The Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Production: Insights from the World Economic Forum’s Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs

Zimar Batista — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 23:31:38 +0000

While powerful megatrends like global trade tensions, climate change, new technology innovations, and the current COVID-19 crisis impact all parts of the globe, the reality of those impacts – and therefore the necessary responses to them – are inherently driven by unique regional characteristics and the regional enabling environments. The Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs (AMHUBs) connects regional manufacturing ecosystems to help rapidly transform manufacturing to keep pace with the global megatrends that might otherwise create disruptions for manufacturers around the globe.

With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, there is a need for the industry to move faster than ever to support the response to this international health crisis while mitigating its impact on manufacturers and their respective supply chain networks around the globe. This paper reflects an aggregate of voices from the Global Network of AMHUBs and focuses on COVID-19’s impact in each region; response efforts from manufacturing and governments; and best practices to achieve rapid results and mitigate repercussions to subsequent regions by learning from those affected earlier. The World Economic Forum is committed to enabling and amplifying cross-AMHUB collaborations that accelerate the industry’s ability to adapt to the current crisis while ensuring future resilience through advanced manufacturing technologies and processes.

WEF_AMHUB_Insight_Paper_2020

To read the full report, please click here

The post The Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Production: Insights from the World Economic Forum’s Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs appeared first on WITA.

Digital Trade Integration In Preferential Trade Agreements

Zimar Batista — Fri, 01 May 2020 21:23:41 +0000

The growth of digital trade is dependant upon greater interconnectivity across borders. Several countries strive to achieve such interconnectivity and integration in digital trade through international trade agreements. Digital trade integration is a complex, multidimensional process that integrates regulatory structures/policy designs, digital technologies and business processes along the entire global/regional digital value chain. This paper sets out five foundational elements of digital trade integration: reducing digital trade barriers; digital trade facilitation; digital trade regulatory frameworks and digital trust policies; digital development and inclusion; and institutional coordination. It then examines the extent to which Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) can or do contribute to digital integration.

Some recent PTAs contain ambitious provisions to reduce regulatory barriers in digital trade and facilitate cross-border data flows. However, most PTAs fail to holistically support the five pillars of digital trade integration, and are particularly deficient in supporting digital development and inclusion, incorporating adequate digital trade facilitation measures, and facilitating meaningful international regulatory cooperation. This paper provides various policy recommendations to address such deficiencies. This paper also contains a case study of digital trade integration in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It argues that the ASEAN framework currently functions as a weak form of digital trade integration, focusing mainly on political goodwill and high-level cooperation. Although the ASEAN Members are committed to enhancing regulatory cooperation and strengthening their institutions on electronic commerce, the development asymmetry coupled with the conflicting policy preferences of ASEAN Members remains a key obstacle.

AWP 191+

Andrew D. Mitchell and Neha Mishra (2020), “Digital Trade Integration In Preferential Trade Agreements”, ARTNeT Working Paper Series, No. 191, May 2020, Bangkok, ESCAP.

Available at http://artnet.unescap.org

The post Digital Trade Integration In Preferential Trade Agreements appeared first on WITA.

Trade Integration Archives - WITA

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Production: Insights from the World Economic Forum’s Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs

Digital Trade Integration In Preferential Trade Agreements