Trade facilitation

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News 

 

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I. Background

> Background – early years, from Singapore to Doha

> Negotiating an agreement on trade facilitation

> Tenth Ministerial Conference: Briefing notes

 

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II. Current status of work 

Following the dissolution of the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation after the conclusion of the negotiations in December 2013, work on trade facilitation primarily takes place in the Preparatory Committee on Trade Facilitation. The Committee, which is open to all WTO members, is mandated under the Bali Ministerial Decision to “perform such functions as may be necessary to ensure the expeditious entry into force of the Agreement and to prepare for the efficient operation of the Agreement upon its entry into force.” The decision tasks the Committee to:

(i) conduct a legal review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement

 (ii) receive notifications from members on the commitments they can undertake immediately (Category A commitments )

(iii) draw up a Protocol of Amendment to insert the Agreement into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement.

The General Council was mandated to meet no later than 31 July 2014 to:

• adopt the Protocol drawn up by the Committee,
• open the Protocol for acceptance until 31 July 2015
• annex to the Agreement notifications of Category A commitments.

Ministers decided that the Protocol would enter into force after two-thirds of the WTO’s membership have completed their domestic ratification process.

The legal review was completed by members in July 2014. Delegations have begun to submit their Category A notifications (see here). Work on the Protocol started but the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo reported to the membership on 31 July that members were unable to reach consensus on the adoption of the Protocol. After intensive consultations, members reached an agreement on the Protocol text which was adopted on 27 November 2014. The agreement does not fix a deadline date for acceptance of the Protocol.

 

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III. Trade Facilitation Agreement 

The Trade Facilitation Agreement has three sections:

• Section I contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It clarifies and improves the relevant articles (V, VIII and X) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. It also sets out provisions for customs cooperation.

• Section II contains special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions that allow developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) to determine when they will implement individual provisions of the Agreement and to identify provisions that they will only be able to implement upon the receipt of technical assistance and support for capacity building.

• To benefit from SDT, a member must categorize each provision of the Agreement, as defined below, and notify other WTO members of these categorizations in accordance with specific timelines outlined in the Agreement (see below).

• Category A: provisions that the member will implement by the time the Agreement enters into force (or in the case of a least-developed country member within one year after entry into force)  

• Category B: provisions that the member will implement after a transitional period following the  entry into force of the Agreement 

• Category C: provisions that the member will implement on a date after a transitional period following  the entry into force of the Agreement and requiring the acquisition of assistance and support for capacity building.

For provisions designated as categories B and C, the member must provide dates for implementation of the provisions, as outlined in the following factsheets:

> Special and Differential Treatment for LDCs
> Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries

• Section III contains provisions that establish a permanent committee on trade facilitation at the WTO, require members to have a national committee to facilitate domestic coordination and implementation of the provisions of the Agreement. It also sets out a few final provisions.

 

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IV. Protocol of Amendment 

WTO members adopted on 27 November 2014 a Protocol of Amendment to insert the new Agreement into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement. The Trade Facilitation Agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of members have completed their domestic ratification process.

• How to accept the Protocol of Amendment to insert the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement
  Background information for Members on procedures.

• Which Members have accepted the Protocol

 

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V. Notifications 

 

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VI. Technical assistance and capacity building 

Technical assistance for trade facilitation is provided by the WTO, WTO members and other intergovernmental organizations, including the World Bank, the World Customs Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In July 2014, the WTO announced the launch of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility, which will assist developing and least-developed countries in implementing the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. The Facility became operational with the adoption of the Trade Facilitation Protocol.

• technical assistance and capacity building provided by the WTO Secretariat
• information provided by WTO members on technical assistance and capacity building
• trade facilitation resources provided by international organizations
• case studies and reports on trade facilitation implementation

 

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VII. Events 

• Experience sharing on establishing or maintaining a national committee on Trade Facilitation (8 June 2016)

• WCO Workshop for WTO Delegates on Supporting Implementation of the WTO TFA (16 June 2014)

• WTO Workshop on Supporting Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement in the Post-Bali Context (10 June 2014)

• Trade Facilitation Conference for African Countries, Nairobi, Kenya
  Symposium (13-15 November 2012)
  > Agenda with presentations

WTO Symposia on practical experience of implementing trade facilitation reforms, including their costs and benefits:

• Symposium (10-11 July 2012)
  > Agenda with presentations
• Symposium (8-9 November 2011)
  > Agenda with presentations

 

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VIII. Resources 

WTO resources

Factsheets

• Special and Differential Treatment for LDCs
• Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries
• The Relationship between the Trade Facilitation and the SPS Agreement

Working Papers

• Trade Facilitation Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements — Traits and Trends
  by Nora Neufeld
• The long and winding road: how WTO members finally reached a trade facilitation agreement
  by Nora Neufeld

Briefing Note

• Trade facilitation — Cutting “red tape” at the border

 

Other resources