Trade Facilitation Agreement Members

Figure 4 summarizes the submission received on 20 February 2019 on the above points from WTO members from developed countries, developing countries and least-developed members of the WTO. Each member shall establish and/or maintain a national trade facilitation committee or designate an existing mechanism to facilitate both national coordination and the implementation of these provisions. The TFA, adopted at the 2013 WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, contains provisions to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also contains measures for effective cooperation between Customs and other competent authorities in trade facilitation and compliance. The TFA will enter into force as soon as two-thirds of WTO Members have adopted the Agreement (108 Members). The OECD estimates that around $3.9 billion in trade facilitation assistance has been disbursed since 2005 (OECD, 2018). [2] 12.2 Nothing in this Article shall be construed as modifying or affecting a Member`s rights or obligations under such bilateral, plurilateral or regional agreements or as governing the exchange of customs information and data under such other agreements. These figures do not correspond to the level of resource mobilization promised for trade facilitation at the international level. 2.3 Members are invited to provide other trade-related information via the Internet, including relevant trade legislation and other matters referred to in paragraph 1.1. The TFA entered into force on 22 February 2017 after two-thirds of WTO members completed their domestic ratification process. (iii) Members should also promote internal coordination among their trade and development officials, both in capitals and in Geneva, in the implementation of this Agreement and technical assistance.

It is estimated that full implementation of the TFA could reduce trade costs by an average of 14.3% and boost global trade by up to $1 trillion per year, with the greatest gains in the poorest countries. For the first time in the history of the WTO, the obligation to implement the agreement is directly linked to the country`s ability to do so. A Trade Facilitation Mechanism (FACE) has been established to ensure that developing and least developed countries receive the necessary support to take full advantage of the TFA. (c) the Member shall terminate the notice or direction or suspend immediately if the circumstances that led to it no longer exist or if the modified circumstances can be treated less restrictively; and (c) Ensure that ongoing private sector reform measures to facilitate trade are integrated into support measures; In addition to the six acceptances received by Norway, Vietnam, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Zambia and Ukraine in Nairobi, the following WTO Members also adopted the TFA: Australia, Belize, Botswana, China, Côte d`Ivoire, The European Union (on behalf of its 28 Member States), Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, Lao People`s Democratic Republic, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, St. Lucia, Singapore, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Togo, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. [1] Note that ten WTO Members for Development have not yet ratified the TFA. 22 February 2019 not only marks the second anniversary of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, but is also an important implementation date. But a first step – notification of implementation and support – remains an outstanding target for nearly half of WTO members. Following this reality check, developing and least-developed countries wishing to take full advantage of the Agreement could consider the following recommendations: WTO members reached consensus on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the Bali Ministerial Conference in December 2013. For LDCs, only 21 of the WTO`s 36 least-developed Members have submitted Category B designations (Figure 2). Eleven of the 21 LDCs have submitted their provisional data, although such reporting is not yet mandatory.

The TFA aims to speed up trade procedures, including the movement, release and clearance of goods. Its full implementation could boost global trade by $1 trillion a year and reduce trade costs by 14.3 per cent for low-income countries and more than 13 per cent for middle-income countries. Making international trade cheaper and faster helps level the playing field between large and small businesses. The OECD reiterates that measures such as streamlining procedures, automating the border process, simplifying fees or consulting traders compared to large companies have the greatest differentiated impact on SMEs (López González, J. and S. Sorescu, 2019). Countries must therefore move towards trade facilitation reforms for SMEs. (a) be maintained where the circumstances or objectives which led to their adoption no longer exist or where the modified circumstances or objectives can be addressed in a reasonably available and less restrictive manner; (c) the least trade-restrictive measure where two or more alternative measures are reasonably available to achieve the policy objective(s) concerned; and only 85 of the 125 developing and least-developed wto members notified all three categories (64 developing countries and 21 LDCs). Eleven members (three developing countries and eight LDCs) did not notify a designation.

Mindful of the need for effective cooperation among Members in trade facilitation and customs compliance, Until 22. In February 2019, 15 notifications[3] were submitted with information on their technical assistance programmes, while only eight[4] of these 15 developed WTO members notified their tacB enforcement mechanism. These figures show that developed countries need to redouble their efforts to comply with the notification in order to send a signal of support to developing countries and least-developed members of the WTO. Notify, notify, notify: Developing countries and LDCs wishing to benefit from the special and differential treatment provisions of the TFA must comply with the notification obligations for implementation set out in the agreement. These notifications shall form part of the agreement. Developing countries cannot expect to benefit from these flexibilities if they do not respect their part of the agreement. 3. The expert group is composed of five highly qualified independent individuals in the areas of trade facilitation and support and capacity building. The composition of the expert group ensures a balance between nationals of developing and industrialized countries.

Where a member of a least developed country is involved, the group of experts shall include at least one national of a member country of a least developed country. If the Committee is unable to agree on the composition of the Group of Experts within 20 days of its establishment, the Director-General, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, shall determine the composition of the Group of Experts in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. .