THE WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT Trade Impact

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1 THE WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT Trade Impact FIATA WORLD CONGRESS New Delhi, India September 2018 Alejandro Gamboa-Alder WTO, Market Access Division

2 In this presentation State of play and objective of the TFA Cutting the Red Tape Current implementation of the TFA Issues related to the SW, the NCTF and the e- certificates The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities Trade impact of full TFA implementation

3 TFA ENTRY INTO FORCE AND RATIFICATIONS

4 138 Instruments of acceptance received = 84.1% Albania Afghanistan Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cambodia Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Congo, Rep. of Cote d'ivoire Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Estonia Finland Fiji France Gabon The Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guyana Honduras Hong Kong, China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, Republic of Kuwait, the State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR Latvia Lesotho Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao, China Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Mali Malta Mauritius Mexico Moldova, Republic of Mongolia Montenegro Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands, The New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Lucia Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Samoa Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taipei, Chinese Thailand Togo Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Viet Nam Zambia 4

5 Objective of the TFA In WTO terms TF can be understood as: Simplification, harmonization, automation of the procedures applied to international trade, particularly the requirements and formalities related to importation and exportation with a view to further expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. TFA Objective: clarify and improve relevant aspects of Articles V, VIII and X of the GATT in order to: Expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods Improve cooperation between customs agents and other authorities Enhance technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries, especially LDCs

6 THE RED TAPE Lack of information sharing between public and private entities Non-standardized complex processes Delays in shipment and transhipment operations Lack of traceability of documents Lack of reliable statistics Poor infrastructure, including lack of refrigerated areas, berths and lanes Small and old facilities for processing cargo Increased volume of trade and trade operations

7 HOW DOES THE TFA CUT RED TAPE AT THE BORDER FOR EASIER TRADE? Article 1 Publication & Availability of Information Article 2 Comment and Consultations Article 5 Measures to Enhance Impartiality, Non-Discrimination & Transparency Article 6 Disciplines on Fees and Charges Article 9 Movement under Customs Control Article 10 Import, Export &Transit Formalities Article 3 Advance Rulings Article 7 Release and Clearance of Goods Article 11 Freedom of transit Article 4 Procedures for Appeal or Review Article 8 Border Agency Cooperation Article 12 Customs Cooperation

8 HOW DOES THE TFA CUT RED TAPE AT THE BORDER FOR EASIER TRADE? EXTENDED AND ENHANCED TRANSPARENCY: Publish Information; opportunities to comment information; advance rulings; inform the carrier/importer in case of detention; review/appeal procedures AUTOMATED PROCEDURES: Advance lodging of documents in e-forms; e-payments; e-request for advanced rulings; Single Window; information through internet; use of e-forms; e- requests and e-responses between customs RELEASE AND CLEARANCE OF GOODS: Pre-arrival processing; release of goods prior to final determination of duties, fees and charges; TF measures for AO; expedited release of goods entered through air cargo; prompt release of perishable goods; acceptance of paper/ electronic copies; risk management systems for customs control FEES, FORMALITIES AND PENALTIES: Fees limited to the cost of services rendered; penalties imposed only to responsible persons, commensurate with the breach and, written explanation. BORDER AGENCY COOPERATION: One stop shop

9 TFA: rate of implementation commitments The TFA implementation rate for the entire WTO membership stands at 60.7% to date, based on developing and LDC Members' notification as well as developed Members' commitments. Broken down, that figure equates to: 100% implementation rate by developed Members, 59.5% among developing Members and % among least-developed countries.

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11 Some issues relating to the SW and the NTCF

12 4.1 Members shall endeavour The Single Window (SW) Article 10.4 to establish or maintain a single window, enabling traders to submit documentation and/or data requirements for importation, exportation, or transit of goods through a single entry point to the participating authorities or agencies ( AND OTHERS???) After the examination by the participating authorities or agencies of the documentation and/or data, the results shall be notified to the applicants through the single window in a timely manner.

