RESTRICTED  
  
G/TFA/M/10  
 
15 June 2020  
(20-4265)  Page: 1/39 
Committee on Trade Facilitation   
 
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETI NG OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATIO N 
 
11 FEBRUARY 2020  
CHAIR: HE MR MOHAMMA D QURBAN HAQJO (AFGH ANISTAN)  
Contents  
1   MATTERS RELATING  TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND A DMINISTRATION OF THE  
TRADE FACILITATION A GREEMENT  ................................ ................................ .................  1 
NOTIFICATIONS BY MEM BERS  ................................ ................................ ........................  2 
Notifications under Articles 15 and 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................  2 
Notifications under Articles 1:4, 10:4:3, 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the Trade Facilitation  
Agreement  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
STATUS OF RATIFICATI ON AND NOTIFICATION  PROCESS  ................................ ............  10 
Update by the WTO Secretariat  ................................ ................................ ..........................  10 
2   EXPERIENCE SHARI NG/THEMATIC  DISCUSSIONS  ................................ ....................  12 
Presentation by Morocco  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 12 
Presentati on by Sri Lanka  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 14 
Presentation by the United States  ................................ ................................ ......................  16 
Presentation by India  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 17 
Presentation  by Chile  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  18 
Presentation by Ecuador  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 19 
Presentation by the United States  ................................ ................................ ......................  20 
3   KAZAKHSTAN – BORDER RESTRICTIONS OF GOODS IN TRANSIT – REQUEST  
FROM THE KYRGYZ REPU BLIC (G/TFA/W/20)  ................................ ..............................  23 
4   RECENT AND UPCOM ING ACTIVITIES  ................................ ................................ ....... 29 
Update by the WTO Secretariat on activities of the TFAF  ................................ .......................  29 
Update on activities of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation  ................................ .............  30 
Presentation by the World Customs Organization  ................................ ................................ . 35 
5   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 37 
 
