World Bank, AfDB, others to share international trade-related data

Five international partners have agreed to share and provide free access to trade related data among each other under a global programme known as the Transparency in Trade (TNT) initiative.

The TNT initiative was launched by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank  in cooperation with the UN Statistics Division (UNSD) in Geneva, Switzerland today July 18, 2011.

“The TNT Initiative is a joint project aiming to eliminate the transparency gap resulting from the lack of access to data on country-specific trade policies,” the partners said in a joint statement published on the World Bank’s website.

The statement said, once the programme is fully developed, it will give free and easy access to information on trade policy instruments like tariffs, non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services regulations and in addition will generate new and more accurate data on NTMs and policies affecting trade in services and investment.

“All data will be freely accessible on a web portal serving as a platform for users in both developed and developing countries,” it added.

The partners further explained that the data will also allow for better monitoring and analysis of trade-related projects, saying “such analysis is essential to provide a basis for assessment of current projects and inform the development of new initiatives which will allow governments to identify policy constraints and prioritize areas for reform and trade negotiations.”

President of the World Bank Group, Mr. Robert B. Zoellick said “We need a revolution in Open Information for trade, to support Open Trade.”

The parties signed an agreement to collaborate on the initiative of Transparency in Trade, which signified the closer coordination and partnership that will evolve around this multi-year initiative.

By Ekow Quandzie