2011年-世界发展银行全球_Regional_Cross-Border_Trade_Facilitation_and_Infrastructure_Study_for_Mashreq_Countries_103页_2mb

Regional Cross-Border Trade Facilitation and Infrastructure Study for Mashreq Countries

Core Content

This report, published by the World Bank in April 2011, focuses on the trade facilitation and transport infrastructure challenges faced by the Mashreq region, which includes countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It highlights the need for improving these areas to enhance trade competitiveness and stimulate economic growth.

Main Issues

• Trade Facilitation Challenges: Inefficient trade facilitation processes and underdeveloped transport infrastructure are significant barriers to trade, leading to greater losses than formal trade tariffs and quotas.
• Limited Implementation of Recommendations: Despite previous studies and analyses, few recommendations have been implemented, and many pressing issues remain unaddressed.
• Institutional Gaps: There is a lack of a centralized organization responsible for implementing trade facilitation recommendations.
• Transport Infrastructure: While some improvements have been made, the logistics and transport infrastructure in the Mashreq region still lags behind that of competing regions.
• Trade Patterns: The region trades more with the EU than with other Mashreq countries, and intraregional trade is lower than that of other trading blocs like NAFTA and ASEAN.
• Transport Corridors: The main trade corridors are the North-South Corridor (connecting to the EU via Turkey, Syria, and Jordan) and the East-West Corridors (connecting to the Gulf and Asia).

Key Recommendations

• Regional Corridor Management System: Propose the establishment of an international trade corridor management system to enhance trade facilitation through the North-South Corridor and its linking East-West Corridors.
• Country-Level Actions: Implement measures to improve trade facilitation, with a focus on reducing import barriers, as most trade facilitation issues relate to imports.
• Logistics and Infrastructure Development: Prioritize improvements in logistics services, ports, rail, and trucking to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
• Customs and Border Procedures: Simplify customs procedures and introduce risk management and electronic tracking systems to improve efficiency.
• Free Trade Zones: Develop effective free trade zones that support manufacturing and distribution industries, and serve as distribution centers for imported goods and value-added exports.

Trade Volumes and Patterns

• The total value of international trade for Mashreq countries is about 76% of their GDP, which is above the regional average.
• Non-Oil Trade: When considering non-oil trade, the share is much lower (21% of GDP) compared to similar countries, indicating potential for growth in exports.
• Non-Oil Imports: Non-oil imports account for 55% of GDP, which is significantly higher than for similar countries (33% to 44%).
• Trade with the EU: The EU is the largest trading partner, accounting for over 25% of exports and more than 17% of imports.
• Trade with the Gulf: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the second-largest trading partner, with about 7% of exports and 17% of imports.
• Trade with Asia: Trade with Asia is mainly maritime and is expected to increase significantly, but remains at relatively low levels.

Trade Facilitation and Transport Infrastructure

• Ports: Most Mashreq ports have improved in performance over the last five years, but establishing a hub port and regional distribution center remains a challenge.
• Maritime Services: Maritime routes are the main mode of transport to Asia and Europe, but they are often inefficient due to the need for transshipment.
• Rail Services: Rail is underdeveloped but could offer competitive times and costs for trade with Europe. However, its financial viability is uncertain.
• Trucking Services: Road transport is the most common and efficient mode for intra-regional trade, but it faces challenges due to outdated vehicles, excess capacity, and an inappropriate industrial structure.
• Cross Border Procedures: Customs procedures and border operations are inefficient, with slow implementation of risk management and insufficient improvements in border facilities.
• Transit Regime: The transit regime is a major impediment to regional integration, and electronic tracking could replace inefficient convoy systems.

Conclusion

The report emphasizes that trade facilitation and transport infrastructure improvements are crucial for enhancing trade competitiveness and stimulating economic growth in the Mashreq region. It calls for a more coordinated and institutional approach to manage trade corridors and for the implementation of specific measures to improve logistics, customs procedures, and transport modes. The recommendations are aimed at creating a more efficient and competitive trade environment, both within the region and with international partners.

Key Data and Statistics

• Non-Oil Exports and Imports as a Share of GDP: 21% for exports and 55% for imports (2005).
• Intra-Regional Trade as a Share of Total Foreign Trade: 17%.
• Projected Trade Growth: Overall trade could grow at 3.6% per year, exports at 6.5% per year, and total trade could more than double in the next decade.
• Projected Export Share (by Value) to 2025: 25% to Europe, 7% to the GCC, and significant growth in trade with Asia.
• Logistics Performance Index (LPI): The Mashreq region's LPI scores are lower than those of competing regions, indicating room for improvement.

Institutional and Strategic Context

• The World Bank and the European Union have extensive knowledge on institutional arrangements for trade corridors.
• Recent Arab League initiatives aim to establish sub-regional committees for transport ministers to focus on trade facilitation.
• The proposed corridor management system builds on these experiences and aims to create a new context for trade facilitation and infrastructure development.