Publication: The Lao Trade Story: Implementing Trade Policy and Trade Facilitation Reforms in Lao PDR
Date
2016
ISSN
Published
2016
Author(s)
World Bank Group
Abstract
In 2015, Lao PDR is virtually
unrecognizable from what it was just a decade ago. A more
open, more outward trade landscape has transformed the
country from a closed-off backwater into a fast-growing
developing country, complete with coffee shops, restaurants,
and billboards lining the streets of what is now a much
busier and more lively Vientiane. Rural-urban migration is
underway as non-agricultural opportunities are on the rise.
Importers and exporters are experiencing an increasing level
of government transparency. Customs operations are nearly
fully automated and border clearance times have been
drastically reduced. As a crowning achievement—and after 15
years of negotiations, Lao PDR is now a member of the World
Trade Organization (WTO), with its eyes set on establishing
itself as an equal partner in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC). The
situation has improved to such an extent that the country
has become a model for other Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) undertaking trade reform. Optimism is in the air, and
reformers know that having come so far there is still a
tremendous amount to be done. Within the context of a
complex and largely incomplete transition from a planned to
a market economy, the strides taken by the Lao government in
the relatively niche area of trade policy reform and trade
facilitation merit attention. The country still has many
visceral challenges to overcome. Trade reform is much less
visible, quite often not a front-page story, and rarely
capable of changing people’s fortunes overnight. Rather, it
is a process of deliberate, subtle changes that over time
provide the atmosphere for a country to bloom, and Lao PDR
is blooming. Understanding the scope and scale of reform
that has occurred in order for the country to reach this
point is not always easy. Without looking back over the last
few years, without peering deeper into the structures that
have changed, it is possible to miss just how remarkable
this story truly is.
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2016. The Lao Trade Story: Implementing Trade Policy and Trade Facilitation Reforms in Lao PDR. © World Bank, Vientiane. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24977 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”