Trade News
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Accelerating the transition to more sustainable and transparent global value chains needs to be at the heart of the fashion industry’s response to the severe socio-economic challenges and supply chain disruptions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ILO, the COVID-19 crisis
The automation of information flows along digital trade and transport corridors has the potential to strengthen supply chains and help countries deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since May 2019, UNECE and its partners promoting trade facilitation in Ukraine, as well as Azerbaijan, Belarus, and
In the global fight against COVID-19, how can we reconcile reducing physical interactions to limit virus transmission with the need to keep supply chains operating efficiently? This is particularly important for essential products like medical supplies and food. However, keeping goods moving
We live in a world designed by men, for men. Women are widely under-represented in the committees that develop standards that lay out the specifications for products that we consume every day, for personal protective equipment and for the infrastructure on which economies depend upon.
The global garment and footwear industry is at a crossroads. Faced with growing economic uncertainty linked to global trade trends, the industry must also urgently become more sustainable and face up to its responsibility for the climate crisis. Total greenhouse gas emissions from textiles
Fisheries provide highly important social and economic benefits: global fish production is estimated at over 170 million tonnes, supplying around 21 kg per capita and year. As such fish and seafood consumption accounts for 20% of humans’ animal protein intake.Yet global fish stocks are under
Every year we lose about 14% of the food produced before it is sold, and this does not even include the food never harvested. Even more is wasted at retail and consumer levels. At the same time, over 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, while food loss is a major contributor to CO2
The ability to manage technology-driven structural changes is crucial for sustainable development. One important area is how advanced technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) including Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) will shape the future of
By aligning with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) spearheaded by the government of China has the potential to enhance connectivity as a catalyst for trade and development from Asia to Europe, stretching down to Africa. To make the most of
Quality infrastructure, while often taken for granted, is the foundation of our modern life. It is a complex system of norms, regulations, and institutions that are designed to ensure that when we buy something – as businesses or consumers – we get exactly what we expect. Without it, we would
In the garment and footwear industry, worth 2.4 trillion USD, brands are increasingly confronted with the rise of the “conscious consumer”, who questions the environmental footprint of clothes and the social conditions in garment factories and calls for greater transparency and sustainability.
The world’s 32 Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) face high transport and trade costs due to challenges including the lack of direct access to sea ports, multiple border crossings, complex administrative transit and border procedures, and limited institutional capacities. However, taking
USD 1.5 billion – that’s the annual saving in logistics costs in Thailand following an investment of USD 7.5 million in setting up a national Single Window, based on UN/CEFACT Recommendations.Speeding up border crossing for trade with tools like Single Windows – which make it easier to input all
Gender imbalance in the development and implementation of standards hampers progress towards the achievement of the Agenda 2030 and undermines their potential as powerful instruments for sustainable development. To address the fundamental lack of representation of women in standardization, UNECE
In recent years, UNECE’s Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards (WP.7) has worked on gender equality and diversity, with advances and tangible results achieved in many areas including the dried fruit industry in Central Asia, inclusion of more women in standardization and implementation
UNECE, the World Bank and the European Commission have joined forces with the Customs service of North Macedonia and the other Western Balkan countries to improve the region’s trade connectivity with the European Union. Six Western Balkan countries have requested a World Bank project in support
With rapidly growing competition for resources and increasing waste and pollution, the need to move towards an inclusive circular economic system is growing. A circular economy has the incentives and means to use existing resources in an efficient and sustainable fashion – relying on
UN member States are moving towards more seamless and efficient trading environments, within and beyond their national borders. In general, countries across the globe have made the formalities in international trading simpler and increasingly digital or electronic. The key preliminary findings
High-level decision makers from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have come together for strengthened action to harness trade as a driver of sustainable development.Under the auspices of the Trade Working Group of the United Nations Special
Forest tree nuts and dried fruits can contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources as well as livelihoods of producers, supporting cross-cutting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than 1.6 billion people, mostly in developing countries, depend on forests
Optimizing the combination of different modes of transport for the movement of goods can bring significant efficiency gains. Supporting improved data sharing between transport modes is crucial to unlock this potential.UNECE and its subsidiary body – the United Nations Centre for Trade
UNECE and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) agreed on enhancing their cooperation for the use of international semantic standards for trade data exchange, thus contributing to the establishment of common basis for trade information sharing in the broader European space. At a UNECE-EEC
How can blockchain technology help to capitalize on the opportunities of smart cities for sustainable development?Aiming to harness this potential, start-ups from ten countries congregated in the Palais des Nations this week as part of the 25th Session of the UN/CEFACT Plenary, coinciding
How can the digital revolution in technologies help to overcome challenges in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?This was at the heart of debates at the 33rd UN/CEFACT Forum (United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) held in Geneva on 1-5 April.
Technology is evolving faster than ever before in human history. We are at the intersection of several cutting-edge technologies that are redefining interactions between the physical and virtual world, driving disruption and enabling new business models. Thought-leaders and practitioners