This report presents an analysis of the results of the United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation for 10 South and South-West Asian countries. The WTO TFA+ Survey was conducted during the first half of 2021 and covered 58 trade facilitation measures.

The report finds that achieving basic South and South-West Asia wide compliance with the WTO TFA may reduce trade costs in this subregion by only about 3-6% going forward. In contrast, a more ambitious strategy involving digital trade facilitation and cross-border paperless trade could reduce trade costs by close to 18%. In this regard, the Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of cross-border paperless trade in Asia and the Pacific (CPTA) could support countries in gradually moving to "less-paper" and then to paperless and cross-border paperless trade by providing a dedicated, inclusive and capacity-building focused intergovernmental platform.

For more reports, please visit untfsurvey.org