1  MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION A ND ADMINISTRATION OF  THE TRADE 
FACILITATION AGREEME NT 
1.1.  The Chair welcomed delegations to the meeting of the Trade Facilitation Committee (TF 
Committee, Committee, or TFC). He recalled that the p roposed agenda had been circulated in 
WTO/AIR/TFA/ 10/Rev.1 . 
1.2.  Under Other Business, t he delegates of Mongolia  and China  requested to make statements , 
and the Chair indicated that he would raise three items:  the election of the Chair; confirmation of G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  the dates of the Committee 's subsequent meetings in 2020, and the participation of Annex D 
organizations and the Global Allia nce in the next Committee meeting.  
1.3.  The agenda was  adopted  with the addition s requested by both delegations.  
NOTIFICATIONS  BY MEMBERS  
1.4.  The Chair informed the Committee that a total of 49 new notifications had been received since 
the Committee's last meeting on 15 and 16  October 2019. All notifications had been issued as 
documents in the G/TFA/N series.  Following the circulation of the WTO/AIR/TFA/10/Rev.1 , a further 
two notifications had been circulated  from Guatemala and the Gambia. Both notifications would  be 
included on the agenda of the next Committee meeting.  
Notifications under Articles 15 and 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
1.5.  The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the first group of notifications, namely those under 
Article s 15 and 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  (TFA) . Since the last meeting of the 
Committee, 17 notifications had been received from 13 Members. The notifications were introduced 
in alphabetical order of Members, as listed on the agenda.  
1.6.  The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Albania  
(G/TFA/N/ALB/1/Add.1 ). 
1.7.  The delegate  of the United States thanked Albania for its notification.  
1.8.  The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification s from Bangladesh 
(G/TFA/N/BGD/ 1/Add. 2 and G/TFA/N/BGD/ 2/Rev.1). 
1.9.  The delegate of Bangladesh  said that they had notified 14 provisions in category C on 20 August 
2019. Among those provisions,  Bangladesh had received commitments for technical assistance  from 
donors for eight of them. Different ministries and departments of the government had been 
implementing those activities.  Bangladesh requested  that donors provide technical assistance for 
the remaining five provisions.  
1.10.   The delegate of the United States  thanked  Bangladesh for its notification.  She encouraged 
Bangladesh to notify its definitive dates for implementing category B provisions  ahead of the  TFA 
deadline of 22 February 2020 for definitive date notifications for all category B commitments  by least 
developed country (LDC) Members as set out in Section II, Article 16.2(b) . In order to avail of the 
flexibilities provided for in the Agreement, it was imperative for Members to submit the ir notifications 
within the timelines provided.  
1.11.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Brunei Darussalam  
(G/TFA/N/BRN/1/Add.2 ). 
1.12.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Brunei Darussalam  for its notification, while at the 
same time noting the extremely late submission of th e notification. She said that the US gr eatly 
appreciate d the willingness of the Brunei delegation to meet wit h the US delegation  and to help to 
move th e notification through their domestic process. The US also wanted to take th e opportunity 
to draw Members attention to the US submission G/TFA/W/15 in relation to the importance of the 
deadlines provided for in Sec tion II of the TFA.  She said that Brunei Darussalam had included Articles 
1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2.2 as category A , and the US encourage d them to make the relevant 
information available to the Secretariat promptly.  
1.13.   The US wanted to take the opportunity  to highlight a recent workshop that the it had 
implemented for ASEAN countries in Singapore. A US agency team from the State Department,  as 
well as  USAID, Customs and Border Protection and the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce, 
participated in the t hird iteration of the US -Singapore Third Country Training Programme on 
implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation A greement. Th e training took place  from 21 October 
to 23 October  2019. Customs and trade officials from nine countries across the ASEAN region heard 
from US experts across a wide range of TFA issues including the role of the National Trade Facilitation 
Committees ( NTFCs ) and the availability of Aid for Trade. Participants had also shared their G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  respective countries progress regarding TFA implementation. The US hoped that Brunei and the 
other Members that  had participated  had found th e technical assistance useful and they encourage d 
those Members  to share any insights gained f rom the experience with the Committee at the 
appropriate time.  
1.14.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Burkina Faso  
(G/TFA/N/BFA/1/Add.1 ). 
1.15.   The delegate of the United States  thanked  Burkina Faso for the notification. She noted that 
Burkina Faso  had included Article 10.6.2 as category A, and the US  looked forward to Burkina Faso's 
notification in the near future , as the obligation was long overdue.  
1.16.   She noted  that Burkina Faso had not  yet notified its definitive dates for implementing category 
B provisions. She remind ed Members of the 22 February 2020 deadline, as set out in Section II 
Article 16.2(b). I n order  for them  to avail of the flexibility provided for in the Agreement, it was 
imperative for Members to submit th ose notifications within the stated timelines . 
1.17.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Central African Republic, 
G/TFA/N/CAF/1/Add.2.  
1.18.   The delegate of the United States  thanked the Central African Republic for its notification and 
for meeting the notification deadline for definitive dates for category B commitments. She noted that  
the Central African Republic  had included Articles 10.43 and 10.6.2 as category A. The US looked 
forward to receiving the Central African Republic's notifications in the near future, as their 
notifications ha d been overdue for some time.  
1.19.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the no tification s from China 
G/TFA/N/CHN/1/Add.5 and G/TFA/N/CHN/1/Add.4.  
1.20.   The delegate of the United States  thanked C hina for the notification s and for taking what the 
US believe d to be a step towards establishing a best practice in that regard. The US had long held 
concerns about how Members would keep track of the implementation of commitments as the 
transition periods under Section II expired. They had been doing their best to raise the overdue 
category A transparency obligations in th e Committee, but they had  not yet identified an effective 
way to proactively track implementation of provisions under obligations. China's efforts to self -notify 
implementation was notable  in that respect. It simplifie d the work of the Committee and provide d 
an opportunity for the Committee to jointly acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments. The 
US encourage d all Members to consider following this practice. It was  important for the Committee 
to collectively acknowledge each other's progress in implementation and China 's self-notification 
represent ed a positive way to achieve that. 
1.21.   The delegate of China  thanked the United States for its statement. He outlined China 's 
notifications fro m 2019. They comprised a notification of the advance implementation of the 
provisions on the "single window", "customs cooperation" and "Establishment and publication of the 
average release times" , which had been identified as c ategory B measures  by China . China 's 
implementation rate of the trade facilitation measures ha d thereby reached 100  per cent . 
1.22.   China ha d taken concrete action to promote trade liberalization and trade facilitation, to fulfil 
its WTO commitments and obligations, and to safeguard the m ultilateral trading system.  Since the 
conclusion and entry into force of the TFA, China ha d attached great importance to the 
implementation of the trade facilitation measures stipulated in the Agreement and had earnestly 
fulfilled its commitments under the  TFA.  
1.23.   First, China had strengthen ed top-level design and institutional building to ensure that the 
implementation of the Agreement and customs reform were planned and advanced simultaneously, 
and that customs institutions and practices were in line with t he requirements of the TFA. 
1.24.   Second, China had sped up the implementation of category B measures, constantly expand ing 
the functions and application scenarios of the "single window", vigorously reduc ing the overall 
customs clearance time, and improv ing the implementation mechanism of "customs cooperation" 
measures.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.25.   Third, China  improve d the level of implementation of category A measures, continue d to 
improve the overall efficiency of customs clearance, vigorously promote d the comprehensive and in -
depth integ ration of customs inspection, simplif ied customs clearance procedures and 
documentation requirements, and strengthen ed the mutual recognition of certified business 
operators' plans.  
1.26.   Fourth, China had  shared its experience s three times at meetings of  the WTO TF Committee . 
It had actively participated in the World Customs Organization (WCO) "Mercator" plan, and it had 
released smart customs initiatives to improve trade facilitation.  
1.27.   In 2019, the overall customs clearance time of China's imports and exp orts decreased by 62.3 
per cent  and 78.6  per cent , respectively, compared with 2017. According to the latest global business 
report released by the World Bank Group, China ranked 56th globally in cross -border trade 
facilitation, up 40 places from 2016.  
1.28.   Going forward, China would  continue to implement the principles of the  TFA, including 
fairness, transparency and simplified coordination . It would  continue to promote innovation in the 
customs  system and capacity building for governance, and continuously impr ove the quality and 
level of the implementation of the Agreement. At the same time, China st ood ready to work with 
other Members to continue to share experience and practices in the implementation of the 
Agreement through the Committee and other platforms,  to participate in the exchange and 
cooperation on capacity building in the implementation of the TFA, and to jointly promote faster and 
better worldwide implementation of the T FA. 
1.29.   The Chair  directed Members' attention to the notification from the Democrat ic Republic of the 
Congo (G/TFA/N/COD/1).  
1.30.   The delegate of the United States  thanked the Democratic Republic of the Congo for its 
notification and for meeting the notification deadline for definitive dates for category B commitments. 
The US had noted that the Democratic Republic of the Congo had included Articles 10.6.2 and 12.2.2 
as category A. The US looked forward to receiving the ir notifications in the near future. The US also 
asked the Democratic Republic of the Congo to update the Committee on its plan to ratify the TFA.  
1.31.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Kenya (G/TFA/N/KEN/1).  
1.32.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Kenya for its notification. She went on to say that 
Kenya had included Articles 1.4 and 10.6.2 as c ategory A. The US encouraged Kenya to make the 
relevant information available to the Secretariat promptly as those submissions were overdue. The 
US had long worked bilaterally with Kenya and the East African Community ( EAC) countries on TFA 
implementation efforts. The US was also pleased that Kenya was partnering with the Global Alliance 
for Trade Facilitation to support the implementation of Articles 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4, which were all 
critical reforms that would move goods across borders more efficientl y. 
1.33.   The US and Kenya had announced their intent to negotiate a comprehensive and high  
standard trade agreement  the previous week . The US was looking forward to working with Kenya to 
advance trade facilitation objectives through that initiative.  
1.34.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notification s from the Maldives  
(G/TFA/N/MDV/3  and G/TFA/N/MDV/4 ). 
1.35.   The delegate of the United States  thanked The Maldives  for its notification s. 
1.36.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Mali 
(G/TFA/N/MLI/1/Add.1 ). 
1.37.   The delegate of  the United States  thanked Mali for its notification and for meeting the deadline 
for definitive dates for category B commitments. The US noted that Mali had included Article 12.2.2 
as category C and it looked forward to receiving Mali's overdue notification in the near futu re. 
1.38.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Morocco  
(G/TFA/N/MAR/1/Add.1 ). G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.39.   The delegate of Morocco  said that t rade facilitation was one of the main pillars of trade policy 
in Morocco. The Kingdom of Morocco placed particular impor tance on the simplification of procedures 
in trade facilitation to reduce costs. The institution and the coordination body for foreign trade had 
met on 5 March 2019 and several projects ha d been put in place to implement projects on trade 
facilitation. Against that  backdrop Morocco had  identified its commitments and definitive dates for 
the implementation of some of the category B and C measures.  
1.40.   Morocco had identified five definitive dates for implementation of five category C measures . 
In category B , they had identified the implementation of measures on pre-shipment inspection . They 
had signed partnership agreements with the Global Alliance for trade Facilitation for the 
implementation of some measures which they would later present to the Committee . 
1.41.   The delegate of the  United States  thank ed Morocco for its notification. She wanted to flag a 
technical issue. The US had suggested  in the October 2019 meeting  of the TFC that Morocco consider 
updating its Article 1.4 notification to include URLs of the sp ecific webpages referred to in paragraph 
2.1, and to provide the description or practical steps needed for importation, exportation and transit. 
The US would be pleased to meet with Morocco to learn if it ha d any plans to update its Article 1.4 
notificatio n to reflect that information. The US was also pleased to note that Morocco was partnering 
with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to implement Articles 7.9 and 10.1.  
1.42.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Uganda  (G/TFA/N /UGA/1 ). 
1.43.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Uganda for its notification and for meeting the 
deadline for definitive dates for category B commitments. Uganda had included Article s 1.4 and 
10.6.2 as category A provisions. The US looked forward to rece iving Uganda's overdue notifications 
in the near future.  
1.44.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Zambia  (G/TFA/N/ZMB/1  
and G/TFA/N/ZMB/1/Corr.1 ). 
1.45.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Zambia for its notification and for meeting the 
deadline for definitive dates for category B commitments. The US was also pleased that Zambia was 
partnering with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to implement Article 10.6.3.  
1.46.   The delegate o f the European Union  said that his comments covered all of the notifications 
under item A. The EU was very pleased to note that several LDCs had managed to categorise their 
commitments. The EU commended Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ug anda for 
that successful move. The EU also welcomed the fact that several LDCs had updated their 
notifications with further information regarding either their assistance needs or their dates for 
implementation of certain provisions of the Agreement.  The EU  noted that seven LDCs still ha d to 
categorise the provisions , including three that had not yet ratified the Agreement.  
1.47.   Regarding the other notifications made under Article s 15 and 16 since the Committee 's last 
meeting of 15 -16 October  2019, the EU note d that Brunei Darussalam had notified recently its 
definitive dates for implementation of its category B commitments. The EU was aware that the 
provisions covered were  best endeavour but would welcome if Brunei Darussalam could outline  its 
intentions and expe ctations regarding its notification that was submitted  two years after the 
deadline.  
1.48.   The EU was pleased to see progress being made on notifications. It was t he EU 's hope that 
information regarding the requirements  for the implementation of Article 16 .5 of the Agreement 
would  be compiled  by the next meeting of the TFC . 
1.49.   The delegate of Japan  said that  Japan appreciate d the progress made by some Members that 
had newly notified their definitive date of implementation.  It also noted that even though the 
deadline for notifications had already passed, there were some Members that had still not notified 
their definitive d ates. Japan ask ed that Members submit their notification at the earliest possible 
date. I t would be helpful i f any of the Members that were having difficulty to submit their notification, 
could elaborate on the ir difficulties.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.50.   Japan wished  to recall that the designation of Category B and C was a flexib ility available only 
to developing countr y and LDC  Member s. The aim of the categorization was to enable th ose Members  
to have enough time to implement the provision s of Section I of the TFA and to get a chance to 
receive necessary assistance. Members that used them need to be aware of the objectives of the 
flexibilities. Japan would  continue to follow up on the submission of notifications to ensure that all 
Members had submitted the notification s required under  section II of the TFA. 
1.51.   The Committee took note  of the notifications and of the statements made.  
Notifications under Articles  1:4, 10:4:3, 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement  
1.52.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the next group of notifications. They were often 
referred to as "transparency notifications" and consisted of notifications mandated by Articles  1:4, 
10:4:3, 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA. He recalled that all notification s had transparency objectives, 
either in a broader context —such as by calling for information on publication sources —or in relation 
to particular areas, such as the operation of a Member's single window, the use of customs brokers 
and customs cooperation. Since the last meeting  of the Committee , a total of 21 notifications had 
been received from 20 Members.  
1.53.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to the notification from Albania G/TFA/N/ALB/2 . 
1.54.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Albania for its notif ication.  
1.55.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to the notification from Argentina 
G/TFA/N/ARG/2/Rev.1 . 
1.56.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Argentina for its revised notifications. The US 
acknowledge d the positive steps taken by Argentina to update its transparency notifications and 
considered  that it was another model for Members to follow to ensure that TFA notifications contain ed 
the most relevant and up to date information for traders.  Specifically , the US noted  that Argentina 
had provided updated information in its revised notification including additional webpages under 
Article 1.4 and 10.4.3 and an additional contact point under Article 12.2.2. Nevertheless, the US 
was receiving feedback indicat ing that further progress could be made in facilitating easier use of 
the vital source of information. Argentina ha d listed the homepages for the websites of major 
government agencies , but the homepages did not provide specific webpages to access informatio n 
for items in subparagraphs Article 1.1 (a) to (j) . For example, a trader looking for Argentina's fees 
and charges would have to search through several webpages to find that information. The US asked 
Argentina to provide the direct location for the indivi dual items in subparagraphs (a) to (j) of Article 
1, for example, the direct location for the procedures to appeal or review a customs decision, penalty 
provisions , and fees and charges.  
1.57.   In addition, the US asked that Argentina provide the description of p ractical steps needed for 
importation, exportation and transit. Small and medium sized businesses point ed to those practical 
steps as one of the most useful and important aspects of TFA transparency. Ease and accessibility 
and the publication of th e inform ation and locations of necessary forms to complete would  assist 
small business and all Members in fully implementing the Agreement.  
1.58.   The delegate of Argentina  thank ed the US for its comments . 
1.59.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to the notification from  Botswana G/TFA/N/BWA/2 . 
1.60.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Botswana for its notification.  
1.61.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to the notification from Chile 
G/TFA/N/CHL/2/Rev.1 . 
1.62.   The delegate of Chile said that its notification referred to an update of the links and point of 
contact in its customs authorities and reflected an institutional change in Chile.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.63.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Chile  and other Members for providing updates to 
these important notifications, as well as how they were working, to ensure that they remained 
accurate and useful for traders.  
1.64.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to the notification from Colombia ( G/TFA/N/COL/2 ). 
1.65.   The delegate of the  United States  thank ed Colombia for its notification and welcomed that 
Colombia ha d completed its domestic procedures to ratify the TFA. Colombia's notifications were 
robust  and provide d traders with a clear understanding of how to find rules and requirements as 
well as  the documents need ed to trade in the Colombian market. The US also appreciated the 
progress achieved through  Colombia's partnership with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and 
the work to implement Articles 1.3, 2.2, 3, 5.1, 7.4 and 7.9.  
1.66.   The deleg ate of  Colombia  thank ed the delegation of the U S its comments.  Colombia ha d 
indeed completed the internal legal procedures for ratification of the TFA and would shortly depose 
the Protocol of Amendment . He referred to  Colombia 's success in implement ing the TFA  through a 
Public -Private Partnership  with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and the International 
Chamber of Commerce.  The Global Alliance had joined with the National Institute of Food and Drug 
