What border barriers impede business ability? – Analysis of Survey on Trade Barriers (2014)

While recognizing that the survey results are neither statistically valid nor entirely representative of the hundreds of thousands of organizations that trade globally, the survey does much to reveal a set of common prerequisites – such as predictability, reliability and consistency – that international traders seek.

ICC concludes that there is a need for further capacity-building efforts, in particular education and availability of information for both traders and border control officials on the correct process to follow. The survey results illustrates the need for an effective customs-business dialogue at national level to find ways to lessen delays in trade processes and shorten release times, as called for by ICC.

Conducted at the initiative of Anthony Barone, Chair of the ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation, the survey coincides with a number of international developments seeking to facilitate trade and simplify border procedures. These include the conclusion of a multilateral agreement on trade facilitation at the 9th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in December 2013 and the ongoing negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Partnership Negotiations.

ICC hopes that this analysis can provide useful insights on concrete manifestations of border barriers as identified by economic operators. The trade barriers survey is the latest ICC tool to provide business perspective on the practical measures to advance trade facilitation. ICC hopes that the survey results will provide useful insights into grassroots border barriers and impediments, as identified by economic operators.