Enabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms

The report examines how trade reforms can be optimized by moving beyond the 'vertical' approach of general border administration to a 'horizontal' approach that targets specific industry value chains. Using case studies from Brazil (automotive, soy, paper) and Nigeria, it demonstrates that infrastructure gaps and business environment issues often outweigh the benefits of border administration reforms. It proposes a four-phase framework—Prepare, Diagnose, Plan, and Mobilize—for public-private collaboration to identify and eliminate the costliest supply chain barriers.

• General trade facilitation measures, such as those in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), are insufficient on their own to create globally competitive industries because they primarily address market access and border administration while neglecting transport infrastructure and the business environment.
• A 'horizontal' approach to trade reform, which identifies high-potential industries and addresses specific bottlenecks across their entire end-to-end value chain, is more effective than a 'vertical' approach that applies general improvements across all industries.
• Removing supply chain barriers halfway to global best practices could potentially save $77 billion annually in maritime trade costs and increase global GDP by nearly 5%.
• In Brazil's automotive sector, import costs for a container of auto parts can exceed $3,800, which is significantly higher than in the United States; removing these barriers could save the industry nearly $110 million annually.
• Nigeria's trade competitiveness is severely hindered by port congestion, corruption, and poor infrastructure, with import and export costs nearly double those of the East Asia & Pacific region.
• For Brazilian soy exports, inland transportation is the primary cost driver, accounting for nearly 70% of all logistics costs for exporters in Mato Grosso; shifting 25% of shipments away from southern ports could save almost $120 million annually.
• The Brazilian paper industry could save between $7 million and $16 million annually by eliminating unnecessary transportation steps in port areas and increasing rail connectivity.
• Successful trade transformation requires a structured four-phase process: preparing governance, diagnosing industry-specific gaps against global benchmarks, planning actionable roadmaps with cost-benefit analyses, and mobilizing stakeholders for execution.

APA

World Economic Forum (2015). Enabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_EnablingTrade_Report2015.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Enabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms. 2015. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_EnablingTrade_Report2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Enabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms |date=January 2015 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_EnablingTrade_Report2015.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2015enabling, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Enabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_EnablingTrade_Report2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }