Regional Cross-Border Trade Facilitation and Infrastructure Study for Mashreq Countries
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Regional Cross-Border Trade Facilitation and Infrastructure Study for Mashreq Countries Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Final Report April 11th, 2011 The World Bank Sustainable Development Department Middle East and North Africa Region Public Disclosure Authorized Copyright This report is published to communicate the findings of the study. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this report are entirely those of author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, or its affiliated organizations, or to members of its board of executive directors for the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequent of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, other information sown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement of acceptance of such boundaries. 2 Acknowledgment The Regional Cross-Border Trade Facilitation and Infrastructure Study for Mashreq Countries was carried out by a World Bank Team. The report was prepared by a team led by Abdelmoula Ghzala and which included Robin Carruthers, Monica Alina Mustra, Hamid Alavi, Vincent Vesin, John Arnold, Jean-François Arvis, Ibrahim Dajani, Fatiha Amar, Azeb Yideru and Osama Noujoum. The Team wishes to thank Farrukh Iqbal and Hussain Razavi for their reviews and comments on the report. The team would like to thank the ministries of finance, economy, planning, trade, transport, public works, as well as the customs, freight forwarders, chambers of commerce and private operators in the concerned countries who supported the study and provided valuable information and data. Special thanks also to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) for its contribution and input during the preparation of the study. 3 Abbreviations and Acronyms ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASYCUDA Automated System for Customs Data CAREC Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation ECA Economic Commission for Africa ECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ECOWAS Economic Community for West African States EIB European Investment Bank EU European Union FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations GCC Gulf Cooperation Council GMS Greater Mekong Sub-region ICT Information and Communication Technology IFC International Finance Corporation ISMF Institutional and Sector Modernization Facility MERCOSUR Southern Cone Common Market (Mercado Común del Sur) MOU Memorandum of Understanding NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement PAFTA Pan-Arab Free Trade Agreement SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SACU Southern African Customs Union TEN Trans-European Transport Network TIR International Transport of Goods (Transit International Routier) TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia TTCA Transit Transport Coordination Authority UAE United Arab Emirates UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia USAID United States Agency for International Development WTO World Trade Organization 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 8 I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 18 2. Review of Previous Studies ................................................................................................................... 20 3. Trade volumes and patterns in Mashreq countries ..................................................................... 26 4. Main Issues .................................................................................................................................................. 37 5. Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 45 Annex 1 - Country Audits ................................................................................................................................. 58 Annex 2 – Some recent related reports and studies .............................................................................. 89 Annex 3 - Trade of Mashreq Countries ....................................................................................................... 90 Annex 4 - Logistics performance of Mashreq countries ..................................................................... 100 TABLES Table 1: Non-Oil Exports and Imports as a share of GDP for Selected Countries (2005) ........................ 27 Table 2: Direction of Mashreq Trade (2007) ............................................................................................. 27 Table 3: Intra-Regional Trade as a Share of Total Foreign Trade ............................................................ 28 Table 4: Intra-Mashreq Share of Total Trade by Value (2007) .................................................................. 29 Table 5: Projected Non-Oil Trade for Mashreq Countries (U$b) .............................................................. 30 Table 6: Projected Destination of Exports in 2025 by Value ..................................................................... 30 Table 7: Projected Volume of Mashreq Trade (Exports plus Imports)....................................................... 31 Table 8: Physical Characteristics of Regional Ports .................................................................................. 39 Table 9: Transit Times (days) for Ocean Routes ........................................................................................ 40 Table 10: Current and Projected Values of Imports and Exports for Mashreq Countries as % of GDP ... 91 Table 11: Non-Oil Exports and Imports as a share of GDP for Selected Countries (2005) ...................... 92 Table 12: Current and Projected Export and Imports for Mashreq countries (U$ billion) ....................... 93 Table 13: Bulk and Container shares of Exports and Imports by Value .................................................... 93 Table 14: Projected total volume (Exports plus Imports) of Mashreq Countries ....................................... 94 Table 15: Projected export share (by volume) of total trade ...................................................................... 94 Table 16: IMF DOT: Intra-Mashreq share of total export trade by value (%, 2007) ................................ 95 Table 17: Intraregional Trade as share of Total Trade .............................................................................. 96 Table 18: Intraregional Trade as a share of total foreign trade ................................................................ 96 Table 19: Destinations of Mashreq Exports (2007, based on value) .......................................................... 96 Table 20: Origins of Mashreq country Imports (2007, based on value)..................................................... 97 Table 21: Projected Destinations of Mashreq exports, 2025 (% by value) ................................................ 98 Table 22: LPI Scores ................................................................................................................................ 100 Table 23: Trading across borders ............................................................................................................ 101 Table 24: Country Rankings for Various Trade Facilitation Indices ....................................................... 102 5 FIGURES Figure 1: Mashreq to Europe Routes ......................................................................................................... 33 Figure 2: Mashreq to Gulf Routes .............................................................................................................. 34 Figure 3: Mashreq to Asia Routes .............................................................................................................. 35 Figure 4: Mashreq Corridors ..................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 5: Mashreq Port Container Traffic ................................................................................................. 38 6 PREFACE Appreciation of the importance of trade facilitation and transport infrastructure has reached the stage that it is now understood to be one of the main inhibitors to current levels of trade, and also one of the main potential stimulants of increased trade. This appreciation has come later to the Mashreq region than to many others. The report is aimed at redressing this delay and jump-starting the region’s action to bring its trade facilitation transport infrastructure closer to global best practice standards. The first draft of the Report was circulated for comment