Global Value Chains are a dominant feature of today’s global economy, yet their empirical analysis is still incipient. Building on a recent OECD-WTO database and the results of an on-going research program at WTO, the present essay contributes at filling this gap, after introducing the main concpts used for measuring trade in value-added. The effective protection on industries resulting from tariff duties is analysed from the particular perspective of the international fragmentation of international supply chains. The calculation of effective protection rates provides important insights on the impact of nominal protection on international competitiveness in a trade in tasks perspective. Using Exploratory Data Analysis, the paper identifies also typologies of value-added traders according to economic characteristics and trade policy options.