WTO Conducts Review of Trade Facilitation for
forthcoming Ministerial
23
Members want Accelerated Incremental on TFA in view of Covid-19 Situation
·
First
Review of the Operation and Implementation of the TFA
·
Update
on commitments to implement the TFA
·
Recent
and upcoming implementation deadlines
·
Notifications
and experience sharing
·
Renewed
call for accelerated implementation of the TFA
·
Consularization
WTO
members considered a factual report on the operation and implementation of the Trade
Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and set out the next steps for the first review of
the TFA at a meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation on 22-23 June. Members
also considered a number of new proposals related to the review and received updates
on the status of TFA implementation. The WTO Secretariat reported on upcoming implementation
deadline dates for developing and least developed country (LDC) members.
Concluded
at the WTO's 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, the TFA seeks to expedite the movement,
release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures
for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade
facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical
assistance and capacity building in this area.
Participants
reviewed a factual report prepared
by the WTO Secretariat on the First Review of the Operation and Implementation of
the TFA. The TFA requires the Committee on
Trade Facilitation to review the operation and implementation of the Agreement four
years from its entry into force, and periodically thereafter. The TFA entered into force on 22 February 2017
following its ratification by two-thirds of the WTO membership.
In relation
to the review, the chair of the committee, Christopher O’Toole (Canada), reported
that new proposals were submitted by Brazil and the United States (G/TFA/W/42), the European Union (G/TFA/W/45) and
Japan (G/TFA/W/46). He said an initial draft of
the First Review report would be circulated towards the end of July.
The Secretariat
reported on how much information has been received from members regarding their
commitments to implement the TFA, their technical assistance needs and available
support to fully implement their TFA commitments. Ninety-five members have notified
their Category C designations, which identify the TFA provisions for which a member
needs additional time and assistance. Eighty-eight of those members have notified
the technical assistance they need, with 15 of them having notified arrangements
with donors and progress with technical assistance.
The Secretariat
also reported on recent and upcoming deadline dates for developing and least developed
country (LDC) members to implement their TFA commitments, based on the timelines
they chose and notified to the committee.
The Secretariat noted that 75 members have implementation deadlines for 399
trade facilitation measures over the period May 2021 to December 2022, while 41
members have implementation deadlines for 149 measures from now until the end of
2021.
The chair
said this situation of pending implementation deadlines highlights the urgency of
securing the necessary technical assistance and capacity building to allow for implementation
of these provisions in accordance with members' commitments. He urged members to submit their notifications
of donor arrangements and technical assistance progress, which is an important tool
in the efforts to fill the gaps in the securing of necessary technical assistance.
The committee
reviewed 32 notifications received from members since the last committee meeting
in March 2021 regarding their implementation and administration of the TFA.
China,
Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Vanuatu, together with United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development, made presentations on their TFA implementation
efforts and initiatives, while the International Trade Centre outlined
support it is providing to WTO members for implementation.
Twenty-three
WTO members issued a joint call for parties to the TFA to accelerate implementation
of the Agreement in order to support the timely and efficient release of global
goods, particularly in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The call, first issued in October 2020 by four
members, notes that the COVID-19 pandemic requires a global response and that cross-border
trade is a critical channel for getting essential products to those who need them. The co-sponsors said the TFA provides predictability,
simplicity and uniformity in customs and other border procedures and that the Agreement
is playing a crucial role to help traders respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The committee
had a second exchange on the proposal “Revisiting the need for global action to
eliminate consularization requirements”. Consularization refers to procedures that require paperwork
from diplomatic consuls for customs documentation in connection with merchandise
importation.