Europe and North America r emains the best set up for trade in particular, with Western Europe, one of the most integrated economies in the world. Yet both North America ranking of trade restrictions by country the European Union have slowed their path to further integration, especially when it comes to providing market access. The vast majority of European countries have improved their score with respect to ; in particular, Central and Eastern European members of the EU, EFTA economies Norway, Switzerland and Iceland and countries within the Balkan Peninsula with the exception of Montenegro, down 13 places to 62nd, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, down eight to 83rdwhere the significant improvements in terms of market access were only partially outweighed by the deterioration in transport services.
The most improved countries in Europe are Serbia up 18 places to 64thLithuania up eight, to 29th and Italy up seven, to 36th. Switzerland and the United States are the countries with the ranking of trade restrictions by country access to domestic and foreign markets, respectively; while Luxembourg can boast the best operating environment and transport services, the United Kingdom the highest level of ICT adoption, and the Netherlands the most efficient and transparent border administration.
The Netherlands retains its 2nd rank globally and best in Europe in enabling trade across borders. The country remains a strong performer in terms of both border administration 2nd globally, but losing ranking of trade restrictions by country top rank to Singapore and infrastructure 3rdcoming in the top 10 worldwide for transport infrastructure 9thservices 4th ranking of trade restrictions by country ICT adoption 3rd.
A global shipping hub, the Netherlands can boast the best port infrastructure in the world, with the ninth-best connectivity, complemented by an air transport system that links it to the furthest markets, and an extensive road network with the rest of Europe. Sinceits access to foreign markets has improved—in large part due to both a decrease of its trade-weighted faced tariff from 4 to 3. However, this improvement is partially outweighed by the deterioration in its domestic market access and an increase in the average applied tariff, common to other members of the European Union, from 0.
Conversely, Luxembourg has further improved the quality of transport services it can offer to its businesses, moving up nine notches and gaining the top position globally. In fact, the country now ranks in the top 10 across all the available indicators in this area and 1st for ease and affordability of shipments and their timeliness in reaching destinations.
The quality of its operating environment has also further improved, making Luxembourg the 3rd best country in the world for companies to operate in and the most open to foreign participation. As its main trading partners are within the European Union, documentary and border compliance procedures are minimal.
Irregular customs payments are extremely rare, and the country receives among the best ratings for the time predictability of border procedures. Sweden also scores well in terms of the availability of transport services, particularly in terms of the capacity of logistics operators and the timeliness and traceability of shipments. Finland ranks 6th overall, thanks largely to its strong performance in terms of border administration and overall operating environment.
In terms of trade facilitation, it ranks 1st along with fellow EU members in terms of import procedures and 3rd in the predictability of import procedures. Finland performs less strongly when it comes to compliance with border and documentary export, with procedures taking, on average, 38 hours.
This is not surprising ranking of trade restrictions by country the type of exports considered by the World Bank for producing ranking of trade restrictions by country estimate are industrial products destined for China, outside of the EU.
Austria further strengthens its position in the top 10, climbing two notches to 7th. The country benefits from improved border administration procedures up two, to 5th and transport services up 15, to 8th: Its deep integration with regional partners allows Austria to have one of the best market access scores among advanced economies, with 95 percent of all imports entering the country free of duty 4th highest share globally.
The United Kingdom slips two positions to 8th but remains the best performer among large European economies. As of today, the country continues ranking of trade restrictions by country benefit from integration with its European partners, with 84 percent of goods imported free of duty. Access to other markets ranking of trade restrictions by country improved over the past two years, but more slowly than elsewhere causing a drop of two positions to 90th. The United Kingdom continues to rely on one of the most efficient and transparent border administration systems 6th.
Its government is also one of the best at providing online services to its citizens and the country having ranking of trade restrictions by country ICT technologies more than anywhere else in the world. Transport infrastructure and services are also widely available, with British businesses and citizens enjoying the second best international air connectivity in the world, after the United States. A slight increase in score is not enough for Germany to retain its position and the country slips down ranking of trade restrictions by country rank to 9th.
Similar to other advanced economies, market access is its main weakness, although the country improved its possibility to penetrate foreign markets since thanks to an improved margin of preference and lower average faced tariff 3.
Germany also enjoys the second most efficient clearance process in the world ranking of trade restrictions by country when it comes to overall border administration and the best logistics sector globally. Yet, both transport infrastructure and services have deteriorated in recent years down four and three to 8th and 6th, respectivelyshowing the need for the country to increase investment to keep the pace of its economic and trade growth.
Finally, the country can boast a strong rate of ICT adoption 17th, up four and a welcoming operating environment 19th, down fiveonly marginally disrupted by concerns over terrorism and security over the past years.
