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Trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific : bigger, deeper, digital and more supportive of sustainable development?
Get PDFThe Asia-Pacific region continues to be the largest contributor to the worldwide build-up of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), accounting for about half of PTAs worldwide. PTAs have become bigger, deeper, more digital and increasingly supportive of sustainable development, with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) exemplifying these trends.
The noodle-bowl of Asia-Pacific trade agreements now comprises 333 PTAs with at least one party of the Asia-Pacific. Of those, 202 are in force, 21 have been signed and are pending ratification, and 96 are still under negotiation. Between January 2022 and October 2022 alone, eight new PTAs were signed, and six PTAs were under negotiation.
Trade among PTA partners now accounts for about half of all trade by Asia and the Pacific economies, reflecting the fact that the economies increasingly sign agreements with partners outside the region (54 per cent). Trade covered by PTA partners varies considerably across the subregions. Central Asian economies and South Pacific islands are less engaged than economies of other subregions in recent PTAs.
Fifty-three per cent of in-force PTAs now go beyond liberalization of trade in goods, including addressing issues related to digital and sustainable development. The most common policy areas in Asia-Pacific PTAs outside preferential tariffs are ‘trade facilitation and customs cooperation’ followed by ‘competition policy’, and ‘intellectual property’, all now found in more than 50 per cent of the signed and enforced PTAs.
The Asia-Pacific region now has 81 signed and in-force PTAs featuring e-commerce chapters or provisions. A new type of stand-alone ‘digital trade agreement’ (DTA) or ‘digital economy agreement’ has also emerged following the Japan-United States of America DTA that was enforced in 2020. The number of DTAs has grown since then, which has raised concerns about a possible new ‘digital noodle bowl’.
Sustainable development is a broad concept and covers a wide range of economic, social and environmental issues, as reflected in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of October 2022, 127 of 223 signed and enforced PTAs had sustainable development-related provisions, including provisions related to labour protection, human rights, gender, health, environment and SMEs
The digital divide and COVID-19 : impact on the socioeconomic development in Asia and the Pacific
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global economic recession. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread to every part of the world, governments released policies to restrict people`s socio-economic activities to limit the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic and related measures have great impact to consumption, investment, manufacture, trade among socioeconomic activities which lead to slow economic growth and even recession. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some activities changed to online from offline which has resulted in unprecedented growth of Internet traffic. Most of Internet traffic are carried by broadband network, and global Internet bandwidth rose by 35 percent in 2020 which was the largest one-year increase since 2013. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the critical importance of telecommunications and the information and communications technology ( ICT) infrastructure in the continuation of businesses, governments, and education.The paper is financially supported by the China-ESCAP Coopeation Programme (CECP) fund
Cross-border paperless trade toolkit
Get PDFThis toolkit aims at raising awareness of the technical and legal tools to be called upon to adopt cross-border paperless trade systems and national single windows (NSWs). Key actions to develop paperless trade systems include:• enabling a conducive legal framework;• enabling a conducive technical framework;• promoting efficient governance and engaging stakeholders;• providing technical assistance.</p
The transition of Asian and Pacific cities to a sustainable future : accelerating action for sustainable urbanization
Get PDFThe publication reviews progress towards sustainable urban development in the region, drawing from case studies and best practices compiled in 2021. The report provides a mid-term follow-up on voluntary commitments made at the 7th Asia Pacific Urban Forum (2019) and on recommended policy pathways in ESCAP’s The Future of Asian & Pacific Cities 2019 report. It also documents the outcome of discussions at the 2nd Regional Partners Forum held in October 2021, convened by ESCAP, UN-Habitat and the Penang Platform for Sustainable Urbanization
Barriers and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Samoa
No full textCatalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship : Creating a Gender-Responsive Entrepreneurial EcosystemMicro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are key drivers of economic growth, often described as the “engine of growth” for emerging economies (IFC 2017). In 2018, it was estimated that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represented over 88 per cent of all enterprises in Samoa 2018), indicating the vital role such businesses play in Samoa’s economy. There is widespread recognition that catalyzing women’s entrepreneurship is a key pathway for advancing women’s economic empowerment. With proven multiplier effects on decent employment, poverty eradication and economic growth (ESCAP 2017). Yet, compared with men, women entrepreneurs continue to face complex barriers limiting their ability to start-up and/or grow their business. Examining and drawing on existing literature and studies, this report will discuss the barriers and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Samoa.</p
2022 : Leaving no one behind : Pakistan country brief
No full textLeaving No One Behind (LNOB) tool helps discover how different circumstances interact to create unequal access to basic opportunities in Asia and the Pacific. The LNOB country brief for Pakistan provides insights into which groups are further ahead and further behind in various SDG indicators and where the biggest gaps are found in terms of access to opportunities or prevalence of barriers between the furthest behind and the furthest ahead groups in Pakistan. </p
Debt for climate swaps in the Pacific SIDS
Get PDFThe Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change and related disasters, but they can afford the least to invest in climate action. In addition to the adverse fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, these countries have a high degree of economic vulnerability due to their small size and dependence on a few key export industries such as tourism or fisheries. As such, debt sustainability analyses conducted by the IMF and the World Bank regularly assess most PSIDS to be at high risk of debt distress. This report discusses the potential of debt for climate swaps to leverage additional finance for climate actions in the PSIDS while also reducing their debt burdens. The report examines the concept of debt for climate swaps, outlines the potential of debt for climate swaps in the PSIDS, and provides recommendations for the scheme design based on best practices.</p
Rapid policy assessment : the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh
No full textThis report was commissioned by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship programme at the request of the Bangladesh Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF). ESCAP’sregional programme ‘Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship’ is funded by the Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada. The programme is a five-year initiative, aimed at addressing three key overarching barriers faced by women entrepreneurs: (1) enabling policy environment and regulatory challenges, (2) access to finance, and (3) use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by women entrepreneurs. This research is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected through bilateral key informant interviews with a range of policy stakeholders from the Government of Bangladesh, the private sector, women entrepreneurs, women entrepreneur associations, among others. The preliminary findings of the research were validated through a stakeholder consultation meeting, which was held in January 2021, with key Bangladesh Government Ministries, stakeholders and women’s associations. This Rapid Policy Assessment provides recommendations to support women-owned enterprises affected by the pandemic; and provides recommendations towards building a gender-responsive business environment for women-owned CMSMEs in Bangladesh. Recommendations are focused on a phased recovery approach, ranging from short-term to long-term recovery measures.