TCB: Resources
Snapshots
Snapshots are short reports on recent releases of data and information about development. To subscribe to USAID Data Services News, please send an e-mail to dataservicesrequest@usaid.gov with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Please note that USAID Data Services News is only available to those with .gov addresses.
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Current Reports
World Bank, 2018 Logistics Performance Index (No. 108, September 2018) - PDF
The 2018 World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index is a benchmarking tool created to identify challenges and opportunities within trade logistics performance. This Snapshot provides an overview of Logistics Performance Index and demonstrates its usefulness to USAID as an entry point to a more comprehensive assessment of logistics performance and trade facilitation environments.
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2017 Reports
Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity For All (No. 104, January 2017) - PDF
The 2017 Doing Business report “Equal Opportunity For All” highlights the large disparities between high- and low-income economies and the higher barriers that women face to starting a business or getting a job compared to men. Additionally, the 2017 report added a gender component in three indicators, collected data on Somalia for the first time, and expanded the paying taxes indicators by adding post-filing processes. This USAID Data Services snapshot focuses on countries that received at least $2 million in USAID assistance in fiscal year 2016 and are not classified as high income by the World Bank.
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2016 Reports
Doing Business 2016 - APEC Performance (No. 103, April 2016) - PDF
USAID Data Services Snapshot 103 on Doing Business 2016 - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) analyzes APEC progress on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business indicators based on priorities laid out in the APEC EoDB Action Plans. It assesses the first Action Plan (2010-2015) and introduces the second Action Plan’s (2016-2018) five priorities: 1) Starting a Business, 2) Getting Credit, 3) Trading across Borders, 4) Enforcing Contracts, and 5) Dealing with Permits.
Doing Business 2016 (No. 102, March 2016) - PDF
The 2016 Doing Business report measures the efficiency of and compliance with business regulation, covering ten topics from trading across borders to building permits. This USAID Data Services snapshot focuses on 88 countries that received at least $2 million in USAID assistance in fiscal year 2014 and are not classified as high income by the World Bank. This year's snapshot reveals that USAID-assisted countries in 2015 made 44 percent more regulatory reforms related to Doing Business than countries not assisted by USAID, the highest number since 2009.
Global Competitiveness Index 2015-2016 (No. 101, January 2016) - PDF
This USAID Data Services Snapshot discusses the 2015-2016 edition of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), a widely anticipated annual publication from the World Economic Forum. Switzerland scores the highest overall. China and Guinea respectively have the highest and lowest scores of the low- and middle-income countries which received at least $2 million USAID assistance in fiscal year 2014 and which are the focus of this analysis. The snapshot gauges the evolution of competitiveness over a three-year period, from 2013 to 2015, and compares the changes in a country's GCI scores regionally as well as globally. The five regions included are: Asia, Europe and Eurasia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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2015 Reports
Women, Business, and the Law (No. 99, October 2015) - PDF
The World Bank's Women, Business, and the Law report has collected data since 2009 about the legal restrictions on female entrepreneurship and employment. The 2016 report is the fourth in the series and includes 173 economies. This snapshot analyzes four major topics included in the official report: Accessing Institutions, Building Credit, Going to Court, and Protecting Women from Violence.
World Economic Outlook (No. 98, June 2015) - PDF
The World Economic Outlook (WEO) Snapshot summarizes the April 2015 World Economic Outlook report, emphasizing the trends and projections for USAID-assisted countries. The WEO report emphasizes the importance of the drop in oil prices on the world economy, which provided an economic boost to oil importers but will weigh on activity in oil exporting countries. This snapshot focuses on six world regions and concentrates on real GDP, investment, unemployment rate, inflation, and trade growth.
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2014 Reports
UN Comtrade Database, Harmonized System (No. 93, December 2014) - PDF
This snapshot covers the UN Comtrade database on trade data as reported under the Harmonized System (HS), the classification system most commonly used by governments for international trade data reporting and trade policymaking.
