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Trade costs (excluding tariffs) of Asian Landlocked Countries and their main transit countries with the United States of America
Source publication
This paper examines how freedom of transit and transit facilitation are addressed in trade, transport as well as transit specific agreements in the ESCAP region, with a view to identify good practices and the extent to which ex-isting agreements meet the transit facilitation provisions set out in the draft text of the WTO trade facilitation agreeme...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... of transit is an issue particularly relevant to the ESCAP region, host of 12 of the world's 31 landlocked developing countries, among which 4 least developed countries (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal). 1 Due in large part to their lack of direct access to the sea, these countries face higher costs of trade (see figure 1), making it more difficult for them to maintain competitiveness in terms of both trade and investment. Freedom of transit is fundamental to landlocked countries' integration to international economy and economic development and their ability to move from landlocked to "land-linked". 2 Recognizing that transit issues are of the utmost importance to the many landlocked countries, ESCAP Member States on their 67 th annual commission session endorsed the recommendation that transit facilitation should be addressed as part of an inte-1 www.unescap.org/media-centre/impact-story/new-vision-landlocked-development-countries 2 Economic development in the Asian region raised awareness from landlocked countries about the potential benefits for a country to support international transit through its own territory by increasing the efficiency of transit services to their neighbors. ...
Context 2
... small minority of selected treaties provides such facilitative measures (8 out of 19). Moreover, requirements provided can be very different from one treaty to another, and few match DCNT requirements: international treaties deal with these issues whether in a broader way, or through other obligations having a facilitative effect on the transit procedures. ...
