International trade. Statistics

Economic complexity and the green economy

Today, at the transition between the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the twenty-first century, the United States finds itself in a unique position. It is the only currently existing superpower and carries a very large share of the defense burden for the free world. At the same time, the United States must prepare for the next century, when a large part of remaining a superpower will depend upon our ability to grow our economy and provide a sustainable high standard of living for the American people. This need must be met in an era in which many nations are emerging with the capability and desire to be major world players and are establishing technology and education programs to stimulate rapid economic growth. In this environment, public policies that foster business competitiveness and the growth of high-quality jobs in the United States are paramount to the nation's well-being. In this context, trade and technology become fundamental elements of economic policy. From its inception, America has been a trading economy, but with the rapid growth of the global marketplace, the American economy and standard of living have never been more dependent on trade. Today, trade accounts for nearly one-quarter of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), and during the 1990s exports have accounted for almost one-third of real U.S. economic growth. Growth in trade translates into jobs. Every time we sell one billion dollars of American products and services overseas, we support about 14,000 U.S. jobs. In recent years, export-related jobs have grown six times faster than total employment, and those jobs pay wages that are on average fifteen percent higher than the average U.S. wage. Today, exports support about one in ten U.S. jobs. Exports are expected to grow faster than overall U.S. economic activity for the rest of the decade, with export growth rates averaging 8.5% to 10% annually, compared to 6.7% in the years since 1990. High-technology products account for about one-quarter of all U.S. goods and services sold in foreign markets. The United States is the world's leading high-tech exporter. However, U.S. technology trade is highly concentrated, with information technologies, aerospace, and electronics accounting for 85% of U.S. high-tech product exports. Our performance in global markets for high-technology products provides a commercially based evaluation of our use of science and technology. And in gauging our performance today, the news is mixed. A number of U.S. industries are especially strong performers in global markets. Aerospace produces the largest trade surplus of any U.S. manufacturing industry, followed by the chemical industry. We are world leaders in biotechnology and life sciences. We supply half of the $88 billion global market for medical equipment. We maintain a sizeable trade surplus in computer-integrated manufacturing technologies. The United States is a leader in the emerging Information Age, with U.S. companies holding 46% of the world market for information services and 75% of the $77 billion world market for packaged software. The U.S. computer equipment industry holds more than 75% of the world computer systems market through its global operations. In the past, much of the concern over deterioration in America's overall trade performance has been offset by better performance in areas traditionally regarded as those in which the United States has had a comparative advantage, especially in products embodying high-technology. However, recent data show that U.S. performance in high-tech trade, on both an industry and product basis, requires some serious analysis and review. We analyze our trade performance in high-technology based on two definitions of high-tech trade. The first identifies high-technology industries based on characteristics such as products produced using advanced technology processes or companies with high research and development (R&D) intensity. …

Technology and Trade

The authors use newly collected data on trade and production in 178 countries to infer estimates of trade costs in agriculture and manufactured goods for the 1995-2010 period. The data show that trade costs are strongly declining in per capita income. Moreover, the rate of change of trade costs is largely unfavorable to the developing world: trade costs are falling noticeably faster in developed countries than in developing ones, which serves to increase the relative isolation of the latter. In particular, Sub-Saharan African countries and low-income countries remain subject to very high levels of trade costs. In terms of policy implications, the analysis finds that maritime transport connectivity and logistics performance are very important determinants of bilateral trade costs: in some specifications, their combined effect is comparable to that of geographical distance. Traditional and non-traditional trade policies more generally, including market entry barriers and regional integration agreements, play a significant role in shaping the trade costs landscape.

/pdf/trade-costs-in-the-developing-world-1995-2010-50pw1omyf5.pdf

Trade costs in the developing world : 1995 – 2010

第１編 環境法の基礎（わが国の公害・環境法の歴史；環境問題と環境法の特色・体系；環境法の基本理念・原則、各主体の役割；環境政策の手法） 第２編 国境を越える環境問題への法的対応（国境を越える環境問題と国際環境法；主な地球環境問題に関する条約と国内的対応；貿易と環境に関する議論） 第３編 国内環境法（環境基本法と環境基本計画；環境影響評価に関する法；化学物質のリスク審査法；汚染排出の防止・消減に関する法；循環管理法；自然・文化環境保全法；環境保護の費用負担；公害・環境事件の司法・行政的解決；環境行政組織）

環境法 = Environmental law

We present a new dataset of international trade costs in services sectors. Using a theory-based methodology combined with data on domestic shipments and cross-border trade, we find that trade costs in services are much higher than in goods sectors: a multiple of two to three times in many cases. Trade costs in services have remained relatively steady over the last ten years, whereas trade costs in goods have fallen overall at an impressive rate. We also present two examples of the ways in which our dataset could be used in future work. First, we examine the impact of regional trade agreements on trade costs in services. Although we find that intra-bloc trade costs are lower than those facing outside countries, the differential is usually quite small for services, and in some cases has even been narrowing over time. This finding accords with the observation that because service sector reform is about re-regulation, “preferential” agreements tend to involve less discrimination than in goods markets. Second, we show for the first time that services sectors with lower trade costs tend to be more productive, and experience faster productivity growth. This result lines up well with the evidence from goods markets.

