-
The Philippines’ overall performance in the latest United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation report continued to improve, with the country scoring 91.40% in 2025 from 86.02% in 2023
-
The Philippines maintained its 100% score in transparency and formalities; and improved its score on institutional arrangement and cooperation to 100% from 77.78%
-
It also kept its 81.48% score on paperless trade; and advanced its score on cross-border paperless trade to 83.33% from 66.67%
-
The Philippines was second in ranking to Singapore in Southeast Asia
The Philippines’ overall performance in the latest United Nations (UN) Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation report continued to improve, with the country scoring 91.40% in 2025 from 86.02% in 2023.
It was second only to Singapore in the Southeast Asia ranking. Singapore scored 96.77%. In third place was Malaysia with 90.32%, followed by Indonesia with 89.25%, Thailand with 88.17%, Brunei (80.65%), Cambodia (78.49%), Vietnam (77.42%,) Lao PDR (75.27%), and Myanmar (66.67%).
According to results of the sixth installment of the biennial survey, the Philippines maintained its 100% score in transparency and formalities; and improved its score on institutional arrangement and cooperation to 100% in 2025 from 77.78% in 2023. It also kept its 81.48% score on paperless trade; and advanced its score on cross-border paperless trade to 83.33% from 66.67%.
It improved in trade facilitation for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to 46.7% from 33.3%; in agricultural trade facilitation to 91.7% from 75%; and women in trade facilitation to 88.9% from 44.4%.
The Philippines is one of the countries that surpassed the 90% implementation threshold for the first time since the survey’s inception in 2015.
The 2025 survey covers 180 economies and aims to support countries in identifying trade facilitation gaps and priorities, as well as inform future research and policy responses across regions and globally.
It covers a World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO FTA) set of trade facilitation measures categorized into 11 sub-groups, namely: transparency; formalities; institutional arrangement and cooperation; paperless trade; cross-border paperless trade; transit facilitation; trade facilitation for small and medium enterprises (SMEs); agricultural trade facilitation; women in trade facilitation; and trade finance for trade facilitation.
This year’s survey has also introduced new and forward-looking measures on cross-border e-commerce and green trade facilitation. As climate challenges intensify, the report said aligning trade with environmental goals becomes increasingly urgent while more research and efforts on the greening of trade will be necessary.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) in a statement said its ongoing reforms and modernization are instrumental to the Philippines’ performance, adding that the country’s progress in the survey “is a testament to the administration’s commitment to modernizing public services, fostering innovation, and enhancing the country’s competitiveness in the global market.”
Some of these efforts, BOC noted, include the active participation in the UN Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, participation the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Single Window, electronic exchange of Phytosanitary Certificates; and implementation of the Authorized Economic Operator Program.
The report also recognized the country’s continued efforts in implementing the WTO FTA, it added.
Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno reaffirmed BOC’s commitment to further advancing the country’s trade facilitation efforts beyond the requirements of the WTO FTA, especially in areas aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s development agenda, such as e-commerce digitalization, gender empowerment in trade, and green customs practices.
Globally, the report said progress has been observed in more efficient trade facilitation with the global implementation rate improving by five percentage points over the last two years. The global average implementation rate currently stands at 70%. Developed economies performed strongly (86%) followed by countries in South-East and East Asia (81%). 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 North-East Asia.
The 2025 report has yet to be published online as of this writing although it was launched in early July.
