Boracay, Aklan – Member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) convened the First Meeting of the Technical Group on Measurement of APEC Trade in Value Added (TiVA) Services and discussed effective ways in monitoring the accumulation of costs in trade requiring additional data on Global Value Chains or GVCs. Trade in Value Added measures flows related to the value that is added by a country in the production of a particular good or service that is exported.
To achieve the common goal of deepening and widening participation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in trade requires the monitoring of their actual participation and appreciating the value on the direct or indirect contributions of MSMEs in the global value chains.
The emergence of GVCs presents opportunities for MSMEs to lend support to APEC’s efforts to increase trade flows in the region and strengthen economic integration. During the meeting, the technical group considered the proposal of the Philippines to include data on MSMEs in the compilation of statistics and accumulation of costs in trade. Gathering the data related to trade in value added products and services among APEC economies would build a greater appreciation of how MSMEs can integrate and be more competitive in the global and regional markets.
The Philippines recognizes that a significant factor in the development of MSMEs is measuring their contribution in the GVCs. Identifying MSME-input to globally produced products will make their businesses more visible to the market, enhance their market reach, and ease their access to international and domestic trade.
In support of this initiative, China submitted a proposal for an Action Plan Strategic Framework on Measurement of APEC TiVA under GVCs. The proposal is designed to assist eligible economies in carrying out a data availability survey and two workshops for eligible member economies to determine a common industry, product, and firm type classification, and encourage developing member economies to participate as well
Posted By: Edrillan Pasion