Surveillance of Colombia  (INVIM A), the US  health agency, and with several private companies to 
introduce a risk management system.  
1.67.   The cooperation had allowed the health agency to reduce its average rate of physical 
inspections of food and beverage imports to concentrate its resources o n high -risk shipments and 
work more efficiently without compromising safety. It ha d also significantly reduced document 
inspection times, from an average of two days to an average of three hours. These advances ha d 
resulted in key cost reductions for the p rivate sector.  
1.68.   In addition, there had been a broader impact. Both I NVIMA  and the private companies ha d 
found that the open public -private dialogue underpinning the project ha d helped to build trust and 
understanding between the two sectors . This could facilitate further future reforms. The project 
demonstrate d how governments, aid organizations and companies c ould work together to do more, 
faster and with greater value for the public.  
1.69.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to the notifications from Ecuador (G/TFA/N/ECU/4 ) 
and (G/TFA/N/ECU/2/Add.1 ). 
1.70.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Ecuador for its notifications. The US viewed them 
as robust and structured to provide traders with a clear understanding of how  to find rules and 
requirements as well as the documents needed to trade in the Ecuadorean market.  
1.71.   The Chair  drew the Committee' s attention to the notification from Egypt (G/TFA/N/EGY/2 ). 
1.72.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Egypt for its notification . 
1.73.   The Chair drew the Committee' s attention to the notification from Mongolia 
(G/TFA/N/MNG/2/Add.1 ). 
1.74.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Mongolia for its notification.  
1.75.   The Chair  drew the Committee' s attention to the notification from Nepal  (G/TFA/N/NPL/2 ). 
1.76.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Nepal for its notification. However, Nepal had yet 
to notify its definitive dates for implementing Category B provisions, and the deadline for LDC 
definitiv e date notifications for all Category B commitments was 22 February 2020. In order to avail 
of the flexibility provided for in the Agreement, it was imperative for Members to submit their 
notifications within the timelines provided.  
1.77.   The Chair drew the Comm ittee's attention to the notification from Nicaragu a 
(G/TFA/N/NIC/3 ). G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.78.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Nicaragua for its notifications. The US considered 
them to be sufficiently robust and structured to provide traders with a clear understanding o f how 
to find rules and requirements as well as the documents needed to trade in the Nicaraguan market.  
1.79.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Oman  (G/TFA/N/OMN/2 ), 
Pakistan  (G/TFA/N/PAK/2/Add.1 ), and Panam a (G/TFA/N/PAN/2 ). 
1.80.   The delegate of the United States thanked all three Members for their notifications.  
1.81.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Paraguay (G/TFA/N/PRY/3 . 
1.82.    The delegate of the United States  thanked Paraguay for its noti fication. T he US Department 
of Agriculture's Trade Facilitating Agricultural Systems and Technology (T -FAST) had a project in 
Paraguay. The project was a fiscal year 2019 Food for Progress award with a period of performance 
through fiscal year 2023 and a p rogram budget of USD  8.9 million. Activities would focus on reducing 
the cost of agricultural trade, rapidly releasing goods, and harmonizing processes for the export, 
import, and transit of agricultural goods in Paraguay to support implementation of the T FA. 
1.83.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Saint Lucia 
(G/TFA/N/LCA/3 ) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  (G/TFA/N/VCT/3 ). 
1.84.   The delegate of the United States thanked both Members for their notifications.  
1.85.   The Chair  drew the Commi ttee's attention to the notification from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  
(G/TFA/N/SAU/2 ). 
1.86.   The delegate of the United States  thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabi for provided useful 
information on the location of trade -related information. The US would also appreciate some 
improvements to better assist traders in locating the information they need to access the Saudi 
market. The US considered that Saudi Arabia's notifi cation did not provide the specific information 
to access all information for items in subparagraphs 1(a) and 1(f). Th ose subparagraphs pertain ed 
to the location of information related to import, export, and transit regulations , and transit 
prohibitions, r espectively.  
1.87.   Specifically, some of the information on the webpage listed in subparagraph 1(a) led to blank 
webpages. It was also difficult to find information on transit prohibitions through the website 
provided under subparagraph 1(f). The US requested Sa udi Arabia to update its notification to 
provide updated webpages for information under paragraph 1(a), and the direct web location for the 
individual item in sub -paragraphs 1(f). Ease and accessibility in the publication of such information 
and locations of necessary forms to complete would assist regional and global small businesses in 
fully benefiting from the agreement.  
1.88.   The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the notification from Tunisia (G/TFA/N/TUN/2 ). 
1.89.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Tunisia for its notification . The US requested Tunisia 
to provide an update on the status of its  ratification process . It seemed that  Tunisia ha d domestically 
ratified the Agreement and the US looked forward to Tunisia 's submission of its Instrument of 
Acceptance in the near future.  The US also encouraged Tunisia to promptly submit the notifications 
under included Articles 1.4 and 12.2 which Tunisia had put into Category A, promptly upon entry 
into force of the Agreement  for Tunisia.  
1.90.   The US also noted that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was in the final stages of 
program design for its anticipated Compact with the Government of Tunisia. MCC's investment 
sought  to modernize Tunisia's business climate and includ ed international trade facilitation and 
transport components. The program offer ed trade -related technical assistance and digitalization 
support for various Tunisian government ministries and plan ned to improve transparency, reduce 
trading barriers and dela ys, and increase participation in trade by small  and medium -sized 
enterprises and women -owned businesses. MCC anticipate d completing Compact negotiations and 
signing with the government of Tunisia in 2020, with the investment program scheduled for 2021 -
2026. G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.91.   The delegate of the European Union  said that the EU was extremely pleased to note that good 
progress was being made , including b y many Members that had outstanding notifications since 2017. 
The situation was  encouraging. Transparency was crucial for the  successful implementation of the 
TFA and for contributing to removing barriers to trade , in particular for small -and medium -
enterprises and MSMEs.  However, some  gaps still remain ed. The EU  urged the Members that  had 
committed in 2017 to submitt ing transpa rency measures to notify them by the next TF Committee 
meeting.  
1.92.   The EU note d that many developing countries ha d notified their contact points for customs 
cooperation and their situation regarding customs brokers , which was very welcome  and 
appreciated. However, there were a number of Members , including some whose notifications had 
just been reviewed , that ha d not completed all its  work yet. Several developing countries and LDCs 
had yet to notify their measures.  With regard to Article 1.4, t he EU had counted about 22 developing 
countrie s and LDCs that had not yet submitted any notification even though they had catego rized 
the provision  either under A or under  B with a definitive implementation date that had already 
passed . With regard to Article 10.6.2, about 40 Members were in the same situation. Finally, about 
21 Members ha d yet to notify contact points under Article 12.2.2.  The EU drew attention to the 
flexibilit ies provided  under TFA Article 17 and said that any Members experiencing difficulty should 
refer to the WTO Secretariat.  
1.93.   The delegate of China  said that China welcome d and appreciate d all of the notifications from 
Members and look ed forward to receiving notifications from more Members in the future in 
accord ance with their implementation timeline.  
1.94.   The delegate of the Russian Federation  requested the Secretariat to verify on a regular b asis 
the URLs provided by Members in their transparency notifications. Broken links could be a  challenge 
to the quality of notification s submitted . The maintenance of high levels of transparency was one of 
the essential parts of the TFA. 
1.95.   The Chair drew the  Committee 's attention to the notification which had been received under 
Article  22. China had submitted a notification in document G/TFA/N/CHN/3.  
1.96.   The delegate of the United States  thanked China for its notification regarding China 's 
contribution to the TFAF.  China was also a supporter of technical assistance and capacity -building 
though the World Customs Organization, as well as providing bilateral assistance. Because the donor 
notifications in the TFA were designed to ensure that all Members had as complete as picture as 
possible of the assistance available globally . The US would ask China to include other trade 
facilitation -specific resources in its notification under Article 22 o f the TFA. The notifications also 
supported the TFA goal to reduce and avoid duplication of efforts among donors and assistance 
providers in supporting implementation. A more complete picture from an important donor such as 
China was critical to achieving that goal. The US looked forward to increasing their cooperation with 
China as a donor, as Members collectively supported full implementation of the TFA.  
1.97.   The delegate of China  said that it had already notified the donation to the TFAF. He considered 
that C hina did not have any donations in that mechanism in the WTO, but according to "Developing 
country Members are encouraged to provide the information above " in Article 22, he would check 
with his authorities for confirmation. Any outstanding information wou ld be notified to the 
Secretariat.  
1.98.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to the notifications received under Art. 22.3,  which 
provided information on contact points . Four notifications ha d been received from the following 
Members:  Benin G/TFA/N/BEN/1 ), Burkina Faso  (G/TFA/N/BFA/2 ), Nicaragua  (G/TFA/N/NIC/2 ) and 
Pakistan (G/TFA/N/PAK/3 ). 
1.99.   The delegate of the United States  thank ed Benin , Burkina Faso , Nicaragua  and Pakistan. She 
noted that Benin ha d yet to define its Category A, B, and C provisions or provide its technical 
assistance requirements to the Secretariat. The US  looked forward to the submission of Benin's 
notifications in the near future.  They also underst ood that Benin ha d yet to no tify its definitive dates 
for implementing Category B provisions  ahead of the deadline of 22 February 2020 . In order to avail 
of the flexibility provided for in the TFA, it was imperative for Members to submit th eir notifications 
within the timelines provi ded. G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.100.   In addition, the delegate informed the Committee about two upcoming technical assistance 
activities in the Asia region.  On 9 March 2020, the US Department of Commerce's Commercial Law 
Development Program (CLDP) would  facilitate an exchange of experien ces among customs officials 
in implementing systems of Authorized Economic Operators (AEO), and would  support the 
participation of customs officials from Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the World Customs Organization 
Global AEO Conference in Dubai, UAE.  
1.101.   The CLDP would  also hold US consultations on Advance Rulings for officials from the Pakistan 
Federal Board of  Revenue and Sri Lanka Customs  from 6 to 10 April . Through th e exchange, officials 
would  discuss with US experts draft legislation, regulations, and procedures for the development of 
systems of Advance Rulings.  
1.102.   The delegate of  Pakistan  thanked the US for its cooperation in this regard.  
1.103.   The delegate of Sri Lanka  thank ed the US, and in particular the CLDP programm e, for 
providing trade facilitation assistance for the Sri Lanka customs, especially in the areas of AEO and 
advanced rulings.  
1.104.   The delegate of Canada thanked Members that had provided their notifications. He asked 
whether the Secretariat could pass on the request for the missing information that had been made 
by the Committee and remind Members  that of the requirements around the transparency Article s.  
1.105.   The Committee took note  of the notifications addressed under items A, B and C and of the 
information contained therein.  
STATUS OF RATIFICATI ON AND NOTIFICATION  PROCESS  
Update by the WTO Secretariat  
1.106.   At the request of Members, the WTO Secretariat  provided an update on the status of 
ratifications and notifications. It covered ratifications; implementation and transparency 
notifications; and information on technical assistance and capacity building that had been provided 
in those notifications.  
1.107.   According to t he current status of  implementation , based on the notifications that ha d been 
received from Members with regard to their ABC categ ories and the ir definitive dates , 15 developing 
country Members were considered to be implementing the TFA at 100%. They consist ed of nine 
developing  country  Members that had designated all of the TFA provisions under category A and the 
six developing country Members which according to their notifications, had reached their definitive 
dates for their categories B and C notifications. As a result, they were  considered to be implementing 
100% of the TFA.  
1.108.   The next upcoming deadline was 22 February 2020 by which date LDCs were required to 
notify their definitive dates for B. The current status was that roughly one third of t hose required 
notifications  had been notified.  Out of the 29 Members that would be required to notify their 
definitive dates for category B commitments  by 22 February 2020 , nine  notifications had been 
received. This meant that a further  20 notifications would be expected by 22 February 2020.  
1.109.   Eighteen  LDC Members had already notified  indicative dates for category C commitments 
ahead of the deadline for those dates.  
1.110.   In other developments, s ome new functionalities  had been added to the database. As a 
result, searches for notifications could be made by date and by document symbol. In addition, t he 
database had a tool which allowed the Secretariat to identify website  links that were broken . In 
some cases, t he Secreta riat had contacted Members and asked them to update any broken links . 
The Secretariat would be  happy to do that for Members if it was so agreed.  
1.111.   The TF newsletter, N ewsbytes, would  be available in French and Spanish , in addition to the 
existing English.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.112.   With regards to ratifications  received  since the last meeting, four Members had notified their 
ratifications : Maldives, Guinea, Burundi and Cabo Verde. Fifteen  Members  were still to notify their 
ratification . 
1.113.   In terms of implementation , there was an implemen tation rate of approximately 65% of 
commitments to date. There was a rate of  10% in category B commitments between now and 
February 2038, with some cases up to 2038. There was almost a 20% rate of implementation for 
category C commitments from now up to 20 40. 
1.114.   For transparency notifications, 21 notifications ha d been received since the last meeting of 
the TFC and they broke  down under the 3 articles that require d transparency. With regard to 
technical assistance and support for capacity building notifications  one notification had been received 
under Article 22.1 and 22.2, and 4 notifications had been submitted  under Article 22.3.  
1.115.   The delegate of the Russian Federation  requested the Secretariat to verify on a regular basis 
the URLs provided by Members in their transparency notifications. Broken links could be a challenge 
to the quality of notifications submitted. The maintenance of high levels of transparency was one of 
the essential parts of the TFA.  
1.116.   The delegate of the United States  said that the US r ecognize d the hard work of the 
Secretariat and Members to meet the Section I and II notifications deadlines outlined by the 
Agreement, and to raise awareness amo ng the membership to improve the overall rate of 
notifications and ratifications submitted.  
1.117.   Members ha d made significant progress on the Section II transparency notifications, since 
the last meeting in October 2019 to improve the rate of submission. The US expect ed that Members 
would continue to work towards full implementation of th eir Category A obligations.  
1.118.   The US placed great importance on the timely implementation of all TFA provisions – 
especially those related to transparency of information. The US w as willing to assist any WTO 
Member that was facing a substantial challenge in identifying the information needed in order to 
comply with its category A obligations.  
1.119.   It was of critical importance to ensure that LDC Members submit ted to the Secretariat thei r 
definitive dates for implementing category B obligations by the deadline of 22 February 2020.  
1.120.   Those deadlines were important because they represent ed the Committee's hard -fought 
negotiations to provide all WTO Members with the ability to implement their obligations.  
1.121.   The US  looked forward to the February  deadline as another milestone that represent ed one 
step closer towards full implementation of the TFA. The US was  willing to assist any WTO Member 
that was currently facing a substantial challenge in compl ying with th eir submission.  
1.122.   Separately, the US wanted to draw attention to two important developments . The y 
considered that one Member had shown an excellent example of notifying the full implementation of 
a Section I commitment. The Committee might  want to consider how to support and promote th at 
practice under th e current agenda item  which was  dedicated to general notification issues.  
1.123.   In addition,  the Committee had received examples of Members updating and revising 
transparency notifications. It was  important that Members not lose sight of the purpose of the  
notifications , which was to p rovide traders, particularly SMEs, with useful and up to date information. 
The Committee could  not sit back once an obligation was fulfilled. Members  should be using the 
Committee to ensure that they  are continually updating relevant information, as the obligation was 
not on a one -off basis, but rather was an obligation to update th e information as nece ssary.  
1.124.   The delegate of the European Union  said that th e EU welcome d the ratifications that had 
been completed since the last meeting  of the Committee . About 90% of the Members ha d now 
ratified, three years after the entry into force of the Agreement. There  were 15 Members , of which 
a large majority were LDCs, that ha d not yet ratified. The EU was ready to provide assistance  to 
Members that were having  difficulties to ratify and  would welcome hearing from them.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  1.125.   The delegate of  Hong Kong, China  said that she welcomed the work of continuously 
improv ing the TFA dataset. It was her opinion that the C ommittee need ed technology to help monitor 
the implementation of the TFA provisions.  
1.126.   The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
2  EXPERIENCE  SHARING /THEMATIC  DISCUSSIONS  
2.1.  The Chair informed  the Committee that sevens - Morocco, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, India, 
Chile and the United States – would make presentations sharing their experience with regard to 
implementing various provisions of the TFA.   
2.2.  He went on propose, i n light of the very rich and valuable information that Members ha d shared 
under this agenda item over a number of meetings, that the  experience -sharing discussions could 
be changed from informal mode to formal mode. It could be beneficial to Members to capture  the 
experiences in the records of the Committee meetings. The presentations would continue to be 
posted on the Committee's website together with any statements and interventions that Members 
were prepared to provide . 
2.3.  It was so agreed . 
Presentation by Morocc o 
2.4.  Morocco 's presentation was delivered M. Brahim AIT ADDI, Chef de la Division de la 
Réglementation et de la Facilitation Commerciale à la Direction Générale du Commerce , and by 
M. Tarik MAAOUNI, Directeur , Organis ation et Système d 'Information à l 'Agence Nationale des Ports.  
2.5.  The project aimed to cut the time and cost of trading agri -food products by designing and 
implementing electronic systems to address two major border issues caused by paper processes.  It 
had be en developed from the ground up with Moroccan government agencies and businesses . 
2.6.  Before the project, every container passing through Morocco 's main ports had to be weighed 
twice – once when full and once when empty. The weigh t data was recorded manually on paper slips 
and taken by hand to those who need ed it, for example , for calculating import duties or the load 
balance for a ship. This le d to trucks being delayed in the port area, which was a major issue when 
trading perishable agri -food products which were sensitive to time and temperature.  
2.7.  Second, traders importing or exporting plants or plant products had to acquire a paper 
phytosanitary certificate to show that the material was considered free from pests and that it 
complie d with p lant health regulations. In Morocco, as in most countries, th ose paper certificates 
accompan ied the shipment or were exchanged by post with trading partners. This ma de for a lengthy 
process, where any errors t ook a long time to rectify, and there was a risk of loss, damage or fraud.  
2.8.  Under the project, multiple Moroccan border agencies and local and international agri -food 
companies  would:  
• design and introduce a paperless, automated data exchange between the weigh bridges at 
Morocco's main ports and those who use d the data , with an initial focus on the Port of 
Casablanca  
• support Morocco in introducing and sharing electronic phytosanitary certificates (ePhytos) 
with other countries and join the "e -Phyto Hub", an initiative led by the Commission on 
Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), the governing body of the International Plant Protection 
Convention.  
 