Analytical Briefs
USAID Data Services periodically prepares analytical briefs for trade spotlighting specific regions. Suggestions to increase the utility of these reports from our readers are always welcome via email.
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2022 Reports
Case Study on U.S. Trade Capacity Building in Bangladesh - PDF
Bangladesh has developed significantly in the 50 years since its founding in 1971. To best support Bangladesh, the United States followed data-backed evidence and focused primarily on four areas: customs and business operations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, cold chain, and value chain. The resulting TCB programs totaling $124 million since 1999 have expanded economic activity, increased export volumes, and raised living standards. TCB programs have laid the groundwork for Bangladesh’s future success in trade facilitation by establishing best practices and identifying key challenges to creating a more efficient trade environment consistent with international standards.
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2017 Reports
Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade in East Africa (No. 11, October 2017) - PDF
The 'Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade in East Africa' Analytical Brief is intended to provide an overview of economic growth, trade, and agriculture in the East African countries of Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Somalia. Topics examined in this analytical brief include: population growth and urbanization, current economic growth trends, the state of democracy, infrastructure, trade and investment trends, and agriculture.
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2016 Reports
Trade in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) (No. 04, June 2016) - PDF
The 'Trade in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)' Analytical Brief examines three facets of SACU trade patterns: 1) SACU's trade with other regional partners, 2) Intra-regional trade within SACU, and 3) SACU's trade relationship with the United States. Included in the section on US-SACU trade is a break-down of Trade Capacity Building (TCB) efforts by the United States Government in the region. The brief also presents a succinct assessment of a set of key indicators to better understand the broader economic context in which the trade patterns discussed occurred.
Trade in the East African Community (No. 03, March 2016) - PDF
The 'Trade in the East African Community' (EAC) Analytical Brief examines export and import flows with the United States (U.S.), European Union (E.U.), and within the EAC. The EAC is comprised of five member countries – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Kenya and Tanzania export heavily with the European Union and the United States. The data revealed that the most popular exported goods from the EAC to the E.U. and the U.S. include: coffee, tea, mate, and spices; tobacco; clothing; and tanning or dyeing extracts. This USAID Data Services Analytical Brief will predominantly focus on the characteristics of EAC trade and briefly highlight demographics, foreign direct investment, and reforms within the EAC.
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2015 Reports
Trade in South and Central Asia (No. 02, September 2015) - PDF
When it comes to foreign trade, most countries in South and Central Asia (SC Asia) are outward-facing. Historical ties link the former Soviet Republics to Russia, India and Pakistan are both well-integrated with the Middle East, and China continues to make inroads into Central Asian markets in search of transcontinental linkages and raw materials.
Trade in West Africa (No. 01, September 2015) - PDF
With the establishment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975, governments in West Africa recognized regional integration and cooperation as an important tool for the region's economic development. In the 40 years since its creation, ECOWAS has identified trade facilitation, both with regional and global partners, as an essential priority, particularly as West Africa experiences increasing trade volumes and economic growth. Today, ECOWAS consists of 15 member countries that continue to work closely towards economic integration, including a plan for macroeconomic policy convergence through the introduction of a common West African currency. This analytical brief examines trends in ECOWAS trade since 2000, including an analysis of ECOWAS progress on several trade-related indicators and of U.S. efforts to promote trade capacity building in the region.
Related Documents
USAID's Policy for Trade Capacity Building
USAID's Trade Capacity Building Policy outlines the Agency's approach to trade capacity building activities and highlights the critical linkages between trade issues and development programming. It also calls for a greater level of cross-sectoral integration and coordination.
Download the Report and read more at: https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1865/policy-trade-capacity-building
Literature Review: WTO Accession and Economic Growth - PDF
This paper reviews the existing literature (2002-2017) on the relationship between WTO accession and economic growth. The literature explores the impact of accession on the growth rates, trade volumes, and the business environment in member countries.