Philippines tops global score in a biennial UN-backed cross-border trade survey

Manila, Philippines – The country improved its standing in a biennial United Nations-sponsored worldwide survey on cross-border trade, topping the global score and outperforming the regional average for Southeast Asia.

In the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation for 2025 released on Wednesday, July 9, the Philippines gained over five percentage points - rated 91.4% in overall trade facilitation - a significant jump from the 86.02% score in 2023.

This was better than the global average of 70.41%, and Southeast Asia’s 80.25%.

The UN biennial survey covered 180 economies.

Pacific countries have the lowest implementation rate at 45%. In the Asia-Pacific region, overall trade facilitation implementation increased by five percentage points between 2023 and 2025, with the highest rates observed in Australia and New Zealand, as well as East and Northeast Asia.

The survey was released on the day that US President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” duties were to take effect after a 90-day pause. Trump granted another three-week reprieve from his stiff tariffs that are now set for Aug. 1.

“The global trading environment has recently faced unprecedented challenges. Extensive tariff measures have introduced uncertainty and increased trade costs, while broader disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains,” Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations undersecretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), said in a statement released together with the UN survey.

“These trends underscore the urgent need to enhance the efficiency, transparency and resilience of international trade systems,” she added.

The scores were based on several parameters. The Philippines garnered 100% in transparency, formalities, and institutional arrangement and cooperation. The scores for paperless trade and cross-border paperless trade were 81.48% and 83.33%, respectively.

The country’s improved score reflected gains in institutional arrangement and cooperation ( 77.78% in 2023), as well as in cross-border paperless trade (66.67% in 2023).

“Implementation of measures under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement remains robust, while cross-border paperless trade facilitation has shown the greatest improvement,” the statement read, referring to the general outcome of the survey.

“Improvements in legal frameworks for electronic transactions and digital authentication also signal growing commitment to modernizing trade,” UNESCAP added.