now becoming widely available. An upgraded "Trade Policy Analysis 2.0" could contribute to several trade policy priorities and to a better understanding of the benefits from international trade for firm competitiveness, job creation, and consumer welfare.

This article draws the attention to the growing importance of services inputs in manufacturing sectors' exports in the EU and beyond. The GATS existing four modes of supply do not adequately cover this type of indirect services value-added trade. Hence, theoretically, the case for a new indirect mode of services supply - 'mode 5' - is made. On the basis of the TiVA database, our estimates of mode 5 services exports point to a substantial share of total merchandise trade. The article also finds that from a 'mode 5' perspective, services embodied into products are also subject to fairly complex trade rules. One such example illustrated in this article is the area of customs valuation. Other issues (trade facilitation, rules of origin) could have an impact on the way 'mode 5' services are traded. The renewed impetus at the WTO on trade facilitation and the post-Bali agenda should provide a new opportunity for policy makers to forge trade rules that are well-suited for the ways in which goods and services interact along global supply chains.

Developing countries are arguably the most affected by the increasing regularity and costs of natural disasters. In addition to the often impressive casualty figures, there can be systemic trade and development implications as well. Results from a simple model suggest that exports of affected small developing countries decline by 22% (whereas exports of larger developing countries are not significantly affected), and that such effects tend to last for about 3 years.

According to recent analyses, processing trade represents around 50% of total Chinese exports. But processing trade is not just a feature of Chinese trade or other emerging economies. It is also one option that EU trade policy offers to interested companies, subject to a specific set of rules and procedures. If in the case of China processing trade is responsible for half of China's impressive trade performance, what is the role of processing trade in Europe? This column investigates the use and role of processing trade - a trade regime credited as a key driver of Chinese export performance but largely overlooked in Europe - on the overall and sectoral EU trade performance in recent years. It argues that, despite its rather low profile in trade debates, EU exports after inward processing accounted for around 10% of total extra-EU exports in 2011. Given its non-negligible share, processing trade procedures may require further reflection on how to maximize its benefits for EU's external competitiveness.

Given the complexity of the issues surrounding the concept of sustainable tourism, the current paper tries to provide a unified methodology to assess tourism sustainability, based on a number of quantitative indicators. The proposed methodological framework (Sustainable Tourism Benchmarking Tool – STBT) will provide a number of benchmarks against which the sustainability of tourism activities in various countries can be assessed. A model development procedure is proposed: identification of the dimensions (economic, socio-ecologic, infrastructure) and indicators, method of scaling, chart representation and evaluation on three Asian countries. This application to three countries show us that a similar level of tourism activity might induce different sort of improvements to implement in the tourism activity and might have different consequences for the socio-ecological environment. The heterogeneity of developing countries exposed in the STBT is useful to detect the main problem of each country in their tourism activity.