MICRO, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) are touted as the next frontier for expanding trade and growth as they are expected to take an increasingly crucial role in boosting the overall welfare across Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member economies.

It would thus be necessary for Apec leaders to adjust the policy reform lenses to make it easier for MSMEs to be part of international trade and global value chains, said Ramon Clarete, former dean and current professor of the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Economics.

What does the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) have to do with corruption? It has everything to do with good governance and addressing the demand side of corruption at the border.

But in order to understand the relationship one must understand what trade facilitation is and how it addresses public corruption at customs.

Trade between and among people is beautiful. What one does not need because he has surplus production, he can sell it and get those things he does not have but he needs, via purchase or via the old system of barter.
Countries and economies that trade more are more advanced, more developed compared to countries that are less friendly to more international trade.

That is why free trade has become a known policy and advocacy in many countries for centuries now. Import tariff rates have been declining significantly, down to zero for some economies like Hong Kong and Singapore.

Trade with China helped build the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach into an economic powerhouse in recent decades. The flow of goods across the Pacific supports well-paying jobs on the docks and has turned the Inland Empire into an epicenter of warehousing.

But China's economic growth is slowing and concerns over the world's second-largest economy have unnerved investors, leading to wild stock market swings in recent weeks.

Techdirt first mentioned the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) last year, when "The Really Good Friends of Services" -- the self-chosen name for about 20 members of the World Trade Organization -- could no longer keep their plans locked behind closed doors, and word started to spread. Essentially, TISA completes the unholy trinity of global trade agreements that also includes TPP and TAFTA/TTIP. Between the three of them, they sew up just about every aspect of trade in both goods and services -- the latter being TISA's particular focus.

On Monday, August 31, 2015, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it will be collecting comments on the draft application for its Trusted Trader Program (the Program). CBP invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the proposed information collection pursuant to the Paperwork Reductions Act of 1995 by September 30, 2015. Comments should address: