Poor Trade
The DR ranked in bottom third for trade
The Dominican Republic was ranked 87th of 132 countries assessed for the biennial Global Enabling Trade Index 2012. This compared to its 73rd position in 2010.
Countries ranked below the DR in Latin America and the Caribbean were Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Guyana and Haiti.
The survey ranked the countries on a range of factors. Singapore is first followed by Hong Kong. The World Economic Forum makes the point that size is not a determinant for a good ranking. It says that Denmark and Sweden, with their small, open economies, entered the top 10.
The World Economic Forum highlights how traditional notions of trade are becoming outdated, with global value chains measurements, policies and cooperation.
The report ranked nations' trade openness. It found that traditional notions of trade are increasingly outdated as global value chains require new measurements, policies and cooperation. The report also finds that security, quality and trade can be mutually reinforcing through supply chain integrity efforts, but a knowledge gap in identifying buyers remains an important barrier.
The report focuses on important obstacles to exporting and importing in each country and the strong links between import and export.
"Reports like the Enabling Trade Index should stimulate greater trade flows around the world," said Scott Davis, Chairman and CEO of UPS. "The Index takes a comprehensive approach toward encouraging governments to make needed changes to their trade and customs measures. We need more countries focusing on ways to facilitate trade in the way that Singapore and other leading economies have. The business community also has a role to play in leveraging the new opportunities created."
At the core of the report is the Enabling Trade Index, which measures institutions, policies and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and to destination. It breaks the enablers into four issue areas: market access, border administration, transport and communications infrastructure, and business environment. The Index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, as well as the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum with its network of partner research institutes and business organizations in the countries included in the report.
Read the report at www.weforum.org/getr
Originally Posted by Sidney
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