Enhancing Public Availability of Customs Information
In the Islamic Countries
7
interactions between the trade community and Customs. The broader concept of trade
information includes all other types of trade-related information, such as special procedures for
goods with health or technical requirements. References to customs and trade information cover
both types of information, and include all aspects of information availability that are related to
trade transactions.
The third type of trade costs identified in the figure occur behind the border. For instance, many
countries allow firms to import goods that do not comply with particular product standards—
food safety standards are a notable exception in that they are administered at the border—but
there may be difficulties in legally putting non-compliant goods on the domestic market. Trade
costs related to product adaptations necessary to meet local standards, or other regulatory
measures, are said to occur behind the border, in the sense of inside the importing country.
There are informational costs associated with these measures as well, but they are not the
primary subject of the discussion in this report. The remit of Customs and trade-related
information can cover SPS and TBT measures, which are types of product standards, but does
not cover general regulatory measures that also need to be complied with. Moreover, SPS and
TBT have their own transparency regimes in the applicable WTO Agreements, and are not dealt
with explicitly by the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is the core subject of this
report. The analysis that follows therefore focuses on informational costs that occur,
approximately speaking, at the border, but some reference is made where appropriate to behind
the border informational costs as well.
Figure 1: Conceptual breakdown of trade costs.
Source: Author.
In assessing the importance of information costs, it is important to examine the special role they
play for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These businesses face substantial hurdles in
accessing foreign markets, part of which is due to difficulties in accessing information. These
burdens are relatively greater for SMEs than for larger firms, as they do not have the resources
to invest in internal expertise in trade procedures, for example. As Hoekman and Shepherd
show,4 trade facilitation does not only benefit large traders, it also holds special interest for
SMEs.
4 Hoekman, B., and B. Shepherd. 2015. “Who Profits from Trade Facilitation Initiatives? Implications for African
Countries.” Journal of African Trade, 2(1-2): 51-70.
Between the Borders
• Transport costs
• Insurance costs
• Trade finance
At the Border
• Time cost of delays
• Formalities and
procedures
• Tariffs
• NTMs
Behind the Border
• NTMs applied
behind the border
• Other regulations
with trade impacts
• Distribution costs
Information Costs