2.9.  Digitising the weighing process would : 
• make the flow of goods more efficient for the terminal operator, the cargo inspection 
company, the road transporter, the clearing agent and traders importing and exporting  
• also benefit the government and its agencies through higher levels of compliance and 
efficiency gains  
• ultimately , reduce the clearance time for weighing by 25 percent.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  2.10.   The use of ePhytos would : 
• mean certif icates would be  transferred immediately between countries, reducing the risk of 
loss, damage or fraud and cutting delays and costs for traders at borders   
• reduce the administrative burden on border agencies  
• pave the way for Morocco to exchange other types of data with trading partners.  
 
Presentation by Ukraine  
2.11.   Ms Alisa KOSTENKO , Deputy Director of the Department for Simplification of Procedures and 
Facilitation of Trade of the State Customs Service of Ukraine  made a presentation on Ukraine 's 
Advance Rulings  procedures . 
2.12.   Since December 2019, Ukraine 's state customs service was overseen by  a central executive 
body, which had been created as a result of the  division of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine , the 
State Customs Service of Ukraine and the State  Tax Service of Ukraine.  
2.13.   Advance rulings are available for t hree customs matters in Ukraine  
• the good's tariff classification  
• granting permission to place goods under separate customs regimes  
• the origin of the good  
 
2.14.   Terms  
• the ruling acceptance period is 30 days  
• the ruling is valid for 3 years   
• there are no fees for the issuance of an advance ruling  
• advance rulings are binding only for the goods requested.  
 
2.15.   Advance rulings become invalid for the following reasons  
• if the ruling is not utilized within  3 year s of the issuance  
• if there is a difference  between the  descriptions submitted in the application and the actual  
declared goods  
• if there are revisions of the related laws or regulat ed. 
 
2.16.   Over 250 advance rulings on classification  had been  issued per year. 
2.17.   Advance rulings would  be available for customs issues  with the appropriate method or criteria 
and the application thereof, to be used for determining the customs value under a particular set of 
facts.  
2.18.   An Amendment B ill to the Customs Code of Ukraine had been submitted to the Cabinet of 
Ministers on 23 December 2019 with regard to the extension of the list of previous decisions and the 
introduction of a mechanism for issuing such preliminary decisions . 
2.19.   Problems encountered in issuing advance rulings  included  
• insufficient technical support  
• imperfection of existing regulatory framework  
• the qualification levels of officials  
 
2.20.   Development  of advance rulings in Ukraine  
• An open interactive online register of advance ruling on the good's tariff classification was 
planned for 2020 (taking into account the need to protect business  confidential information).  
The existing format was not sufficiently informative, nor was it poss ible to carry out a simple 
search on advance ruling s. 
• The introduction of new custom s software would  provide the functionality to view data over 
the internet, and to ma ke a s imple search on classification solutions by keyword or product 
code.  
 G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  Presentation by Sri Lanka  
2.21.   Mr. Sunil JAYARATHNE, Additional Director General of Sri Lanka Customs  (SLC) , WCO 
Technical and Operational Adviser  on Time Release Study , Head of National Trade Facilitation 
Secretariat of Sri Lanka  presented a Summarized Report pertaining to SLC's Time Release Study 
(TRS) conducted during 2018 and 2019.  
2.22.   Sri Lanka Customs (SLC) conducted its second comprehensive World Customs Organization 's 
Time Release Study with the participation of key stakeholders in the Sri Lankan border cont ext 
during 2018 and 2019, in order to fulfil requirements stipulated under article 7.6 of the WTO TFA, 
which would provide significant benefits to Customs as well as other stakeholders. Sri Lanka had 
already categorised this measure under Category C and had notified it to the WTO Committee on 
Trade Facilitation.  
2.23.   The WCO -TRS measure d the time taken by border authorities to release import cargo and 
export cargo from Customs control . The TRS was recognized as a mean of identifying bottlenecks 
with the aim of  improv ing the regulatory performance in import  and export processes. The main 
objective of the exercise was to take remedial measures to improve the efficiencies of Customs and 
the Other Governmental Agencies (OGA) at the border. It ensure d the seamless and  expeditious 
clearance of import, export and transit goods from designated ports and airports with minimum 
difficulties  at border crossings . That provid ed much benefit to legitimate cross-border -trade and tax 
collection authorities , such as Customs. Th e TRS would clearly have a direct impact on the reduction 
of trade costs and the effective collection of revenue  following the implementation of proposed 
remedies arising from the study . 
2.24.   The TRS 2018 study was conducted by SLC. It found that the average Customs throughput 
time between  the Customs Declaration Processing and the ultimate release of goods from Customs 
control, had significantly improved across each element as a consequence of efforts aimed at trade 
facilitation.  (Table 1)  
2.25.   SLC was pleased to witness a considerable reduction in the average Full Container Load ( FCL) 
throughput time reported for certain processes which had been  identified as bottlenecks during the 
first TRS in 2014  and had been remedied concurrently with the TRS 2018. Further, significant 
progress ha d been recorded at the Export Facilitation Centre which operate d 24 hours a day, 7 days 
a week. SLC 's first TRS had been conducted in 2014 and had focused on the Import Sea Cargo FCL 
process (only within the Customs context). The results of the TRS 2018 revealed that the average 
time from arrival to release of Import Sea Cargo FCL was approximately 16 hours and 29 minutes, 
an improvement of 11 hours and 31 minutes from 20 14. 
2.26.   As shown in Chart 1,  SLC re leased almost 75% of the cargo within 24 hours which had 
previously taken  approximately two days, at that time the first TRS in 2014.  
Table 1  
 