13 How to make the SW efficient? to establish a managing authority responsible for the SW: to coordinate its activities, including the permanent updates of information concerning import, export and transit procedures and formalities Allocate an autonomous budget for the SW To provide updated hardware and software to the agencies involved in the SW procedures To provide TA and CB to the border agencies involved in the SW procedures To notify the WTO Committee of changes made / updates introduced to the SW To coordinate the integration of existing SWs

14 It is not a MASTODON

15 Could be a group of pachyderms

16 BUT RATHER MUST HAVE THE PARTICULARITIES OF A

17 National Trade Facilitation Committees: current practices and challenges 19

18 Article 22.3: Each Member shall establish or maintain a national committee on trade facilitation or designate an existing mechanism to facilitate both domestic coordination and implementation of the provisions of this Agreement

19 Consider which governmental / national agencies should participate in the NCTF

20 Advantages of involving the private sector in the NCTF: Who and How?

21 Other issues regarding the functioning of the NCTF How many Chairpersons and who leads the NCTF? From which agency or sector? Does the NCTF have funding provisions? If so from which source? Governmental, Public-Private partnership, donors? Does the NCTF have a Technical Secretariat? If so what functions? Logistics, record keeping, facilitate cooperation and coordination, review and comment policies and strategies, collect and analyse data? Establish a Road Map and follow it!!

22 Main challenges when establishing a NCTF Getting the right membership/participation Adequate mandate and functions Lack of support and engagement Lack of resources (human & fund) Lack of awareness and understanding of its importance and of the TFA Formal approval and legal procedures Effective coordination OWNERSHIP!!!!

23 ON THE WAY TO E-CERTIFICATION Additional work to facilitate Safe Trade (by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF)) 25

24 What is an SPS E- Cert? The authenticated, non-repudiative and secure electronic transmission of SPS certification data (including the certifying statement) from one competent authority to another EXPORTING COUNTRY COMPETENT AUTHORITY IMPORTING COUNTRY COMPETENT AUTHORITY Certification process Inspection procedure, testing, Sending certificate E-cert Receiving certificate Import procedures Inspection, release, Extracted from: Presentation of J. Koh (STDF Seminar on e-cert),

25 Advantages of electronic certification Integrity Electronically secured certificates Cross-checking in real time Single national register of certificates Efficiency Online application and processing Faster processing through pre-validation Faster processing cuts clearance time Security & compliance Very difficult to forge Improved compliance with policies and procedures Online verification for third parties / importing nations Productivity Single view of all relevant information Searchable database with all certificates Simple maintenance of forms Extracted from: Presentation of J. Koh (STDF Seminar on e-cert),

26 Other e-initiatives CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD IMPORT AND EXPORT INSPECTION (CCFICS): Working Group to assess and review existing guidance on e-certification concerning food safety Organisation Internationale des Épizooties (OIE): reviewing gaps in standards and guidelines on e-certification concerning animal

27 To conclude

28 THE ROAD AHEAD: Challenges and Next Steps FOR MEMBERS Establish the National Committees on TF Developing and least-developed Countries: Accelerate ratification processes Implement and follow-up the provisions notified in Category A Determine type of TA required, and prepare and submit Category B and C notifications PRIVATE STAKEHOLDERS Create awareness of compliance obligations Establish/improve Risk Management Systems Encourage and coordinate NCTF participation Encourage and develop familiarity with the requirements to apply and benefit from TF measures for AO and expedited shipments Develop tools and infrastructure to adapt to any future adjustments

29 Political will What else? AWARENESS among border agencies and OTHERS (ports, airports, logistics and cargo enterprises, brokers, financial institutions, etc.) CO-OPERATION and COORDINATION between border agencies and other regulatory authorities (Art. 8) AND discussions within the NCTF TF is not a turf-war No clinical isolation! Mapping/identification of the procedures, requirements, formalities, forms, documentation, charges, fees, controls and inspections, risk management issues, deadlines, information, deadlines, etc. related to imports, exports or transit of goods Use of international standards: HS nomenclature, country codes, incoterms, standard forms; WCO data models Change of mentality and cultural habits both in the public and private sectors Assessment of the TA and CB required, including human and financial resources Use of ICT tools Flow of Information between all agencies and stakeholders and private/public partnership Permanent update and simplification of forms, formalities, requirements, access, SW, etc.

30 UPON FULL TFA IMPLEMENTATION: Members trade costs will be reduced by 14.3% Time to import goods will be reduced by over 1.5 days Time to export goods will be reduced by almost 2 days All in all: a reduction of 47% and 91%, respectively, of current average time

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35 Thank you! 37