Trade costs are a major issue in international trade. They determine competitiveness, which is fundamental to participating in international trade activities. With various developments around international trade rules resulting from successive trade agreement negotiations at the global, regional, and bilateral levels, tariffs for international trade have fallen to historically low levels, leaving non-tariff measures such as logistics and customs procedures as the main stumbling blocks to international trade.
This event brings together UNESCWA and the four other UN regional commissions for Africa (ECA), Europe (ECE), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) as well as UNCTAD. Thereby, it ensures both global reach and regional presence, international cooperation, and exchange of knowledge and good practices from all over the world.
The project will strengthen national innovation and technological capacities related to the use of blockchain technology in customs and trade operations in five selected developing countries, to boost trade and enhance competitiveness in support of sustainable development. More particularly, the project will contribute to increase national awareness on the importance of blockchain in trade facilitation through tailored capacity building activities on how to effectively adopt and deploy blockchain technology. Once implemented, the technical support programs will significantly help spread blockchain technology in the pilot countries and its use in international trade, drawing on the lessons learned from the development and implementation of this technology across the globe. The pilot countries, similarly, to most developing countries, cannot remain on the sidelines when it comes to increasing the quantity and quality of trade flows between countries in the region and with the rest of the world.
For further information, please contact Ms. Maria Rosaria Ceccarelli, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, ECTD/UNECE