This publication reviews specific elements of trade reform and proposes potential improvements that governments can make in collaboration with the private sector, using case examples to illustrate supply chain bottlenecks. It further examines how national governments and the private sector can optimize ongoing trade reforms to reduce or eliminate these obstacles.

Author: Bain and Company and the International Trade Centre

Year: 2015

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Tags: Trade, Private Sector, Trade Policy

This joint ITC-WTO study discusses constraints faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in international trade, particularly by least developed countries. It reviews how Aid for Trade addresses these challenges through a sample of 23 Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies. Three bottlenecks emerge – quality of business environment, access to finance, and lack of institutional support to overcome trade-related challenges. This study also highlights actions taken by companies to integrate SMEs into their supply chains and concludes with an analysis of recent private sector program evaluations.

Author: International Trade Centre and World Trade Organization

Year: 2014

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Tags: SME, Trade, Private Sector, Small and Medium Enterprises, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sustainability

This paper examines the constraints behind and beyond Nepal's borders that hinder its full participation in global value chains (GVC). Basing the analysis on recent and relevant publications, key economic data, and interviews with policymakers and stakeholders, the authors explain how weak and uncertain industrial policy has led to de-industrialization. They also looked at the effects of inadequate infrastructure, energy shortage, and inefficient transit. Failures in coordination, shallow regional integration and non-tariff barriers also bar further growth of Nepal's industrial development and GVC participation. The authors recommend necessary domestic reforms for behind-the-border constraints, and subregional partnerships—facilitated through the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation program—for beyond-the-border challenges.

Author: Yurendra Basnett and Posh Raj Pandey

Year: 2014

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Tags: Infrastructure, Private Sector, Nepal, Global Value Chains, Industrialization, Infrastructure, Energy, Transport, Regional Integration, SASEC