G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
- 15 - 
 
  Chart 1  
 
2.27.   The obvious accomplishment was the harmony and commitment demonstrated by major 
stakeholders which were then working under the common platform of the National Trade Facilitation 
Committee (NTFC). That was  a revolutionary change in the context of Trade facilitation. The 
participants, sp ecifically the Container Terminal Operators (S ri Lanka Ports Authority , South Asia 
Gateway Terminals , etc.), Container Examination Yard Operators (GL -I, GL -II, RCT) and O ther 
Government Agencies (OGA)  Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) , Plant Quarantine,  etc) provided 
remarkable commitment and contribution towards the successful conclusion  of the TRS -2018/19.  
2.28.   The other key pillar of success of the TRS Survey 2018/19 was the financial support for 
conducting the TRS National Workshop by the ITC/EU, and the technical assistance provided by the 
WCO.  
2.29.   Challenges Faced  
• Getting the OGAs to draw their process maps  
• Team members were due to be transferred out according to departmental transfer policy  
• Wrong perceptions by key stakeholders such as Customs House Agents (CHA)  
• Challenges/ perceptions within the departmental staff  
• Reluctance/Practicality in completing TRS forms – tactical strategies were used  
• The appointment of a special task team for the monitoring of the surv ey process  
 
2.30.   The way that such challenges were addressed  
• Making stakeholders aware of the Study and its purpose.  This was very important as it was 
the stepping -stone to conduct the study and make stakeholders committed to the cause.  
• It provided the necessar y stimulants to overcome negative propaganda created by various 
pressure groups geared to achieve individual popularity and attention. (This was transpired 
when the TRS forms kept at the entrance of the L/R was taken away in bulk as CHAs feared 
the study w as geared so that they will lose their jobs).  
• It provided the stakeholders with a sense of responsibility and willingness as it showed the 
benefits that they would receive from the study (such as less movement and better 
predictability)  
 
2.31.   The ambiguities du ring the conducting of survey  
• The Pilot Project provided much needed preparations and awareness to the stakeholders. 
There had been a discussion around the i ssues that arose, questions had been raised about 
the p racticality of the study, and necessary amen dments had been made with the 
involvement of all stakeholders. The Report on the Pilot Project was contained in the TRS 
Report  of 2018 (page No. 36 , Chapter 11.2 . 
• The process staff had encountered problems in filling the forms survey during the survey as 
a result of some  ambiguities in understanding the survey forms. The TRS team had a quick 
response team ready who consulted the relevant officials and cleared the ambiguities. The  
quick release team were aware of the study and were empowered to make adjustments as 
G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  and when required. Such recommendations were implemented following the approval of  the 
team leader and the national coordinator.  
 
2.32.   Recommendations  arising from the TRS 2018/2019  
• Encourage importers to use the unutilized significant pre -declaration times  
• Have options for Smart Gate/CTS/Smart Customs Examination Areas  
• Use alternate unutilised routes for container transport (especially unutilised railway tracks, 
other port exit gates)  
• Provide over-head by -pass traffic lanes for container cargo so that the major highway was 
not congested (an elevated highway was being progressed to provide pathways over major 
highways for container exit routes and general traffic) . 
• Remov e redundant functions (such as Doc Centre)  
• Introduce a fee at the examination yards for deliberate attempts on non -removal of 
examined containers (i.e. highly successful)  
• Discuss  minimizing excessive idling times of the CHA  at the NTFC,  
• Make s trategical changes to reduce idle times between functions (such as Single Window)  
• Establish "Smart Inland Customs Examination Depot" concepts and locate them closer to 
the port.  
 
2.33.   Way Forward  
• Remedial actions would  be considered after implementing the recommendations that had 
been submitted to the NTFC. It was also intended that regular TRSs would be conducted 
periodically as recommended in the WCO TRS Guide Version 3. Accordingly, the next TRS of 
SLC wa s supposed to be conducted in a more comprehensive and effective manner in 2021, 
for potential improvem ents in border procedures which would provide an exceptional insight, 
especially after implementation of the scheduled best border practices stipulated under the 
WTO-TFA. 
• All such endeavours would  create a means of forming  a conducive trading environment w hich 
would  bring mutual benefits to the country by way of making the collection of tax revenue 
more efficient and effective while eliminating identified barriers in cross -border trade by way 
of reducing costs incurred by trade ultimately.  
 
Presentation by the United States  
2.34.   The United States made a presentation on the Executive Summary of the US Cargo Time 
Release Study, which had been circulated  in document G/TFA/W/21.  
2.35.   According to Article 7.6 of the TFA, Members were "encouraged to measure and publish their 
average release time of goods periodically and in a consistent manner  and were also encouraged to 
share with the Committee their experiences in measuring average release times...".  
2.36.   The US Cargo Time Release Study (CRTS) was issued in two phases. Phase One, published in 
May 2015, outlined the intended parameters and approach to be undertaken in the study. Phase 
Two, which covered fiscal year 2014 and was completed in December 2015 , reported the results and 
conclusions of Phase One. The US p resentation was  a summary of findings from Phase Two . 
2.37.   The CRTS  established baseline trade facilitation performance measurements and helped 
identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and other potential areas of improvement in the cargo release 
process.  It includ ed analysis of goods arriving by all modes of transport : sea, air, truck, and rail 
ports of entry. It exclude d consideration of imports via postal mail, due to differences in import 
procedures for postal cargo.  In the analysis, the most basic measure of ti me to release was the 
difference between the arrival of cargo at a port and the release of the associated entry and removal 
of any holds.  
2.38.   The CTRS  was the first -ever conducted by the US Government. Certain  challenges arose 
during the  inaugural effort. Beca use the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  had never before 
collected data for th at specific purpose, the agency applied data used to support targeting decisions 
and ensure orderly collections of tariffs and duties for the new purpose of conducting thi s study.  
Many of the missing data points involve d activities that the US Government ha d no control over, 
such as unloading ships or movements in and around ports. CBP had no reason to collect th e data G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
- 17 - 
 
  before undertaking the TRS. CBP had to make some adjust ments and assumptions regarding that 
missing data in order to complete the study. In particular, CBP did not parse out unloading time, in -
bond transit time or warehousing time.  
2.39.   Several areas for improvement were identified while undertaking th e study. For example, 
adjustments to how CBP and P artner Government Agencies (PGAs) collect and store cargo data could 
improve the accuracy and ease of future studies.  
2.40.   The TRS was completed in 2015. Significant changes ha d occurred since then. For example, 
CBP had fully implemented the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), otherwise known as the 
Single Window. This would  doubtlessly impact when and how information bec ame available for 
compliance checks and would l ikely have a significant effect on cargo re lease times.  Another example 
was that the rise of e -commerce ha d significantly changed the trade volumes between modes of 
transit. A great deal of cargo that traditionally travelled via sea, rail, and truck ha d shifted to express 
consignment and postal mod es. Th e trend ha d grown significantly since 2015 and show ed no signs 
of stopping in 2020. Its impact on cargo time release would  require further analysis.  
Presentation by India  
2.41.   Mr. Anurag SEHGAL, Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commer ce & 
Industry of India  made a presentation on India's National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF).  
2.42.   The TFA was the first ever multilateral agreement that aim ed to simplify customs regulations 
for cross -border movement of goods and sought to enhance tra nsparency in trade.  
2.43.   India actively participated in the negotiations of drafting the text of the TFA and ratified the  
Agreement  on 22nd April 2016, which came into force on 22 February 2017. India classified 72.3% 
of total commitments under Category "A" whi ch mean t that implementation of th ose commitments 
was there on the ground at the time of entry into force . The remaining 27.7% of commitments were 
classified under category "B" for which a 5 -year transition period was taken. India did not classify 
any of t he commitments under category "C".  
2.44.   While implementing the TFA, the major questions faced by Indian Policy makers were to strike 
a balance between faster and smoother clearance with minimum cost and higher compliance. To 
overcome th at challenge and to ensure all stakeholders were onboard with this objective, India had 
constituted a NCTF headed by the Cabinet Secretary, which was the top -most Civil Servant in the 
country . That would give th e NCTF 's work credibility as well as authority in order to coordinate 
amongst the agencies (the NCTF was mandated under Art 23.2 of the TFA ). 
2.45.   The main principles followed while establishing the NCTF was wide representation from not 
only Government of India machinery but also from Private players such a s commerce and industry 
associations, Freight forwarders, Custom House Agents etc. Another important principle on which 
the NCTF work ed was the smooth and unhindered flow of information from the policy makers to the 
actual users and from users to policy ma kers in the form of feedback. NCTF , therefore, follow ed a 
two-way circular approach in solving problems, which ha d been quite effective since its inception.  
2.46.   In order to achieve the objectives of the NCTF, a three -tiered structure had been  envisaged 
– the NCTF at the apex level; a Steering Committee at the middle level; and ad hoc Working Groups 
at the lower level. There were currently  5 such Working groups.  
2.47.   In its early meetings, one of the major achievements of the NCTF had been  to develop and 
adopt a National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) for 2017 -2020 containing specific activities 
to further ease out the bottlenecks to trade. The action points in  the Plan were mapped to the WTO 
Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Articles and aligned to India's policy objectives on improving the 
Ease of Doing Business. Further, in order to monitor th ose action points, an online platform ha d also 
been developed to k eep track of the updates with real time reporting through MIS.  
2.48.   A National Time Release Study was currently o ngoing under the aegis of the NCTF to ascertain 
and work upon various time stamps for further reduction of cargo dwell time.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  2.49.   Consistent trade facili tation efforts ha d contributed to a substantive improvement of India's 
performance in Trading Across Borders indicator from 146 in 2017 to 80 in 2018 and 68 in 2019 as 
per the World Bank  Group' s Doing Business Report (DBR).  
Presentation by Chile  
2.50.   Ms Cristina BAS, Market Access Division , Undersecretary of International Economic Relations  
made a presentation on Chile's National Committee on Trade Facilitation.  
2.51.   Chile ratified the TFA on 21 November 2016. By February 2018, it had n otified all provisions 
of the TFA in category A . By the end of 2018, Chile had compl ied with its transparency obligations.  
The NCTF was established through Decree No. 50 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was 
published in the Official Gazette dated  22 April 2019 .  
2.52.   It took a long time, after the ratification of the Agreement border agencies and public services 
with competence in the implementation of the TFA to agree on the regulatory framework of the 
NTFC. They analyzed various existing bodies that were already dealing with trade facilitation  at the 
time in order to avoid creating an unnecessary additional body .  However, looking at the 
requirements of the NCTF under Article 23 of the TFA , it was decided that there was no existing 
entity that covered 100  per cent  of the TFA obligations.  Consequently, the decision was taken to 
create a specific body as the NCTF.  
2.53.   The composition was finally established with a representative from the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, Deve lopment and Tourism, the Ministry of 
Agriculture , the National Customs Service and the Agriculture and Livestock Service.  The 
representatives are high -level officials with the capacity to make decisions, to represent, coordinate 
and lead the participation of their respective entities  in the Committee. Without prejudice to the 
permanent integration foreseen for the Committee, the NCTF may also invite officials of the public 
administration, as well as representatives of the private sector, for example, the Co uncil of Civil 
Society of the General Directorate of International Economic Relations, the Public -Private Council for 
Export Activities and the Public -Private Customs Council to participate in the Committee. With regard 
to the private sector, it was decide d, after much discussion, that it would not be included as a core 
member of the NCTF , for the reason that it would be difficult to have a full representation of the 
private sector. Instead, t he process for inviting the private sector  to participate in the work of the 
Committee  is very broad . 
2.54.   The Technical Secretariat of the NCTF is  hosted by the Under secretar y of International 
Economic Relations  (SUBREI) .  
2.55.   The f unctions of the Committee  are to review and make recommendations on polic ies and 
projects related to trade facilitation, taking into account the obligations of the TFA; t o support 
coordination between the various public and private actors for the implementation of policies and 
projects associated with trade facilitation ; to p romote the adoption of measures to simplify and 
harmonize procedures related to trade and transport ; to i dentify the problems faced by trade 
operators in relation to trade facilitation ; and, t o propose procedures and/or methodologies to 
address identified pr oblems.  
2.56.   The Committee also established three Working Groups , composed of technical experts.  The 
Working Groups deal with 1) Transparency, Publication and Availability of Information (Art 1 of the 
TFA); cooperation between border agencies (Article 8 of the  TFA); and, the f ormalities related to 
import ation, export ation and transit (Article 10 of the  TFA).  
2.57.   The Committee has c ompleted a logistic mapping study , with support from the Inter -American 
Development Bank, which looked  at bottlenecks in land and sea transport. The Committee organized  
a meeting on the matter in October Oct 2019 . In January 2020, t held a meeting of border agencies 
in Jan uary 2020, with the objective of identify ing bottlenecks and work ing them out. They also 
wanted to try to work out chronic problems that arise time and time again.  
2.58.   The Committee also focuse s on trade in the regions  and t he Technical Secretariat  has been 
organizing Round Tables to ensure outreach to the regions.  As part of their outreach, the NCTF G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  created a website providing information on its functioning and work. In addition to the Committee 
meetings, the NCTF also meets with the business sector in general, including sma ll businesses.   
2.59.   The NCTF faces a number of challenges. These include the c hallenge  of coordination with 
other bodies, for example, bodies partic ipating in the NCTF, as well as with the L ogistics Committee 
in the M inistry of Transport which is involved als o in the trade facilitation process in relation to land, 
air and maritime transport. The NCTF wants to avoid duplicat ion of roles and therefore tries to ensure 
that the the relevant agencies are carrying out the necessary coordination to see if they are fo cussing 
on the correct issues , as well as requiring agencies to feed back into the NCTF.  
Presentation by Ecuador  
2.60.   Mr. Carlos GUEVARA, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ecuador  made a 
presentation on three  provisions: The Publication and Availability of Information; progress in the 
implementation of trade facilitation measures for Authorized Economic Operators, and progress in 
the implementation of the Single Window.  
• Integrated Logistics System (SIL)  
• The Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries developed, in 2019, a 
support tool for importers and exporters, where mainly small and medium enterprises could 
find in one place, information on the logistics supply available in their market and the 
possibility of requesting quotations simultaneously  (http://sil.produccion.gob.ec/#/home ). 
• Likewise, the tool helped exporter s with the calculation of the international cost structure  
associa ted to the international price of its goods, as well as other functionalities.  
 
