Global value chains: their impact on trade and measurement of trade flows

The reduction of communication and transport costs has triggered an increase in global production networks and value chains. Fragmentation of production or vertical specialisation in merchandise and services has increased within and across countries, facilitated by export processing zones. Currently, there are different approaches used to analyse trade in value added, but new official statistical frameworks are needed to provide supplementary statistics for the analysis of global value chains, thus allowing improved decision-making.