Integration of Transport and Trade Facilitation: Selected Regional Case Studies (Directions in Development)

Due to declining transport costs and declining tariffs, trade has grown much faster than income since World War II. Furthermore, international trade flows are penetrating deeper into the workings of most economies, linking them to one another, and modifying their economic structure and productivity. It is in this context that there has been an increase in the formation of regional trade blocks. 'Integration of Transport and Trade Facilitation' analyzes the scope and the status of the interrelated processes of trade and transport integration in a subset of these trading blocs. This book provides a detailed analysis of trade integration patterns in each trade bloc. The examination begins with a review of the context of the economic and institutional evolution in the region with an economic profile of the component members, and concludes with an assessment of the nature and extent of trade integration. The report also explores the scope of the parallel transport integration. A final chapter in the book provides a case study of Rotterdam, a successful major hub that has kept its position as the world's largest port for four decades.