Modern international trade is characterized by cross-country production networks. However, conventional trade statistics fail to incorporate this cross-country distribution of value-added; even worse they greatly inflate export volumes of the final exporting country. It is critical to accurately track trade flows, among other things, to evaluate the contribution of trade for economic growth, to design effective trade policies, and to provide reliable data for trade dispute settlements. Taking this into account, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has initiated the "Made in the World" concept for labelling traded manufacturing products, while Institute for Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO), WTO, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been working on a new methodology based on value-added approach.

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