• Mobile applications  
• The Agro  Mobile application provides users with the ability to consult information on topics 
related to AGROCALIDAD . The  application can be downloaded from Play Store and Apple 
Store, at no cost. It will also  allow the user to be informed about the different proce sses or 
projects that AGROCALIDAD carries out.  
• "Agro Móvil" emits health alerts that can be synchronized according to the user's area of 
interest and will keep him/her informed in the fastest way. Similarly, it is possible to consult 
the phytosanitary and zoosanitary  requirements for import ation or exportation.  
• "Arcsa Móvil" is another technological tool that facilitates the immediate verification of 
consumer products by citizens, who thus become an active part of ARCSA's health control. 
It also issues real  time health alerts; the user can verify health records of medicines and 
food, and check whether an establishment has an operating permit, among other  tools. It is 
also available at Play Store (Android) and Apple Store (iOS) virtual stores, free of charge.  
 
• International Transport Web Service  
• Decision 837 of the Andean Community (April 29, 2019)  expedited  the international 
transport of goods by road between Member countries and created an on-line Information 
and Consultation System. Th e system serve d as a means of consultation; an exchange of 
information between competent authorities of Member countries; avoid ed administrative 
formalities in the country of destination; facilitate d customs control; reduce d a high 
percentage the required  documents; save d time for the carrier; and, ma de international 
transport more efficient.  
• The Decision establishe d the Original Permit as the only document that would prove that a 
transport provider ha d been authorized by the competent national agency of the  country of 
origin to provide the service, thus reducing and simplifying administrative procedures that 
had been required . 
 
• Progress in the Application of Trade Facilitation Measures for Authorized Economic Operator  
• In compliance with  TFA Article 7.7 "Trad e Facilitation Measures for Authorized Operators", 
the Customs Department h ad made  progress on the AEO program, as established by 
Executive Decree No. 312, and signed on February 2, 2018 . Under the Decree, the 
"Authorized Economic Operator Program" was declared a part of Ecuador 's foreign trade 
facilitation policy.  
 
2.61.   The National Customs Service of Ecuador (SENAE ), in application of the provisions of Article 
216(l) of the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment, ha d issued the following 
regulations:  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  • Resolution No. SENAE -SENAE -2019-0063-RE, August 2019 : Regulation to obtain or renew 
the qualification of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO).  
• Resolution No. SENAE -SENAE -2019-0064-RE, August 2019 : to issue the documents called 
SENAE -OEA-CE-001-V2 Qualificat ion as Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Conditions - 
Export Link; and SENAE -OEA-RE-001-V2 Qualification as Authorized Economic Operator - 
Requirements - Export Link.  
• Resolution No. SENAE -SENAE -2019-0086-RE, October 2019 : to issue the documents called 
SENAE-OEA-CI-001-V1 Qualification as Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Conditions - 
Import Link; and, SENAE -OEA-RI-001-V1 Qualification as Authorized Economic Operator 
(AEO) - Requirements - Import Link.  
 
2.62.   In addition, SENAE, pursuant to Decree No. 312, repor ted that it had drawn up a road map 
of activities relating to the Economic Operator Programme (EOP), which would  be implemented in 
2020.  
2.63.   In addition, Ecuador signed the Mutual Recognition Agreement (ARM), in May 2019 with 
Members of  the Andean Community . ARM  represent s reciprocal commitments with regard to the 
Authorized Economic Operator  system  and the  recognition of transactions and improvement of the 
competitiveness of qualified companies in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.  
2.64.   A road map was drawn up to implement TFA Article 10 .4 on the Single Window. The objective 
was to incorporate into a single window the 79 paper documents  from agencies  related to foreign 
trade . In addition, it was also considered to incorporat e the entities that are part of the transit 
process. So far, 60% of entities related to foreign trade operations were making  use of VUE, with 
40% of entities still to be incorporated.  
2.65.   Finally, work has started  to include on -line payments of tariffs, taxes, charges and other items 
through credit and debit cards, as these are currently only available  through electronic bank 
transfers.  
Presentation by the United States  
2.66.   The U nited States  closed the session with the  introduction of their document which related  to 
experience -sharing. The document had been circulated as G/TFA/W/19.  
2.67.   One of the strengths of the WTO Committee on Trade Facilitation was the vibrant and diverse 
discussion s among Members  regarding implementation of the Agreement.  The U S had participated 
in the sharing of experiences and best practices on eight separate occasions, covering a range of 
topics , including implementing the US National Trade Facilitation Committee and issuing Ad vance 
Rulings.  To date, over 30 Members ha d shared their experiences in written documents, 
presentations, and oral interventions covering more than 10 separate topics.  
2.68.   Of particular note was the number of Members that ha d shared their experiences with 
establishing and maintaining a National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), itself a requirement 
established in Article 23.2  of the TFA . The U S had shared its experience in document G/TFA/W/5, 
and over a dozen Members ha d also delivered presentations on th e topic over the course of th e last 
two years of Committee exchanges. Also, rightly, the  NTFC experience -sharing  was a standing 
agenda item for the CTF. 
2.69.   The US consider ed that in order to ensure the success of the ongoing implementation of the 
TFA, including the establishment, maintenance, and functioning of NTFCs, Members could benefit 
from the Committee exploring the best practices and building blocks of successful NTFCs based on 
the beneficial exchanges between Members. There was a wealth of knowledge in the Committee  and 
the US believed that there was value in exploring the elements of a successful NTFC, as well as what 
might be possible solutions to challenges  that have been encountered along the way. The work, 
potentially, could also inform, support, and enhance technical assistance efforts deployed by 
development partners . 
2.70.   The U S welcome d discussions on the kinds of next steps the Committee might consider 
capitaliz ing on to harness the experience sharing that ha d been so integral to the functioning of the  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  Committee. The US would be pleased to meet with interested delegates to discuss the issue further 
with them.  
2.71.   The delegate of Japan  said that Japan recognise d the import ance of NTFCs to facilitate 
domestic coordination  and to promote the implementation of TFA provisions . For example, before 
the TFA came into effect, Japan had  facilitated coordination leading to  the establishment of a single 
window by using the framework which had been used to discuss measures to expedite and i mport 
procedures. It had been  comprised of all relevant ministries and agencies. Each had contributed to 
realising the single window as the driving force.  Japan believed that NTFC's could  apply a critical law 
to implement provisions of the TFA, therefore , Japan welcome d the proposal made by the US and 
looked forward to further discussion.  
2.72.   The delegate of Hong Kong, China  thanked the  US for raising the issue . Hong Kong, China 
had always support ed experience sharing on various topics relating to trade facilit ation.  The sharing 
of information and best practices by Members was an important part of the Committee 's work. 
Through Members' presentation s, the Committee could have a better idea on how the Agreement 
was being implemented on the ground, and through follow-up discussion Members could learn from 
each other and better face  implementation challenges.   
2.73.   It was very timely for the Committee to start reflecting on how to make better use of the 
experience sharing by Members in the context of the  approaching third anniversary of the entry into 
force of the TFA and the 2021 Commit tee Review of the operation an d implementation of the 
Agreement in accordance with Art. 23.1.6 . 
2.74.   Implementation of the TFA  could be a process of reform for border agencies. The US paper 
highlighted NTFC s, which were indeed the crucial element in coordinating the TFA  process. The smart 
design of the TF A allowed flexibility for Members to establish and operate their own NTFCs in a way 
best suit ed to their specific domestic circumstances. Through experience sharing and thematic 
discussion in the Committee it could be seen  how NTFCs, though operating in different ways, could 
go in the same direction towards effective implementation of the Agreement.  Hong Kong, China 
looked forward to working with interested Members in deepening the Committee's work regarding 
experience sharing.  
2.75.   The delegate o f Canada  thanked Members for their  experience sharing presentations. Canada 
welcomed t he US paper  in terms of starting to get the Committee to think about what it could  do 
with the information that ha d been provided to the Committee over the previous  three  years . The 
move would demonstrate a maturity of the Committee itself and it would be an opportunity t o look 
back at the information already shared and consider the reviews by other committees. For example, 
the TBT Committee provided guidance  based on its review processes. The SPS Committee tried to 
pull together information that Members ha d exchanged through the thematic sessions that were 
held during its  committee meetings. Canada w ould encourage the TFA Chair  and other Members to 
consider w ays to provide a loose structure, perhaps  informal meeting s, to have exchanges with other 
committees that ha d some experience in building on their reviews . This could take place in the future 
months and could start with the NTFC's and then move on to some of the other items that ha d been 
covered  in the Committee 's experience -sharing.  
2.76.   The delegate of Brazil thank ed the US  for its welcome communication. Brazil agree d on the 
importance of the Committee capitalizing on the NTFC experience -sharing between Member s. Brazil 
was ready to collaborate in th e process.  
2.77.   The delegat e of Paraguay  thank ed the US for its proposal. Paraguay was  pleased to see the 
high level of participation by Members under the experience -sharing item with regard to the NTFCs. 
Paraguay had  shared its own experience with th e Committee. Paraguay had  presented programmes 
and thematic studies and talked about the challenges it had experienced to improve the functioning 
and coordination of th ose institutions. For that reason , Paraguay a greed that the Committee need ed 
to identify success factors in the operation of NCTS.  It would strengthen the functioning of the NCTFs 
and empower national authorities to ensure that t he implementation of the TFA brought proper , 
visible, tangible change. Paraguay , as a landlocked country , would like to hear in particular  about 
best practices from other landlocked Members  that had moved from be ing landlocked to being land-
linked. It would be beneficial to explore mechanisms to improve technical assistance that Paraguay  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  had been receiving from donors and adjust it to the problem of accessing the coast. They looked 
forward to progressing the work on th e issue over future meetings.  
2.78.   The delegate of Norway  thanked the US  for its gentle reminder that the Committee should  
focus on what it could  do to make the experience -sharing exercise even more operational and 
support ive to  the implementation of the Agreement. Norway agreed with the elements of the US 
paper  and looked forward to cooperating on how to approach future experience -sharing . 
2.79.   The delegate of Morocco  thank ed the US for its  proposal . In addition to Morocco 's presentation 
on its Global Alliance project , and the Moroccan NTFC, Morocco had also shared  its experience on  
other projects such as the single window  and the streamlining of procedures . Sharing experience s 
was an important tool to access good practices in trade facilitation, in particular in the 
implementation of a single window , and the connec tion between single windows so that there was a 
proper exchange of information, an exchange of documents, with the right local conditions, and with 
mutual recognition , in order to facilitate trade globally.  
2.80.   The delegate of Uruguay  said that Uruguay welcome d the US initiative . It believed that it was 
very good to build good practices to properly improve the implementation of th e TFA. Uruguay was  
prepared to work with any interested delegations to advance the topic . 
2.81.   The delegate o f Mexico  thanked the U S for its excellent initiative. Mexico considered that it 
was a useful exercise because it would structure the challenges and help  Members to advance the 
implementation of their strategies and national committee s. Mexico would  cooperative with the U S 
to forward their initiative . 
2.82.   The representative of UNCTAD  (observers ) informed the Committee that in 2013 UNCTAD had 
launched a repository for trade facilitation committees , which was available in English, French and 
Spanish under www.unctad.org/tfc . The repository contain ed information on over 140 countries 
regarding the organization of their NCTFs , institutional frameworks, composition, outcomes, 
challenges faced, and key success factors, among others. Th e repository was kept relevant and alive 
thanks to the inputs from th ose countries. All updated information on around 40 countries  was 
upload ed in 2019 . WTO Members were invited to explore the repository and to contact UNCTAD  if 
they would like to update or upload their experience in th e repository. Analysing th ose country cases 
had been part of UNCTAD 's work since the set -up of the repository.  As a result, UNCTAD ha d 
published a quantitative study on NTFC s in 2015 and a new one in 2017. UNCTAD was currently  
working on an update of those studies and the results would soon be published. UNCTAD was 
available to present the results of the new studies if so wished  by the Committee.  
2.83.   The delegate of the United States  thank ed the many Members that had  responded to its idea 
in a positive manner . The US delegation would be pleased to meet with interested delegates to ta lk 
about the idea further. She invited other interested Members to contact her delegation . 
2.84.   The delegate of Costa Ric a said that The Ministry of Foreign Trade ensure d the follow -up and 
implementation of the obligations that the country had assumed with the entry into force of the TFA, 
under  Law N°9430. The General Directorate of Customs was involved in the identification of areas 
for improvement in order to comply with the articles that Costa Ric a had notified in category A.  
2.85.   Costa Rica would focus  on improving the user experience when seeking  information on export, 
import or transit of people and goods in its country. The Ministry was aware that technological and 
administrative changes gr ew parallel to modernization. In that sense, developing conti nuous 
improvement processes allow ed us to visualize new challenges that help ed facilitate trade and 
increase the country's competitiveness.  
2.86.   Likewise, and in support of the work of the Ministry, the N CTF (known as CONAFAC) ha d 
determined the need to impleme nt a Priority Agenda of Trade Facilitation measures that mitigate d, 
in the short term, the effects produced by procedural deficiencies, of infrastructure and coordination 
in national productivity and competitiveness.  
2.87.   Those measures were broken down into ta sks that sought  the automation of some processes, 
the elimination of documents, inter -institutional work to reduce waiting times at the borders and to 
enhance the figure of the Authorized Economic Operator, among others.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  2.88.   In December 2019, the Agenda, as we ll as the actions carried out within CONAFAC, were 
declared of public and national interest, in accordance with Decree N°42065 -MP-COMEX.  
2.89.   In the short -term, Costa Rica could implement CONAFAC in its borders, ports and airports. 
Also, in 2019, they had devel oped a pilot project t o implement a "Border Coordinator" to improve 
work and cooperation between border agencies. Th e coordinator was a ministry official who 
perform ed the role in the north border of the country.  
2.90.   The Chair thank ed all of the speakers for sharing their experiences with the Committee. The 
presentations had been uploaded to the TFA Database website. Members that wished to continue 
sharing their experience would  have the opportunity to do so at each of the future  Committee 
meetings.  
2.91.   The delegate of Korea  express ed her gratitude to all presenters. The Republic of Korea 
believe d that experience sharing was the key to success  in implementing the TFA . In this regard,  
Korea had already shared its experience of single window and Authorized Economic Operators  with 
the Committee . The Republic of Korea wishe d to share , at the Committee meeting for October 2020,  
its customs' experiences with its risk management system in co nnection with the adoption and 
maintenance of a risk management regulation, as stipulated in Article 7 of the TFA, at the Committee 
meeting scheduled for October.  
2.92.   The delegate of the United States  said that they  would expect to have something on Article 5 
for the following meeting.  
2.93.   The Committee took note  of the information and statements made.  
3  KAZAKHSTAN – BORDER RESTRICTIONS OF GOOD S IN TRANSIT – REQUE ST FROM THE 
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC (G/T FA/W/20)  
3.1.  The Chair informed the Committee that i n a communication dated 31 January 2020, the 
delegation of the Republic of Kyrgyz requested the Secretariat to include this item on the agenda. 
Document G/TFA/W/20 was circulated at the request of the Kyrgyz Republic.  
3.2.  The Deputy Minister of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic  said that on 22 February 2017, as a 
result of many years of negotiations and due to enormous efforts by the Members, the WTO TFA had 
entered into force, demonstrating the willingness of countries to take more d ecisive steps and 
reforms in order to further develop mutual trade, and at the same time to address unnecessary 
bureaucratic barriers and burdens that hindered international trade.  
3.3.  WTO Members differed from each other in geographical location, economic fea tures, level of 
development and technological progress, and as a result, each Member 's role and place in the global 
value chain also differed. As a landlocked country with a relatively small economy, the Kyrgyz 
Republic, considered the TFA to be a critical ly important and fundamental agreement with rules that 
helped to expedite and boost the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in 
transit. Despite being landlocked, and due to its convenient geographical location, the Kyrgyz 
Republic pla yed an important role in the regional routing of goods flows linking the People's Republic 
of China with the major markets of other countries and became a trade hub in the region.  
3.4.  Currently, more than 15% of active labour in the Kyrgyz Republic were engage d in the 
wholesale and retail trade business related to the re -export of goods from China to Kazakhstan, the 
Russian Federation, Uzbekistan and other countries. As a result of the high level of re -export, the 
Kyrgyz Republic's trade turnover was approximat ely 85% of the country's GDP, which demonstrated 
a deep level of integration of the Kyrgyz Republic in regional trade flows. Thus, unimpeded transit 
routes were vital for the Kyrgyz Republic 's trade with WTO countries. Effective enforcement of the 
TFA was vitally important for such countries with small economies depending on international transit.  
3.5.  However, the Kyrgyz Republic had to contemplate a picture where a country with a larger 
economy implemented an aggressive trade -restrictive measure against a coun try with a relatively 
small economy. The Kyrgyz Republic had to raise a trade concern with regard to the Republic of 
Kazakhstan, its closest neighbour and partner in the regional economic Union.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  3.6.  The Kyrgyz Republic had concerns about measures taken by the Republic of Kazakhstan since 
March 2019 to restrict the usage of transit routes with respect to goods from the Kyrgyz Republic. 
For more than 10 months, the Kyrgyz Republic had observed significant delays in the movement of 
transit goods from the Kyrgyz Re public to the territory of the Russian Federation through the 
Republic of Kazakhstan, as a result of stricter inspection by the Kazakh authorities, which had 
become very burdensome, and with elements of gross abuse of official powers by the inspecting 
authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  
3.7.  The inspections of transit goods from the Kyrgyz Republic were carried out in a systematic and 
complex manner, and Kyrgyz transport operators would undergo several burdensome inspections 
during a crossing of the terri tory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  
3.8.  The difficulties began at the entry into the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, when the 
cargo transporters were detained by the inspection authorities at the border. After a long delay, 
which took up to three day s, the cargo carrier reached the checkpoint. Then, having checked all the 
documents relating to the goods carried, through unjustified verbal demands, the Kazakh inspection 
authorities forced Kyrgyz transporters to drive to a certain zone inside the territ ory of the Republic 
of Kazakhstan for a thorough and deep inspection of goods.  
3.9.  The employees of the Kazakh fiscal authorities, namely the State Revenue Committee under 
the Ministry of Finance, then conducted a thorough inspections of goods, forcing the dri vers to open 
the vehicle, to unload and expose each single unit of the goods on an area specially designated by 
the Republic of Kazakhstan. The thorough inspection took from one to three days. It should be noted 
that, as a rule, when the inspector was requ ired to issue a certificate of inspection endorsing that 
the goods had been inspected, representatives of the inspection authorities refused to issue this 
document on all possible grounds.  
3.10.   Upon reaching the checkpoint at the exit from the territory of the  Republic of Kazakhstan and 
the entry into Russian Federation, employees of the same Kazakh State Revenue Committee 
required Kyrgyz exporters to pass through a second thorough inspection of the goods by unloading 
them onto a specially designated area for X -Ray inspection. That process also took up to three days.  
3.11.   At the same time, the unnecessary and excessive inspections by Kazakh inspection bodies 
were carried out without any explanation being provided. Moreover, employees of the Kazakh 
authorities did not  introduce themselves. They performed their functional duties without name 
badges and did not provide any identification documents. If the inspectors were requested to present 
official instructions or orders, or to sign a document stating why the cargo had  been detained, and 
that a thorough inspection was carried out, the Kazakh officials avoided providing answers by 
referring to the oral order "from the above".  
3.12.   As a result, unjustified and trade -distorting border measures being applied by the Republic of 
Kazakhstan with respect to Kyrgyz cargo transporters caused a heavy financial burden on Kyrgyz 
transporters and had a very negative impact on trade between the states. Those unilateral trade 
restrictions, in turn, led to a critical congestion of cargo trans port of up to 250 units, and covering 
up to 10 kilometres in length. If previously, the border passage had taken 2 -3 hours, the passage 
could currently take several days. Actual border passages of up to 10 days had been registered. If 
previously, customs i nspections had been completed within 2 -3 hours, the inspection could now take 
up to 12 hours, sometimes a number of days.  
3.13.   At the same time, the Kyrgyz Republic had noted that the above -mentioned complicated and 
excessive trade -distorting measures of Kazakh stan were carried out specifically with respect to 
transit goods passing through the territory of Kazakhstan and had no relation to the Kazakhstan 
market itself.  
3.14.   With the aim of regulating the situation in a constructive manner, the Kyrgyz Republic had 
undertaken all necessary steps to resolve the situation on a bilateral basis by officially writing to the 
responsible Kazakh Ministry in July 2019 and holding bilateral consultations in October 2019. During 
those discussions, the Kyrgyz party had informed the  Kazakh party in detail about the critical 
situation of mass congestion of vehicles due to the sharp complication of inspections by Kazakh 
inspectors. The Kyrgyz Republic had urged Kazakhstan to eliminate the applied trade restrictions 
and to act within th e rules established by the WTO.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
- 25 - 
 