/pdf/measuring-the-cost-of-international-trade-in-services-2qc7dxhga2.pdf

Measuring the cost of international trade in services

Trade costs and productivity in services sectors

This report assesses conceptually and empirically the extent to which the stringency of environmental regulations drives international trade in environmental goods. Many of the measures governments adopt to address issues such as local air and water pollution or GHG emissions take the form of regulations that aim to change the behaviour of firms or households. Compliance by private actors with those regulations in turn generates a growing market for environmental goods and services that is increasingly international in scope as more countries tighten their environmental regulations. Regulatory stringency thus spurs the development of a market for a whole range of equipment specifically meant for preventing and abating pollution, with important implications for international trade in such equipment. The different indicators of regulatory stringency considered in the present analysis generally support the notion that the stringency of environmental regulations positively affects countries’ specialisation in environmental products, even when considering specific sectors such as solid-waste management or wastewater treatment. While increased trade in environmental products is not an end in itself, the environmental benefits this entails can contribute to global improvements in environmental quality. By increasing demand for environmental products and technologies, environmental policy can complement trade policy in supporting pollution-reduction efforts not just domestically, but also abroad.

The Stringency of Environmental Regulations and Trade in Environmental Goods

This report examines services schedules of commitments in 56 regional trade agreements (RTAs) where an OECD country is a party. The preferential content of RTAs is assessed through an analysis of market access and national treatment commitments at the level of the 155 sub-sectors of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Sectoral Classification List. Partial commitments are broken down according to nine categories of non-conforming measures. The report confirms that on average RTAs in services go beyond GATS with commitments in about 72% of sub-sectors, among which 42% correspond to preferential bindings (GATS-plus commitments). In addition, the report provides an overview of rules of origin for services providers and MFN clauses in services chapters in order to see whether commitments granted might be extended to non-parties to minimise discrimination among foreign services suppliers. Despite the heterogeneity found in schedules of commitments, there is a certain degree of commonality in new and improved commitments that suggests that multilateralising RTAs is achievable. The multilateralisation of services commitments would however imply a more symmetric and systematic liberalisation than what is seen in the schedules of RTAs. In the end, this is a matter of political will and negotiations.

/pdf/multilateralising-regionalism-how-preferential-are-services-4egewbukq6.pdf

Multilateralising Regionalism: How Preferential Are Services Commitments in Regional Trade Agreements?

The uptake of renewable energy (RE) has been identified by a number of governments as a primary means for mitigating CO2 emissions from the electricity sector, and for making the transition to a low-carbon economy. The electric power output of some RE technologies, however, including those based on intermittent wind and solar energy, can vary considerably over short periods of time and thereby introduce instability into the electricity system. The risk of instability increases with higher shares of intermittent power sources connected to the electrical grid. Different means have been used to deal with this intermittency problem. Cross-border trade in electricity appears to be one of them since it enables countries to gain access to a more diversified portfolio of plants, producing over a wider geographic area. Preliminary results from an examination of the European electricity market confirm the importance of cross-border electricity trade in increasing the effective capacity factor of intermittent plants in the context of a growing share of intermittent renewables in the power sector. There are a number of policy issues that must first be addressed though, with some financial and administrative incentives provided to variable RE technologies discouraging RE producers from fully participating in electricity market operations and exerting downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices. The positive contribution that cross-border trade in electricity can make to address the variability problem not only depends on addressing challenges that renewable-energy technologies pose to electricity markets, but also necessitates the existence of an efficient cross-border electricity trading regime. Addressing those regulatory and administrative measures that are inhibiting growth in cross-border trade and the smooth operation of regional electricity markets would therefore help increase the potential for trade in electricity to facilitate growth in renewable energy.

/pdf/cross-border-trade-in-electricity-and-the-development-of-2p1u0d3b1w.pdf

Jehan Sauvage

Papers

Measuring the cost of international trade in services

Trade costs and productivity in services sectors

The Stringency of Environmental Regulations and Trade in Environmental Goods

Multilateralising Regionalism: How Preferential Are Services Commitments in Regional Trade Agreements?

Cross-Border Trade in Electricity and the Development of Renewables-Based Electric Power