Trade Facilitation in the Commonwealth: An Economic Analysis

This paper examines the economic impact of trade facilitation between Commonwealth members, using a global computable general equilibrium framework. We document enormous economic impact, much higher than a complete tariff liberalisation amongst these countries. Economic impact is quite visible in terms of welfare, Gross Domestic Product, employment and trade in several sectors. We abstract from the costs involved in such trade facilitation – accounting for them is beyond the scope of this study.