Thursday, August 14, 2008

NFTC Publishes Global Supply Chain Study

(International Trade Law News)

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) recently released a new study entitled “Connecting the Dots: The Global Economy and Supply Chain Management” that analyzes the trade and investment environments of 117 countries based on data from OECD and the World Bank, among others.

The NFTC’s study is an extremely valuable tool for companies to use in evaluating and structuring their supply chain.

Structured as a country-by-country analysis of supply chain performance, each country was evaluated in comparison to benchmark nations and “exemplars.” The study evaluated countries based on the following six criteria:

1. National policies for openness in trade and markets
2. Best practices for international trade
3. Infrastructure for a global economy
4. Financial services for cross-border commerce
5. Human capital
6. Effective legal and enforcement systems

The top ten highest scoring countries were Singapore, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Norway. The lowest scoring nations were Angola, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Guinea, Mali, Venezuela, Algeria and Benin.

In addition to a detailed country analysis, the study also contains a regional analysis.The PDF version of the NFTC’s study is available here (PDF format, 138 pgs.).