  3.15.   Thus, following a sufficient period of time for Kazakhstan to react to the concerns of the 
Kyrgyz Republic, regrettably there had been no signals of improvement in the situation at the border, 
and on the contrary, it deterio rated in the post -consultation period, becoming even more severe.  
3.16.   At the current time, due to further strengthening of measures by the Kazakh side, the Kyrgyz 
cargo transporters remained stuck at the border amid severe natural and climatic conditions durin g 
the winter period. Some trucks stayed for one week. Traffic lanes were lined up in three rows on the 
right, and two rows on the left side of the road. The length of the truck congestion stretched up to 
ten kilometres. The Ministry of Emergency of the Kyr gyz Republic had organized basic facilities to 
provide medical and food assistance for the cargo transporters who had to stay in harsh climatic 
conditions for several days.  
3.17.   Taking into account the current very difficult and critical situation and the unila teral measures 
that had not been resolved by Kazakhstan, despite its efforts and appeals on a bilateral basis and 
within the platform of the EAEU, the Kyrgyz Republic found the measures taken by the Kazakh 
authorized bodies at the state border checkpoints to have been trade -restrictive in nature, with signs 
of flagrant violation of the basic WTO norms, inter alia : 
 
I. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)  
1. Article III, "National treatment"  
2. Article V, "Freedom of transit"  
3. Article X, "Publication and Administration of trade regulations"  
4. Article XI, "General elimination of quantitative restrictions"  
 
II. Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)  
1. Article 7, "Release and clearance of goods"  
2. Article 11, "Freedom of transit"  
 
3.18.   The upcoming  Ministerial Conference, to be held in Kazakhstan, would include discussions on 
a number of important global issues aimed at even deeper liberalization of international trade, with 
the inclusion of land -locked countries with relatively small economies in t he global value chains. The 
Kyrgyz Republic urged Kazakhstan to abide by its commitments to WTO Members, and, accordingly, 
to immediately terminate its trade -distorting measures.  
3.19.   The Kyrgyz Republic was requesting a detailed explanation from Kazakhstan of their trade -
distorting actions that put restrictions on the usage of transit routes, causing irrecoverable harm to 
the trade relations of the Kyrgyz Republic with other third countries.  
3.20.   The delegate of Kazakhstan  said that Kazakhstan strictly adhered to WT O rules. Kazakhstan 
had ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in 2015 before it had entered into force for all 
WTO Members. The Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic were both Members of the 
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and all of the is sues raised by the Kyrgyz Republic fell within the 
competence of the Union. The EAEU Treaty as effectively in full compliance with the rules and 
regulations of the WTO as had been confirmed at the WTO Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
in November 2018 . 
3.21.   Kazakhstan regretted to note that their main challenge, which they had repeatedly raised and 
discussed both bi -laterally as well as within the EAEU, was the inadequate customs administration 
maintained by the relevant authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic. In 2016, after the Kyrgyz Republic 
had joined the EAEU, the Republic of Kazakhstan had expressed its concerns regarding the 
insufficient customs administrations in terms of proper determination of customs value, as well as 
rules of origin maintained by the  relevant authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic.  
3.22.   In 2019, the Republic of Kazakhstan had indicated that inadequate customs administration 
by the Kyrgyz Republic had caused losses in revenue payments and custom duties payments to the 
budget of Kazakhstan as we ll as to other EAEU member States. In accordance with Article 71 of the 
EAEU Treaty, all goods imported from the territory of one member State to the territory of another 
Member State should be subject to indirect taxation. According to Article 72 of the T reaty, when 
importing goods into the territory of a Member State to another, indirect taxes should be levied by 
tax authorities of the Member State through the territory of which the goods were imported.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  3.23.   Annex 18 of the EAEU Treaty provided that the nation al legislation of the Member State could 
be applied to ensure the completeness of indirect taxes. In that regard, the measures applied by the 
Republic of Kazakhstan within the country but not at the border, were mainly aimed at the following 
three objectiv es: (1) the authorised bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan carried out verification 
activities along the route of freight vehicles with respect to freight carriers of all EAEU member 
States, (2) for monitoring and ensuring the VAT payments to the Republic  of Kazakhstan, and (3) 
to other EAEU member States. In addition, motor vehicles of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as 
other EAEU member States were subject to similar inspection.  
3.24.   It should be noted that in 2019 alone, more than 10,000 cases of entry o f goods to fictious 
residents in the Republic of Kazakhstan had been reviewed, for which VAT had remained unpaid, 
including 2600 cases which came from the Kyrgyz Republic.  
3.25.   The cost of damage in the form of non -payment of VAT on all of those cases amounted to 
more than KZT  3 billion which was equivalent to more than USD  7.8 million. Moreover, for the 
second half of 2019, 11,000 cases had been identified which were documented as goods destined 
for the Russian Federation but actually were sold on the territory  of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 
Among them, there were 4800 cases of freight carriers from the Kyrgyz Republic that had been 
determined as false transit. At the same time, the provisions of the GATT and TFA provided the 
definition of the transit of goods a s the movement of goods and the customs control measures to 
ensure payments of the duties, the possibilities of identifying goods and having a final destination 
in the third country. False transit did not fall under the concept of transit in the understand ing of 
GATT Article V.  
3.26.   Kazakh authorities carried out the inspection measures in order to prevent the export of goods 
to other EAEU member States which had been imported into the territory of the Republic of 
Kazakhstan from those third countries and the understated  customs rates.  
3.27.   Actually, customs values of goods in Kyrgyz Republic were significantly undervalued, in the 
case of clothes,  up to 16 times. It led to the understatement of the tax base and accordingly to 
underestimation of the customs duties and taxes that were due. Thus, the basic principles on 
determining customs value provided in the Customs Valuation Agreement and GATT wer e being 
violated.  
3.28.   In addition, cases had been unveiled where goods had changed origin and had been sold to 
the Republic of Kazakhstan presented as goods of Kyrgyz origin, thereby violating the provisions of 
the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin and TRIPS. Information on detected violations were 
repeatedly sent to the Kyrgyz Republic, however, the situation remained unchanged.  
3.29.   The Republic of Kazakhstan stood ready to work bilaterally with the Kyrgyz Republic to resolve 
the issue between their countries. For  example, bilateral consultations between the authorities of 
the two countries were also currently taking place in Nur Sultan. The EAEU also had a mechanism, 
which had not been fully utilised to date , for addressing the current issue.  
3.30.   For example, on 30 Ma y 2019, the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan 
and the State Customs Service of the Kyrgyz Republic had signed a bilateral protocol with the aim 
of ensuring application of harmonised prices in international and mutual trade. Moreover, on  30 July 
2019, both authorities had agreed to use navigation seals for the joint control of goods movements, 
as well as to provide price indicators and ensure control of import volumes. Kazakhstan hoped that 
the honest and diligent participation of both co untries in that project would resolve the situation in 
the very near future.  
3.31.   The issue of using navigation seals for the transit of foreign goods through the territory of the 
EAEU had been developed within the framework of the EAEU. To date, an appropriate  roadmap had 
been approved and a draft of the relevant agreement had been developed. The completion of this 
work was scheduled for 2020.  
3.32.   All measures being applied by Kazakhstan were in full conformity with GATT Article I on MFN 
treatment, Article III on N ational Treatment, and Article V on Freedom of Transit.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  3.33.   In conclusion, the Republic of Kazakhstan urged the Kyrgyz Republic, its neighbouring state 
and strategic political and economic partner, to respect and implement the commitments that they 
had underta ken upon joining the EAEU.  
3.34.   The delegate of the Kyrgyz Republic  said that he was glad to hear the Republic of Kazakhstan 
acknowledge that they did impose the trade -distortive and excessive WTO -inconsistent measures. 
Kazakhstan 's statement had turned to quit e a predictable scenario in which a country did its best to 
hide the actual and real reasons of the trade restrictions of unjustifiable character while pursuing 
completely different goals and objectives contrary to the rules and regulations of the WTO. In such 
a situation, a country tried to shelter itself behind precarious arguments and weak reasons that 
could give at least some explanation for their illegal measures.  
3.35.   The Republic of Kazakhstan had mentioned that they had fiscal problems related to VAT and  
that they had some issues regarding under -collection of revenue. The issue of the so -called "false 
transit" had long been settled and there existed quite accessible and widely applied tools for tracking 
cargo across the territories of WTO Members.  
3.36.   First, the cargo transport at the entrance to the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan was 
registered in the system and went through weight control. It was easy to double -check the 
authenticity of the given cargo in transit at the exit points from the territor y of Kazakhstan without 
taking much time and effort. The Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic had been 
successfully using all such internationally adopted tools for a long time. In that regard, the Kyrgyz 
Republic considered that the Republic of Kazakhstan 's response did not correspond to reality and 
that it defied logic.  
3.37.   As for undervaluation, each country used its own mechanisms for price risk indicators. In the 
Republic of Kazakhstan, their Tax code also laid down the principle of determining t he market price 
of goods. During the identification of those risks, the Tax authorities of Kazakhstan applied this 
mechanism for fair taxation. The mechanism applied to taxpayers registered in the importing 
country. With regard to the Kyrgyz Republic, Kaza khstan wanted to apply the mechanism to the 
cargo transporters, which was nonsense since the taxation mechanisms should be applied to the 
owner of the goods, which in those cases were the importers in Kazakhstan.  
3.38.   As for the statistics provided by Kazakhsta n on the non -compliance of documents with the 
transported cargo, the Kyrgyz Republic did not trust those statistics, because, first, Kazakhstan, 
during the deep inspection of the goods, in violation of international rules, artificially found faults 
with su ch small and absurd violations such as the wrong name of the product, despite the fact that 
the actual detected product fully corresponded to the document under the HS code. For example, a 
bag being transported may be subject to a violation for not being i ndicated as a child's bag, and the 
transported shirt became incorrectly registered because it was not indicated in the document as a 
woman's shirt. Due to pressure and threats from the Kazakh inspection authorities of detention for 
15 days for such absurd violations, Kyrgyz cargo carriers were forced to admit the violation in writing. 
Further, due to the "forced violation", the goods were sent back to the territory of the Kyrgyz 
Republic to re -enter the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan where carriers  were forced to make 
unofficial payments in the form of bribes to the amount of USD  3000 to 3500 from each vehicle, 
where criminal elements acted as intermediaries in resolving the issue of transportation of goods at 
the border.  
3.39.   As for Kazakhstan's proposa l for preliminary informing, every country had the problem of 
removing dishonest taxpayers from the shadow sector. In the EAEU, Members had signed two 
agreements to solve the problem. First, the agreement on product marking, which the Kyrgyz 
Republic had a lready ratified, and was in effect. The second agreement, on the implementation of 
tracking mechanisms, was under the process of ratification. Despite those international obligations, 
Kazakhstan unilaterally applied non -legal mechanisms in violation of the  rules and regulations of the 
WTO and the EAEU.  
3.40.   The Kyrgyz Republic did not trust the truthfulness and veracity of the reasons indicated by 
Kazakhstan and they only raised even more questions. The Kyrgyz Republic wished to raise the 
method, nature, and ult erior motives of control checks disguised as alleged export and fiscal 
controls, and the terrifying consequences of those devastating measures which could have been G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
- 28 - 
 
