THIRD THEMATIC SESSION ON SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE:

MEMBERS' RESPONSE TO Data underpinning the assessment of critical supply chains and the flow of goods in these sectors

Summary report[1]

Addendum

1  Introduction

1.1.  The Committee on Market Access (CMA) held its third thematic session on supply chain resilience on 18 October 2024.[2] The session was moderated by Mr Iain Fifer (United Kingdom).[3] Presentations were delivered by experts from China; India; Switzerland; Thailand; and the United States. The presentations are reproduced in the annex.[4] The session focused on the data used to assess critical supply chains with the following guiding questions:

a._    What kinds of data do Members currently collect and how is this used to support their analysis and policymaking on supply chains?

b._    What issues do Members, and particularly developing and least developed Members, face in accessing and using the necessary data to support their efforts?

c._     Are there existing data sets/tools that can be leveraged to help Members to access and use data? Are there other types of data tools which might be developed to support Members as they work to build their approach to supply chain resilience?

1.2.  This report seeks to provide a summary of the presentations from the thematic session along with a synthesis of the ensuing discussions. It has been divided into three sections: i) types and sources of data for resilient supply chains; ii) how Members leverage diverse data sets to inform their policy choices; and iii) what factors contribute to building resilience.