India’s Path to Improved Trade Facilitation and Enhanced Economic Development

Abstract

Mediocre trade facilitation is impairing India’s trade in goods and its overall economic growth. Trade facilitation relates to reductions in the time and cost of trading goods internationally. The World Trade Organization has estimated that improvements in trade facilitation could increase world trade by as much as one trillion dollars annually. India is currently lagging behind developed economies such as the Netherlands, Germany, Korea, Japan and the United States, as well as middle income economies such as China, in measures of trade facilitation performance and in implementation of the provisions of the World Trade Organization’s new Trade Facilitation Agreement. India’s performance can be improved by developing an active public-private partnership dedicated to implementing trade facilitation improvements. This should result in regular and accurate measurements ofIndia’s trade facilitation performance, improved functioning of India’s National Trade Facilitation Committee, legal reforms necessary to implement all measures required by the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the improved transparency and functioning of India’s trade regime through the use of modern information technology.