UN Warns of Gaps in Inclusive, Green Trade Facilitation Despite Global Progress

The United Nations has also cited slow uptake of inclusive and sustainable trade facilitation practices, the majority of which are those that benefit vulnerable segments such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women traders, and the agricultural sector. This even as there is evidence of the general trend to simplify trade procedures globally, the sixth United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation released on July 15, 2025, says.

The survey, which was carried out by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), indicates a five-percentage-point increase in the implementation of global trade facilitation since 2023. The average global implementation level stands at 70 per cent. Developed nations are in the lead with an 86 per cent implementation level followed by East and Southeast Asian nations at 81 per cent. Pacific Island nations are at the bottom with an average of only 45 per cent.

The broader Asia-Pacific region also experienced a five-point increase in levels of implementation from 2023 to 2025. Australia, New Zealand, and North-East Asian and East Asian economies fared well on issues of digital authentication and electronic transaction frameworks due to continued modernization in customs and trade arrangements.

The survey discovers that the development of the fundamental trade facilitation measures under the World Trade Organization's Trade Facility Agreement remains fairly robust. Cross-border paperless trade experienced the largest improvements, complemented by regional instruments like the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific. These intergovernmental platforms are enabling nations to shift away from reliance on manual paper-based procedures and enhancing trade efficiency and resilience.

Yet the UN report highlights that there is still insufficient support for inclusive and sustainable trade practices. In addition to progress in digitalisation and greater openness, there is still not sufficient policy attention to gender-responsive trade as well as further increasing trade participation of agriculture, and ensuring SMEs' specific requirements. SMEs are typically denied access to digital solutions, finance, and market information, making them disadvantaged in progressively digitized global trade arrangements.

The new report has added two new categories—cross-border e-commerce and green trade facilitation. Although some progress has been made in the beginning, take-up is still limited. The report calls on countries to align trade policy with green objectives, warning that climate change threats to supply chains are increasing and will need a broad policy response.

ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana emphasized the necessity of constructing open and resilient trading systems in the face of rising geopolitical and economic uncertainties. Recent international shocks and increased utilization of tariffs have heightened the cost of trade and revealed vulnerabilities in supply chain logistics, particularly for low-income and import-basing economies.

The survey included 180 economies and was conducted by the five United Nations Regional Commissions: ESCAP, ECA (Africa), ECE (Europe), ECLAC (Latin America and the Caribbean), and ESCWA (Western Asia) and by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The survey is designed to assist governments in the identification of gaps and in determining priorities for national and regional trade reform, including sustainable digitalisation.

The UN appeal notwithstanding, low- and middle-income countries have structural impediments to embracing green and inclusive trade policy. These include weak digital infrastructure, disjointed policy frameworks, and low institutional capacities. Experts predict that in the absence of special international support, the gap between high-performing and low-performing economies, which is already widening, will continue to do so.

Greening trade initiatives are similarly in their infancy. Most countries have yet to be engaged in large-scale green facilitation of trade like carbon labelling, sustainable purchasing, or environmental customs incentives. Additional research, finance, and capacity building will have to be undertaken in order to integrate environmental aspects into trade activity effectively.

The report finishes by promoting greater cooperation between borders and financial support for emerging countries, with specific focus on gender equality, smallholder inclusion in farming, and greening trade infrastructure. It urges governments and development partners to make inclusive digital trade and climate-resilient policy making the focus of the next generation of national strategies.

The nation can view the entire dataset, observe regional performance vis-à-vis, and download national progress reports on the interactive site https://www.untfsurvey.org. Policymakers are provided with tools to compare their performance and determine future action on the platform as well.

Although overall progress toward international trade facilitation is positive, the UN warns that future progress must go beyond efficiency. Genuine progress, it argues, will hinge on whether trade systems can be made more fair and sustainable and extend to those most at risk of being left behind in economic marginalization. 

Source & Credits:
Original press release and data of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), July 15, 2025. Complete report and data on www.untfsurvey.org.