. Procedures and rules affecting
the movement of goods
Tariffs can be thought of as the highest and most visible
part of an iceberg that may block entry into a harbour.
Whether those tariffs are relatively high or low, the mass
of procedures that lay beneath them could prove to be
even more obstructive. A TPF should devote just as
much attention to the other procedures and rules that
affect the movement of goods as it does to tariffs, and
should be especially attentive to those that the country
itself might employ. Unlike tariffs, which may at least
have the ancillary benefit of providing government
revenue, these other barriers will sometimes amount
to little more than a deadweight loss for the country
and its partners. A TPF will do well to identify ways in
which border procedures may be made more efficient
and affordable for both exports and imports.
The TPF for Algeria, for example, stresses that port
infrastructure has not evolved since independence
and is unsuitable for container traffic. This imposes
additional costs on the economy via congestion,
waiting times and demurrage. Similar problems
plague the air transport sector. Despite substantial
investment in airport infrastructure, there is a shortage
of space and equipment (e.g. dedicated scanners
for processing perishable fruits and vegetables). The
TPF recommended a new plan for the extension and
modernization of existing ports.
The data in table 12 underline the significance of
this problem for countries in all developing regions,
showing the amount of time and money it takes to
export or import goods. These numbers are based
on World Bank calculations that assess the actual
procedures required in each country, averaged out
here for regions. For example, border compliance for
exports is calculated as “time and cost for obtaining,
preparing and submitting documents during port or
border handling, customs clearance and inspection
III. INSTRUMENTS OF TRADE POLICY 27
procedures”
. The data show that by comparison
to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries, the procedures in
the average sub-Saharan African country take 10.4
times as many hours for exports and 21.2 times as
long for imports. In the Middle East and North Africa,
the costs associated with compliance are especially
large. These costs are 4.1 times more expensive than
those of the OECD countries for exports, and 6.6
times greater for imports. The gap is smaller between
the OECD countries and the developing countries of
Europe and Central Asia, but even there it remains
considerably more time consuming and expensive to
comply with the trade procedures in the lower-income
than in the high-income countries.
A TPF should start by reviewing the reported World
Bank data and examine the various requirements
that the country currently imposes on exporters and
importers. Most countries could benefit from reforms
in the amount of paperwork that is required to be
filed, and in the ways that the data are submitted and
processed. A TPF should also address the question
of whether the country ought to sign on to the WTO
Trade Facilitation Agreement, what reforms might be
needed to bring the country into compliance with this
agreement, and what technical assistance might be
sought to achieve these reforms.
Countries may also consider other means of facilitating
the movement of goods. These include special tariff
treatment for certain products, free zones, duty
drawback programmes and exemptions.
