WTO's Lamy Says Country of Origin Becoming Obsolete, Need New Statistics
World Trade Organization Director-General Lamy in an October 15, 2010 speech to the French Senate asked for a new way to look at trade statistics, noting that the country of origin of goods has gradually become obsolete as various operations, from design to manufacture of components and assembly, have spread across the world.
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Goods Are No Longer Mono-located but Multi-Located
Lamy states, “What we call “Made in China” is indeed assembled in China, but what makes up the commercial value of the product comes from the numerous countries that preceded its assembly in China in the global value chain, from its design to the manufacture of the different components and the organization of the logistical support to the chain as a whole. In other words, the production of goods and services can no longer be considered ‘monolocated’, but rather, ‘multilocated’.”
Seeks Statistical Bridges Which Capture Global Supply Chain
Lamy says he does not intends to deconstruct the national and international statistical system or displace certain elements of that system, but rather find statistical bridges between the different national accounting systems in order to ensure that international interactions resulting from globalization are properly reflected and to facilitate cross border dialogue between national decision makers.
He adds that if we continue to base our economic policy decisions on incomplete statistics, our analyses could be flawed and lead us to the wrong solutions.