Good Practice in Trade Facilitation : Lessons from Tunisia
Although trade liberalization can create jobs and raise incomes, these benefits can easily be undermined if trade transactions involve excessive costs and delays-reducing a country's export competitiveness. Trade facilitation efforts aim to re...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/07/5178278/good-practice-trade-facilitation-lessons-tunisia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11266 |
| Summary: | Although trade liberalization can create
jobs and raise incomes, these benefits can easily be
undermined if trade transactions involve excessive costs and
delays-reducing a country's export competitiveness.
Trade facilitation efforts aim to reduce such costs and
delays by simplifying trade procedures and document flows,
modernizing customs and port systems, promoting quality and
safety standards, and improving trade logistics. In recent
years several countries have used information and
communications technology to achieve one or more of these
goals. Tunisia provides a good example of stakeholders
coming together to simplify trade procedures and automate
documentation and customs requirements. In fact, it is the
first country in the Middle East and North Africa that has
succeeded in applying information and communications
technology to the entire range of trade documents. When
other countries in the region (such as Morocco) have used
such technology, they have focused on customs and ports,
overlooking other practices and procedures that impose
transactions costs on trade activities. This note summarizes
the context and challenges, key initiatives, impact, and
success factors of Tunisia's efforts. |
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