Belgium climbs one notch and enters the top 10 this year. Located in the heart of Europe and with great maritime connectivity with the rest of the world 10ththe country has one of the most open economies globally. Efficient and transparent border administration procedures make the clearance of goods particularly quick 13thwhile approximately ranking of trade restrictions by country percent of all imports enter the country free of duty.
Belgium can rely on good transport infrastructure, particularly ports 4th and railroads 17thwhich allows for timely, easy and affordable shipments. Overall, Belgium can also rely on a good level of ICT adoption 26thalthough there is room for improvement, especially in the uptake of mobile broadband 48th and on the provisions of online services by the government 43rd.
Finally, the country offers a good operating environment for businesses 13ththanks primarily to a strong protection of property rights 15th and a well-developed financial sector 14th. Public institutions 30th are characterized by low levels of corruption 17thbut they are also saddled with burdensome regulation 87th, although improving and inefficient procedures to enforce contracts 46th.
Switzerland ranks 11th in the edition of the Enabling Trade Index. Agricultural imports face particularly high barriers, with an average applied tariff of 55 percent. Its customs and border procedures are efficient, with very high ratings for predictability coupled with low levels of irregular payments. The overall operating environment is also a strong enabler ranking of trade restrictions by country trade, with a 1st place rank on the protection of property rights as well as high marks for the efficiency of public institutions.
Its border administration also scores well, driven by the virtually barrier-free intra-EU trade. However, the transparency of customs and predictability of import procedures are issues routinely flagged by businesses. Goods entering France outside of Europe face a complex tariff structure, with close to 2, distinct tariffs. Similarly, French exports face relatively high tariffs, ranking 58th on the foreign market access pillar. The United States holds the 22nd rank globally, although with an improved score.
Unlike other members of NAFTA or the EU countries, the United States is less integrated within its own trading block and relatively more open to partners from other parts of the world.
InNAFTA represented only 28 percent of its imports and 30 percent of exports, against figures of 60 and 75 percent for Canada and 53 and 79 percent for Mexico. Asia and Europe together accounted for 63 percent of US imports and 55 percent of its exports, which may explain the importance attached to agreements with these regions.
As of today, the United States continues to be penalized by poor access to foreign markets, with the seventh highest average faced tariff in the world 4. On the domestic front, only 77 percent of its imports enter the country without duty, against a rate of 89 and 93 percent for Canada and Mexico, respectively. Across the other pillars of the ETI, the Ranking of trade restrictions by country States scores relatively better, being in the top twenty across most dimensions of border administration and transport infrastructure and services, and 22nd in terms of operating environment, with physical security and openness to foreign participation pulling down its performance.
Dropping six places, Canada ranks 24th overall on the ETI. As highlighted in the Report, Canada is a fairly open economy for industrial goods, albeit with a complex tariff structure, but its exports face relatively high tariffs abroad. Its score on the key infrastructure for enabling trade are good, especially given its geographical size, with excellent marks especially in terms of air transport and road quality.
The number of active mobile broadband subscriptions has also increased markedly, though that remains behind high-income country peers. SinceItalian customs have become more efficient and transparent, allowing clearance at sea in most ports and broadening the use of online procedures. The overall quality of infrastructure has also improved, driven by advancement of the air transport system up three to 18thof the road network up five to 35 and in the availability and use of ICTs up 13, to 32nd.
The current process of reform of port authorities and ranking of trade restrictions by country promises to tackle these issues and trigger investments in this area. This outcome is mainly the result of the more restricted access to its domestic market granted by the country, and of the deterioration in its operating environment. Sincethe average tariff rate applied by Turkey increased from 5.
The country has also increased the number of distinct tariffs it applies, including those levied per unit and not ad valorem, thus further increasing the complexity of its tariff structure 99th. Its operating environment 73rd, down 20 has suffered from reduced physical security th and decreased access to finance 68th. Turkey has further consolidated its role as an international air transport hub 15th, up four placescontributing to the improvement in its overall transport infrastructure 27th, up three places.
Agenda Events Reports Projects About. Globalization for all Key message: Closed for business Key message: Harvest that low-hanging fruit Enabling Trade Index results Regional overview: Europe and North America Regional overview: East Asia and Pacific Regional overview: Middle East and North Africa Regional overview: Latin America and the Caribbean Regional overview: Sub-Saharan Africa Regional overview: South Asia Trade facilitation performance in Africa Wrap up!
Europe and North America.
I know it s too late for somecertainly for me it shouldn t be like this but this makes you less of a target. It's your wallet 4. Those kinds of gains are nearly unbelievable to a traditional investor and yet these are across the board in this space.