SOUTHERN AFRICA TRADE FACILITATION CONFERENCE (SATFC) 21 st Century Trade Facilitation Tools: Increasing International Competitiveness

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1 CONCEPT NOTE The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Southern Africa Trade Hub and World Customs Organization (WCO) host: SOUTHERN AFRICA TRADE FACILITATION CONFERENCE (SATFC) 21 st Century Trade Facilitation Tools: Increasing International Competitiveness September 10-11, 2012 Balalaika Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa

2 About SATH and the WCO The overall goal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH) is to increase international competitiveness, intraregional trade and food security in the Southern Africa region. SATH provides technical assistance and support across a broad range of areas designed to enhance regional integration through improved trade facilitation and increase the capacity of regional value chains with a focus on food security. SATH is at the forefront of pioneering regional corridor work focusing on the introduction of modern trade facilitation tools to countries in Southern Africa to reduce trade costs and streamline logistics. In addition to incorporating lessons learned from previous Trade Hub programs, SATH s work draws on international agreements and guidance documents on supply chain security including the World Customs Organization (WCO) Framework of Standards which has established best practice guidelines, emphasizing both trade facilitation and supply chain security through Customs-to-Customs and Customs-tobusiness partnerships. The World Customs Organization (WCO) is the only intergovernmental organization exclusively focused on Customs matters. It has a worldwide membership of 177 Member states representing 98% of global trade, with this worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global Customs community. It is particularly noted for its work in areas covering the development of global standards, the simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures, trade supply chain security, the facilitation of international trade, the enhancement of Customs enforcement and compliance activities, anti-counterfeiting and piracy initiatives, public-private partnerships, integrity promotion, and sustainable global Customs capacity building programs. The WCO also maintains the international Harmonized System goods nomenclature, and administers the technical aspects of the WTO Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin. I. Conference Background It is now widely accepted that trade, both intra- and extra-regional, is a central factor in regional and national economic growth with associated gains in jobs creation and poverty reduction. The high cost of exporting and importing goods to, from and within Southern Africa discourages international and intra-regional trade, makes commerce and industry less competitive and contributes to food insecurity in the region. Efficient trade facilitation and cost-effective transport services, logistics and customs reforms are critical for expanding and lowering the costs of trade. A country s competitiveness, and the effectiveness of its trade facilitation regime, is measured, in part, by its ranking in the World Bank Doing Business and Trading Across Borders indices. In the ranking of 183 countries, Southern Africa performs poorly with the all countries, except Mozambique, falling into the lowest quartile on the Trading Across Borders Index. 2

3 Southern Africa: Doing Business and Trading Across Borders Ranking (2012) 1 Country Doing Business Trading Across Borders South Africa Botswana Namibia Zambia Swaziland Mozambique Lesotho Malawi The poor performance on the indices and its negative impact on economic growth, jobs and poverty reduction have attracted the attention of the highest offices in many Southern Africa countries. The challenge faced by Southern Africa s economies is to address trade constraints by selecting and implementing trade facilitation tools which will reduce the cost of trading across borders. This conference: 21 st Century Trade Facilitation Tools: Increasing International Competitiveness is aimed at addressing these challenges. II. Conference Objectives The purpose of this conference is to share proven trade facilitation tools and programs that are being used with positive results by countries around the globe to increase their competitiveness and their ranking on the Doing Business/Trading Across Border Indices, with the view of encouraging more countries in Southern Africa to understand and benefit from these tools. Specific objectives of the conference include introducing and expanding the understanding of the following tools: National Single Window (NSW): Participants will gain a better understanding of the NSW concept, international trends, issues, best practices and how it can be employed to address constraints to trade facilitation and competitiveness. Customs Connectivity: Participants will see a demonstration of how Cloud-based Customs Connectivity can be used to improve efficiency, increase transparency and connect NSWs into a Regional Single Window. Coordinated Border Management (CBM): Participants will learn about CBM programs in the region and how they are being used to reduce the cost and time of goods crossing the border Rankings on World Bank s Doing Business Indicators ( Ranking is out of 183 countries. 3

4 One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs): Participants will learn how OSBPs are being employed in the region and how they are reducing trade costs on the ground. Customs Modernization Tools: Participants will hear from experts in the field on the use of customs modernization program including Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs). Speakers will outline how these tools can be used to lower trade costs and time. III. Expected Outcomes The workshop is expected to provide insight and knowledge into the current developments regarding the implementation of trade facilitation tools and customs reform and modernization initiatives. Participants will not only have a better understanding of the trade facilitation tools outlined above but also know how to access expertise to apply these programs on the ground. The long term expected outcome of the conference is an increase in the application of these tools in the Southern Africa region. IV. Program The conference will be hosted by SATH in collaboration with the World Customs Organization. International and regional trade facilitation expert will make presentations on 21 st Century Trade Facilitation Tools proven for increasing countries and region s competitiveness. There will be official opening remarks by the institutions hosting the conference. Presentations will be made on the following trade facilitation tools: National Single Windows Cloud-based Customs Connectivity Coordinated Border Management One Stop Border Posts Customs Modernization Initiatives V. Dates and Venue The conference will be held from September 10-11, 2012 at Balalaika Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. VI. Who should attend Approximately, 100 delegates are expected at the conference from regional institutions, international institutions, companies experienced in using these tools, public and private sector stakeholders from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. 1. International Organizations WCO, African Development Bank (AfDB) 4

5 2. Regional Organizations a. Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariats b. Corridor Management Institutions (Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI), Dar es Salaam Corridor Committee (DCC), Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) c. Federation for Eastern and Southern Africa Road Transport Associations (FESARTA), Federation of Clearing and Forwarding Agents of Southern Africa (FCFASA) 3. National Institutions a. Ministry of Trade b. Ministry of Finance c. Customs/ Revenue Authorities d. Ministry of Home Affairs/Immigration e. Ministry of Transport f. National Clearing and Forwarding Associations g. Trading Across Borders Committee Members h. Business Associations e.g. Botswana Federation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM), Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), Namibia Logistics Association i. National Privatization Agencies 5