Browse by: "2010"

Export restrictions on raw materials are applied to achieve a number of policy objectives. However, they can have a significant and negative impact on the efficient allocation of resources, international trade, and the competitiveness and development of industries in both exporting and importing countries.  

By diverting exports to domestic markets, export restrictions raise prices for foreign consumers and importers. At the same time, by reducing domestic prices in the applying countries and increasing global uncertainty concerning future prices, export restrictions negatively affect investment, thus potentially reducing the overall supply of raw materials in the long term. In view of existing alternative policy tools that have a different impact on trade, the effectiveness of export restrictions to achieve stated policy objectives should be carefully reviewed.  

This publication presents a selection of papers discussed at the OECD Workshop on Raw Materials, held in Paris in October 2009. This workshop was organised in response to the growing concern on the use of export restrictions on raw materials, particularly by emerging economies.

Numerosos obstáculos impiden a los países en desarrollo – y en particular a los menos adelantados – aprovechar oportunidades comerciales que podrían ayudarlos a reducir la pobreza. La iniciativa de Ayuda para el Comercio ha permitido crear conciencia de la ayuda que dichos países necesitan para superar esos obstáculos. Gracias a ello, los temas comerciales ocupan un lugar cada vez más destacado en las estrategias de desarrollo de un número creciente de países en desarrollo, y los donantes están respondiendo con un incremento de los recursos destinados a la creación de capacidad comercial en ámbitos tales como las políticas, las instituciones y las infraestructuras.

Este informe de vigilancia sobre la Ayuda para el Comercio (el segundo de este tipo) documenta los resultados obtenidos por esta iniciativa hasta la fecha. En él se examinan tendencias y novedades y se hace un análisis exhaustivo de la participación de los donantes y los países asociados. Además, se aborda la dimensión regional de la Ayuda para el Comercio y se exponen tres proyectos de infraestructura transfronterizos. Por último, se incluyen hojas informativas que ayudarán a evaluar los resultados y las repercusiones de la Ayuda para el Comercio.

Las principales conclusiones son positivas. Con todo, las perspectivas se ven afectadas por la actual crisis económica mundial. Hoy, más que nunca, la Ayuda para el Comercio es fundamental para que los proveedores de los países en desarrollo puedan fortalecer su capacidad y penetrar en los mercados mundiales. El mensaje central del informe es claro: la Ayuda para el Comercio debe seguir siendo un componente esencial de la asistencia para el desarrollo. A este respecto, se proponen en el informe varias medidas que pueden impulsar el diálogo sobre la Ayuda para el Comercio.

As part of a far-reaching programme of economic reforms, the Egyptian government is seeking to improve its business climate to attract more investment and stimulate growth and job creation. The Egyptian Ministry of Investment has asked the OECD to carry out an in-depth assessment of Egypt’s business climate to identify policy priorities and actions needed to foster more domestic, regional and international investment. This report presents the results of that assessment. It also highlights Egypt’s key reform priorities and describes the challenges and opportunities in improving Egypt's business climate to help Egypt realise its full potential as a high-growth economy.

The OECD assessment is the first phase of a Business Climate Development Strategy (BCDS) which identifies policy priorities and proposes specific reforms and actions to enable Egypt to achieve measurable improvements in its business climate. One key finding is that Egypt’s investment and trade policy reforms have moved the country’s business climate closer to best practice in OECD economies. However, the report notes that to attract further private investment, Egypt needs to improve the country’s anti-corruption measures, skills development, infrastructure and access to finance, especially for the country's small-and-medium sized enterprises. BCDS Egypt offers specific recommendations on how policies, institutions and regulations can be improved to increase predictability for investors and make Egypt a prime investment destination.

This review was carried out as part of the wider MENA-OECD Investment Programme. It uses a new BCDS methodology that evaluates the business climate in 12 policy areas and draws on core OECD instruments, such as the Policy Framework for Investment (PFI), which have been successfully applied in other countries. By helping countries prioritise their actions and build consensus among stakeholders, the BCDS process supports the successful implementation of reforms to develop the private sector in the MENA region.  

The dramatic collapse in world trade in 2009 is, this report shows, mainly due to: the drop in demand for highly traded products; the drying up of trade finance; and the vertically integrated nature of global supply chains. Contrary to expectations, protectionist measures were relatively muted and did not play a significant part. In fact, because of their sheer size, stimulus measures may have had more impact on trade than direct trade policy measures Nevertheless, dollar for dollar, direct trade restricting measures have the most strongly negative impacts on growth and employment: a one dollar increase in tariff revenues results in a USD 2.16 drop in world exports and a USD 0.73 drop in world income.

