Reducing trade costs is essential in enabling economies to participate in regional and global value chains effectively, and to continue using trade as an important engine of growth and sustainable development. The recent surge in shipping costs and the subsequent disruption of the international supply chain has put additional pressure on already high trade costs in Asia and the Pacific. Trade facilitation plays a significant role in avoiding unnecessary costs and enhancing efficiency through streamlined and digitalized trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and regional trade digitalization initiatives such as the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific provides guidance on measures that should be considered for implementation.

In this context, this report presents the results of the 2021 United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation for 10 ASEAN countries that reviewed the progress of trade facilitation reforms. It provides a detailed analysis based on 58 trade facilitation measures that are classified into four groups (“General Trade Facilitation”, “Digital Trade Facilitation”, “Sustainable Trade Facilitation” and “Other Trade Facilitation”) and a further 11 sub-groups covering both binding and non-binding WTO TFA measures, as well as measures beyond the scope of WTO TFA.