The analyses presented here suggest that exit strategies from measures to deal with the crisis will be most effective in boosting growth and jobs if they first roll back measures that discriminate between domestic and foreign firms and those that target specific sectors. General demand stimulus measures and active labour market policies are preferable under current conditions.

Les Principes de l’OCDE applicables en matière de prix de transfert fournissent des lignes directrices pour l’application du « principe de pleine concurrence ». Ce principe est le consensus international en matière de prix de transfert, c’est-à-dire pour la valorisation, aux fins fiscales, des transactions internationales entre entreprises associées. Dans une économie globale où les entreprises multinationales (EMN) jouent un rôle essentiel, les prix de transfert sont un sujet prioritaire pour les administrations fiscales comme pour les contribuables. Les gouvernements doivent s’assurer que les profits imposables des EMN ne sont pas transférés artificiellement hors de leurs juridictions et que les bases fiscales déclarées par les EMN dans leurs pays respectifs reflètent l’activité économique qui y est entreprise. Pour les contribuables, il est essentiel de limiter les risques de double imposition économique qui peuvent résulter d’un différend entre deux pays sur la détermination d’une rémunération de pleine concurrence pour leurs transactions internationales avec des entreprises associées.

Les Principes de l’OCDE applicables en matière de prix de transfert ont été approuvés par le Conseil de l’OCDE dans leur version originale en 1995. Une mise à jour limitée a été effectuée en 2009, principalement pour refléter l’adoption, dans la mise à jour 2008 du Modèle de convention fiscale, d’un nouveau paragraphe 5 de l’article 25 traitant de l’arbitrage, ainsi que de changements apportés au Commentaire de l’article 25 sur les procédures amiables pour résoudre les différends fiscaux internationaux. Dans la version 2010, les chapitres I à III ont été substantiellement révisés, avec de nouvelles indications sur la sélection de la méthode de prix de transfert la plus appropriée aux circonstances d’un cas d’espèce, sur l’application pratique des méthodes transactionnelles fondées sur les bénéfices (méthode transactionnelle de marge nette et méthode du partage des bénéfices) et sur la manière d’effectuer une analyse de comparabilité. De plus, un nouveau chapitre IX sur les aspects prix de transfert des réorganisations d’entreprises a été ajouté. Des modifications de conformité ont été effectuées dans le reste des Principes.

The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations provide guidance on the application of the “arm’s length principle”, which is the international consensus on transfer pricing, i.e. on the valuation, for tax purposes, of cross-border transactions between associated enterprises. In a global economy where multinational enterprises (MNEs) play a prominent role, transfer pricing is high on the agenda of tax administrators and taxpayers alike. Governments need to ensure that the taxable profits of MNEs are not artificially shifted out of their jurisdictions and that the tax base reported by MNEs in their respective countries reflect the economic activity undertaken therein. For taxpayers, it is essential to limit the risks of economic double taxation that may result from a dispute between two countries on the determination of an arm’s length remuneration for their cross-border transactions with associated enterprises.

After having been originally published in 1979, the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines were approved by the OECD Council in their original version in 1995. A limited update was made in 2009, primarily to reflect the adoption, in the 2008 update of the Model Tax Convention, of a new paragraph 5 of Article 25 dealing with arbitration, and of changes to the Commentary on Article 25 on mutual agreement procedures to resolve cross-border tax disputes. In the 2010 edition, Chapters I-III were substantially revised, with new guidance on: the selection of the most appropriate transfer pricing method to the circumstances of the case; the practical application of transactional profit methods (transactional net margin method and profit split method); and on the performance of comparability analyses. Furthermore, a new Chapter IX, on the transfer pricing aspects of business restructurings, was added. Consistency changes were made to the rest of the Guidelines.

Cette publication rassemble les statistiques sur les échanges internationaux présentés par pays partenaires pour 28 pays de l’OCDE, l’Union européenne (UE25 et UE27), la Zone euro, et Hong Kong (RAS Chine), ainsi que des définitions et des notes méthodologiques. Les données se réfèrent aux échanges entre résidents et non résidents et sont présentées selon les recommandations du Manuel des statistiques du commerce international des services.

Ce volume inclut des tableaux récapitulatifs par pays partenaires et par principales catégories de services. Les séries sont exprimées en dollars des États-Unis et couvrent la période 2004-2007.