  easily avoided if Kazakhstan had carried out those controlling measures in full accordance with its 
obligations under the TFA.  
3.41.   Most of the WTO Members including the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan had 
already ratified the TFA. The Agreement prescribed very clear and effective rules and methods for 
applying controlling measures, an d for carrying them out in such a way that they did not constitute 
an obstacle to the main flow of goods between borders, including transit flows. Those methods and 
norms had been elaborated based on best international practice, had proven to be rational a nd had 
been recognized by the international community as the most efficient methods.  
3.42.   The Kyrgyz Republic believed that by fully complying with the TFA norms, while carrying out 
their control over the transit goods from the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan could  easily have avoided 
the current difficulties at the borders of a critical congestion of freight transports standing idle in a 
10 kilometre long queue.  
3.43.   The Kyrgyz Republic 's analysis showed that border crossings that had previously been 
completed in 20 min utes, as a result of the scrutinized control for the alleged export control and 
"false transit", now had a waiting time of minimum three days for passing of any goods, even for 
bags, garments and shoes, for example. Due to the suspicions regarding the impo rt of military goods 
and false transit, today a cargo transporter from the Kyrgyz Republic, transporting children's clothes 
or toys, was losing an average of from USD  500 to USD  1000 due to the strengthened control and 
delays by the Kazakh authorities.  
3.44.   In addition, the Republic of Kazakhstan was required to use a risk management system in 
such a way as to avoid arbitrary or unjustified discrimination or a hidden restriction on international 
trade, thereby focusing its control activities on high -risk cargo a nd expediting the release of the low -
risk cargo. Kazakhstan could also select goods for random checking as part of risk management, as 
stipulated by the TFA.  
3.45.   For the sake of transparency, the Republic of Kazakhstan should have informed the Kyrgyz 
Republic in advance of the measures to be taken and they should have promptly published their 
decisions substantiating and warning of the upcoming thorough checks so that the Kyrgyz cargo 
transporters could be aware of them in order to prepare accordingly for the m easures. Unfortunately, 
cargo transporters had learned about the measures directly at the entrance points to the Kazakh 
border, and the Kyrgyz Republic still had not received any information from the Republic of 
Kazakhstan.  
3.46.   The Kyrgyz Republic considered t hat the Republic of Kazakhstan 's failure to apply the TFA 
norms had led to what was now being seen, with more than 250 cars stuck at the border and in the 
specialized zones.  
3.47.   The whole essence of the Kyrgyz Republic 's appeal to the TF Committee was to empha size 
once again that the purpose of the TFA was precisely trade facilitation, and a Member country should 
not, for a narrow reason, jeopardize the entire flow of goods between other Member countries, 
especially with regard to transit flows between countrie s like the Kyrgyz Republic, whose economy, 
due to its geographic location, was landlocked, vulnerable and heavily dependent on international 
trade flows.  
3.48.   The Kyrgyz Republic found that the Republic of Kazakhstan had ignored the provisions of the 
TFA, and t hat the control authorities of Kazakhstan were restricting the international trade in transit 
of the Kyrgyz Republic.  
3.49.   The delegate of Kazakhstan  said that they would like to encourage the Kyrgyz Republic to 
continue discussions on all outstanding issues th at fell under the competence of the EAEU within the 
mechanisms of the EAEU. Kazakhstan also urged the Kyrgyz Republic to fully implement all bilateral 
arrangements that it had concluded last year, for example, regarding using navigation seals. 
Unfortunatel y, the Kyrgyz Republic had failed to implement those arrangements and Kazakhstan 
had started the pilot projects in a unilateral manner.  
3.50.   The Committee took note  of the statements made.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  4  RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  
4.1.  The Chair informed the Committee that the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility, the Global 
Alliance for trade Facilitation and the World Customs Organization , would update the Committee on 
their recent and upcoming activities.  
Update by the WTO Secretariat on acti vities of the TFAF  
4.2.  The representative of the WTO Secretariat explained that the Trade Facility Agreement Facility 
(TFAF) planned its activities based on requirements of the Agreement and the issues and priorities 
identified in the Committee, in Members' co mmunications, and the needs expressed by developing 
and LDC Members. In the period since the l ast Committee meeting  in October 20 19, the TFAF's focus 
had been on assisting developing Members to meet the 22 August 2019 notification deadline. During 
that period, the Facility had  supported around 50 developing and LDC Members, many on a one -to-
one basis.  
4.3.  That work ha d already generated 11 notifications directly following TFAF assistance  and more 
would  follow. Seven Members had moved forward to the next stage o f a TFAF grant application, 
having satisfied donors that their grant application did  not risk duplication of their efforts.  
4.4.  The Facility plan ned its activities based on the requirements and timeline of the Agreement, 
issues and priorities identified in the Trade Facilitation  Committee, and the needs expressed by 
developing and least developed country  Members.  During the reporting period, the biggest focus of 
TFAF's work had been  assisting least developing country  Members to prepare to meet the 22 
February notification deadline.  
4.5.  Based on the success of the drop -in sessions that TFAF had organized in 2019  to help 
developing Members to meet the 22 August deadline, the Facility went on to organized three  half-
day drop -in sessions in January 2020 that had allowed interested least developed country  Members 
to have a one on one meeting to ask questions and receive assistance with their notifications. Eleven 
least developed country  Members had taken  advantage of th ose sess ions. 
4.6.  TFAF had also  sent individual invitations to the remaining least developed country Members 
that had not yet notified category B definitive dates or their technical assistance and capacity building  
needs. Subsequently , the Facility had met with five a dditional least developed country  Members.  
Those Members were also informed of any transparency notifications that were currently due. Plus, 
the Facility  advised on the instrument of acceptance, where relevant.  As a result of th ose meetings , 
two Members ha d already submitted notifications , and more were expected by the 22 February 
deadline.  
4.7.  The Facility continued to provide assistance to many Members by phone, email and walk -in 
visits. It was  confident of positive outcomes from th ose interactions, but their  informal nature ma de 
them hard to track.  Member s that ha d questions or need ed assistance with their notifications were 
invited t o contact TFAF at any time.  
4.8.  Since the last committee meeting , two national workshops had been conducted to assist 
Members with their notifications.  In December a notification workshop had been  held in the Central 
African Republic. It had been  conducted by a WTO official from the TPR Division, and WCO-accredited 
Customs Officials from Burkina Faso and Mali . As a result, the Central  African Republic had submitted 
its indicative dates, category B definitive dates and technical assistance needs two weeks later. The 
workshop facilitators also assisted the Central African Republic to contact donors and complete an 
expression of interest for TFAF grants. The Facility had also remained in contact with the Central 
African Republic  to advise on the ir transparency notifications.  
4.9.  A workshop had been  held in Guinea two weeks prior to assist with the preparation of their A,  
B and C categories, de finitive dates for B and technical assistance and capacity building needs. It 
had been  facilitated by a colleague in WTO's TPR division, UNCTAD, and the same official from Mali 
customs. Th eir notification had been  received a week earlier and was  currently under the review and 
finalization process of the WTO Secretariat.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  4.10.   During the reporting period, the Facility had also conducted a training for officials in 
Afghanistan through Skype. Th e half day training had provided an overview of the TFA with a focus 
on transit. The participants in Kabul had been  from border agencies and the private sector.  
4.11.   A National workshop had been held in El Salvador to strengthen public -private implementation 
of the TFA and build on th e political commitment to the TFA demonstrated by the Minister attending 
the last meeting of the Trade Facilitation Committe e. It had been  held back to back with a regional 
workshop for Latin American countries.  The regional workshop had been  held in Urugu ay in 
November  2019. It had been  conducted by Spanish speaking colleagues in the Market Access 
Division in cooperation with ALADI  (Latin American Integration Association ). The workshop had 
focused on enhancing national committees (including preparation of notifications), border agency 
co-operation and regional implementation efforts.  It had been  conducted in cooperation with many 
international and regional partner organizations and donor Members. It had been  attended by 71 
officials from 18 WTO Members incl uding officials from a broad range of ministries and agencies that 
were members of their national TF committee.  In the 7 weeks following the activity , six notifications 
had been  received from five participating Members  - more than 25% of the participating Members . 
4.12.   The Facility was  in the process of compiling and posting on the website a report created by 
the workshop participants capturing best practices and recommendations for the way forward as 
well as all the materials presented at the workshop and legis lation on NTFCs. The Spanish version 
would be available on the TFAF website. Some of the other materials could be translated  for the 
French and English pages.  
4.13.   The TFAF grant program  had been following up on expressions of interest,  that had been  
generated during the October 2019 T rade Facilitation  Week. The Expression of Interest was the first 
step in the grant program. At that  step the Member provide d information on the support it need ed 
to implement a provision or provisions of the TFA. Th e information was circulated to donors and 
organizations to see if they could  provide the necessary support. If not, then the country making 
the request could  complete an application for a project prepa ration grant.  
4.14.   The Expression of Interest request s from seven Members ha d been reviewed by donors and 
their requests would  not duplicate current or planned donor TFA implementation assistance. So, 
those countries ha d been advised to move to the next step - completion of an application for a TFAF 
project preparation grant.  Requests from an additional four Members were still being considered by 
the donor group.  
4.15.   One of the Facility roles was to enhance coordination and cooperation of partner organizations 
and to  discourage duplication. For th at reason, the TFAF  frequently participate d in events organized 
with or by its partners.  
4.16.   Last November the Facility had  participated in SPECA (which includes the Central Asian 
countries plus Afghanistan and Azerbaijan) meetin gs that  had organized by UNECE and held in 
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. SPECA countries include d Central Asian countries plus Afghanistan and 
Azerbaijan. The week consisted of three separate events, a SPECA Forum on sustainable transport 
and trade facilitation in the region, a roundtable and Working Group on Trade.  
4.17.   Looking ahead, based on the outcomes and positive feedback from past events, the Facility 
was planning a regional workshop on national trade facilitation committees, border agency 
cooperation, and reg ional implementation for the Pacific Island countries.  It would  be co -organized 
and co -funded by the TFAF, PIFS, the World Bank Group and the Commonwealth Secretariat. 
Participants would  be from WTO Members as well as from the wider Pacific region. It would be 
conducted in cooperation with international and regional organizations, specialists from Australia, 
New Zealand, and donors.  
4.18.   The Facility had organized a workshop for Pacific Island countries on the margins of the 
October meeting of the TFC. 
Update on  activities of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation  
4.19.   The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (Alliance) was a public private partnership which was 
operationalised by four organizations, the Centre for International Private Enterprise, the G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  International Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum and the German Development 
Agency (GIZ). It was funded by six donor countries – the United States, Cana da, the United 
Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Denmark. The initiative was also supported by a wide variety of 
the private sector companies, both large and small. Currently sitting on its steering group were DHL, 
Agility, Fiat Chrysler, Maersk, UPS, and Wa lmart . 
4.20.   The Alliance develop ed its projects  within the framework of public -private dialogue. They 
believe d that government and the private sector should be working hand in hand in developing 
projects to facilitate trade. Everything that the Global Alliance did was  directly related to TFA, so all 
of the projects had a direct link to TFA articles and respon ded to the needs of countries in terms of 
fulfilling th ose articles.  
4.21.   The Alliance leverage d private sector in all its projects . Its steering group committee  was 
embed ded in the  private sector, down to the practical implementation on the ground where they 
used the expertise from the private sector to help implement projects. They worked with the  private 
sector at three levels : (1) to identify blockages in the supply chain and identify potential projects ; 
(2) to help implement projects and (3) monitor if the project was  successful in terms of time and 
cost. The Alliance  attempt ed to design all its projects in a quantifiable and measurable way so that 
they could  access in a measurable way the reduction in time and the cost of doing trade.  
4.22.   The Alliance was implementing nine projects. It had completed the  finished at the end of 
2019. It was  currently scoping in about five  to 10 countries  on deep reform projects that require d 
substantial regulation and legislation change and span ned between 12 months and three years in 
terms of project length.  
4.23.   The Alliance  had a balance d portfolio in terms of geograph y and in country development  
profile. It worked with  25 global, multinational countries around the world, and about 250 local 
companies and SMEs in -country. They worked with multinationals because the  multinationals could 
provide the Alliance  with a global reach , plus, they ha d a certain amount of bandwidth to  be able to 
help with implementation, which local companies did not  always have. Local companies , however, 
usually kn ew the challenges in the supply chain  better than anyone.  
4.24.   Regarding Latin American and the Caribbean , the Alliance had two projects in Colo mbia. The 
first one to have been completed was a risk management system for the food and drugs authority 
called INVIMA.  The second project, which was quite ambitious , was the establishment of a unit within 
Customs to handle advanced rulings. It had been  in response to the need expressed  by the 
automotive industry which had been facing difficulty in importing their goods due to a lack of 
consistency in relation to advance rulings, de pending on the ports of ent ry. 
4.25.   The Alliance had also initiated a project in Brazil to optimis e the processes of the standards 
agency (INMETRO). The Brazil project was expected to achieve  some results in the near future . The 
Alliance  thank ed the government of Brazil for their very cl ose working relationship with the Alliance  
and the private sector, with which  the Alliance had managed to start achieving significant results 
over the past 12 -18 months.  
4.26.   The Alliance had also scoped a programme in Costa Rica which had originated from the private 
sector . In addition, since the last meeting of the CTF, the Global Alliance had started its first regional 
project in Latin America which  was in relation to assisting customs administration s to establish  a 
mutual recognition of A uthorized Economic Operator s. 
4.27.   In Africa, the Alliance had been working in Morocco  on a project to optimis e import and export 
processes in the agri -food sector. They were also scoping projects in Tunisia and Jordan.  In addition, 
they had similar projects on introducing ri sk-based pre -arrival processing  in Ghana and Kenya . There 
were also similar projects in Zambia and Malawi in relation to reorganising a framework to better 
manage the environment of customs broker training and licencing.  Finally, they were  scoping 
projects in Nigeria and Senegal, which were expected to be approved probably before the next 
meeting of the Committee.  
4.28.   In the Asia and the Pacific  region , the Alliance was  well-advanced in Viet Nam and Sri Lanka.  
The most ambitious project  was in Viet Nam and it was relation to implementing a modern customs 
bond system for the conditional release of goods.  The Alliance  had also been in discussion  with the G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  Government of India, and three countries within the south Pacific  - Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and 
Solomon Islands , potentially for a regional project.  
4.29.   In terms of results, the project in Colombia had come to an end at the end of 2019. The 
challenge had been a situation where 100% of the imports of cosmetics and medical devices and 
pharmaceuticals w ere being inspected by a controlling agency. The Alliance had worked hand in 
hand with the agency to establish a simple risk management system to reduce the inspection rate 
by a factor of 30%. As a result, they had managed to reduce the clearance time from  2 days to 3 
hours, but most importantly they had managed to calculate a saving for the private sector of USD 
379 per shipment. It also resulted in a saving to the economy of USD 8.8 million within the period 
of 12 months  
4.30.   With regard to the private sector,  their implication in the projects had gone beyond the 
expectations of the Alliance. They had gotten  to a situation where for  every dollar that their donors 
had given , they had received a dollar from the private sector . The Alliance 's expectation initially  had 
been somewhere between a 20% to 30% donation from the pr ivate sector . What the Global Alliance  
had discovered was that the private sector was willing to help and to contribute towards facilitating 
trade. As a result, for very single dollar of investme nts, the Facility had made a saving of USD 29 
dollars.  
4.31.   The spirit of the Alliance was about building a culture of collaboration through the power of 
its network  and interagency cooperation, but importantly through building cooperation between 
business and government.  
4.32.   The delegate of Sri Lanka  expressed thanks to the Global Alliance for extending their support 
to the multi -country consolidation in the Sri Lankan border context , which would shortly have initial 
meeting s. 
4.33.   The delegate of Brazil  thank ed the  Global Alliance for the very profitable project that they 
were conducting in Brazil. The project was expected to have very good results in 2020 . 
4.34.   The delegate of the United Kingdom  said that since it was the first time that the UK was taking 
the floor in the Committee, he was taking the  opportunity to reiterate the UK's strong support for 
the work of th e Committee in general, and for the Trade Facilitation Agreement in particular.  
4.35.   Access to global markets was key to development. And trade facilitation was key to access to 
global markets. In a globalised world where goods often cross ed borders many times as both 
intermediate and final products, trade facilitation help ed lower overall trade costs and increase d 
economic welfare, in particular for developing and  emerging economies. It was particularly relevant 
for the participation of developing countries in global value chains, trade in manufactured goods and 
regional integration.  
4.36.   Concluding the Trade Facilitation Agreement in 2013 had been  one of the WTO's most  
important contributions to global development, second only to its success in more than doubling its 
Membership to 164, including large numbers of developing and least developed countries.  
4.37.   Only days after the TFA had entered into force, the UK had been ready to support its 
developing country partners by launching a dedicated programme to Support the Implementation of 
the Trade Facilitation Agreement. Th e programme fund ed three partners based in Geneva – the 
Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, the TFA Fa cility, the Standards and Trade Development Facility 
– as well as the World Bank's Trade Facilitation Support Programme.  
4.38.   That programme complement ed the excellent work being done by UNCTAD and the World 
Customs Organisation on National Trade Facilitation C ommittees, funded by the UK under its role as 
Chair -in-Office of the Commonwealth. Th e programme ha d developed a rich evidence base to both 
guide their discussions here in Geneva and to help them understand more widely how developing 
countries were improvi ng their customs and border management, so that they could  further help 
them.  
4.39.   Those Geneva -based efforts were just one part of the UK 's global programme to support the 
implementation of the TFA , in particular , for the benefit of developing countries. To ta ke one G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  example, the UK had established TradeMark East Africa in 2010, which was now setting a global 
standard for best practice in trade facilitation. There had been excellent results in the region, 
including a 16.5% reduction in transit time along the two  corridors in East Africa.  
4.40.   The UK was committed to development. That was why it had enshrined its 0.7% commitment 
in domestic law, the only G20 country to have met that UN goal. Above all , the UK was committed 
to helping countries trade their way to prosperity. During its membership of the European Union, 
the UK had been  a major contributor to the EU's aid -for-trade programmes around the world, and 
an advocate for ambition in the EU's trade policy towards developin g countries. Outside of the 
European Union, the UK planned  to play an even more prominent role in Geneva in helping 
developing countries access global markets, both through its role in the WTO's negotiations and in 
its support for trade facilitation.  
4.41.   The d elegate of Ecuador  expressed thanks to the Global Alliance for their presentation. 
Regarding the ir project regarding having a mutual recognition agreement for authorized trading 
operators, if would be very goo d for Ecuador to be able to expand what they we re doing already. 
That was something that Ecuador  had been able to do within the framework of the committee . 
Ecuador was  very interested in being able to work in th at context.  
4.42.   The delegate of Canada  suggested that the item on updating the Committee on rece nt and 
upcoming activities might take place earlier in the meeting to allow for reflection and comments. It 
was very important for the Committee to continue to have the updates, and in that context, Canada 
hoped that the committee would continue to invite the Global Alliance to come and provide the ir 
updates and to observe the committee meeting.  
The First Latin American Meeting of National Committee Trade Facilitation  
4.43.   Uruguay reported on the FLAMNC TF which had been organized by the Secretariats of ALADI 
and the WTO, with funding from the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility, during the week of 25 -29 
November 2019. The meeting was attended by 74 participants from 17 Latin American countries: 
Argentina, the Plurinatio nal State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican 
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and 
Uruguay. More than 25 participants made presentations in which they shared national experi ences 
in the topics addressed by the meeting.  
4.44.   The report to be circulated aim ed to summarize the main points discussed during the meeting 
and had been  prepared by the WTO Secretariat based on daily summaries prepared by the 
participants.  
4.45.   The objectives of the First Latin American Meeting were: (1) To promote an exchange of 
experiences among the members of the National Trade Facilitation Committees so that they can 
identify areas of mutual learning and possible areas of collaboration; (2) To create a space f or the 
exchange of national experiences in the area of cooperation among the institutions intervening at 
the border; (3) To strengthen the capacity of the participants for a better monitoring and evaluation 
of the national reforms on trade facilitation; an d (4) To strengthen the capacity of the participants 
for the formulation of needs for technical assistance and cooperation and the drafting of proposals.  
4.46.   During the last session of the Meeting, participants discussed possible steps to strengthen the 
implem entation of the TFA in Latin America, and identified the following recommendations:  
• Develop an electronic platform that would allow Latin American and Caribbean countries to 
establ ish a continental network of contacts that would enable them to establish.  
• An electronic directory with the points of contact of the different NTFCs, with a view to 
facilitating direct communication among them;  
• A detailed directory of national officers and experts in each of the TFA provisions. This 
directory should also include information on the certifications obtained by such experts (e.g. 
WCO accreditations or similar in the areas covered by the TFA), as well as the technical 
contact points of the various international and regional organizations in these areas. The G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  system coul d also allow them to discuss specific questions or exchange information by 
specific action;  
• A compendium or system for exchanging regional best practices on the different topics 
covered by the AFC (e.g. specific articles or provisions), which would be iden tified and 
maintained by the NTFCs;  
• A forum for capacity building and strengthening on the different topics covered by the TFA 
and other related issues to the Agreement (e.g. risk management of parcels and mailings), 
which could compile and facilitate acce ss to existing e -learning programs, webinars, etc. The 
CNFCs could identify priority issues and coordinate with the various international and 
regional bodies in order to comprehensively map such programmes with a view to identifying 
areas that have not bee n covered;  
• Compile and publicize the specific areas in which each country in the region is able to offer 
technical assistance, including a description of the type of assistance and the national contact 
points;  
• The Meeting recognized that the commitment of all CNFCs would be needed to establish and 
maintain such a platform. It should be noted that the ALADI Secretariat offered to host and 
develop such a platform in coordination with the CNFCs of the Region (LAC) that decide to 
participate, and with the colla boration of other international and regional organizations that 
wish to join such effort;  
• Develop a plan to advance the region in the accreditation and mutual recognition of national 
laboratories related to foreign trade;  
• To invite a greater number of priv ate sector actors to future Meetings of National Trade 
Facilitation Committees;  
• To try to include e -commerce in future discussions.  
4.47.   Finally, as regards the formation of NTFCs, participants identified the following best practices:  
• Try to ensure that it is s haped by both the public and private sectors. In addition, try to be 
inclusive so that the participation of diverse interests from the private sector, including 
MSMEs, helps the proper functioning of the NTFC. The NTFC should identify the opportunities 
and benefits of the implementation of the TFA for MSMEs.  
• Involve the institutions that regulate sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  
• Where possible and where a sufficient level of maturity has been reached in the public -
private relationship, it is desirable t hat the private sector has a voice and a vote within the 
CNFC.  
• Gender balance at the NTFC member level should be taken into account.  
4.48.   The delegate of Paraguay  expressed thank s to the delegation of Uruguay for th e report. It 
had been a  very interesting activ ity at a regional level . ALADI had prepared a detailed report which 
they wished  for the Committee to consider  as an experience -sharing  contribution  and to be circulated 
to Members . Also, Paraguay expressed interest in analysing UNCTAD 's compendium of 
recom mendation s and best practices, which  could support  the US proposal  on compiling the 
experiences shared on NTFCs  at the Committee meetings.  Paraguay  thank ed the various delegates 
in Latin America for their input and participation into the activity and encou raged the Committee to 
study the forthcoming r eport as a valuable input . G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  Presentation by the World Customs Organization  
Trade Facilitation Agreement Working Group  
 
4.49.   The TFAWG was established by the WCO Policy Commission in its December 2013 meeting in 
Dublin. It was a quick response to the conclusion of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation by the WTO 
during the Ministerial Conference in Bali, just prior to the Policy Commission meeting.  
4.50.   The first meeting of the TFAWG was held in March 2014. In the first five years, there had 
been two TFAWG meetings per year. However, on the basis of the discussions of the December 2018 
Policy Commission, it had been  determined that future meetings of the TFAWG would be organized 
once a year, back -to-back with the Capacity  Building Committee, having in mind the cross -cutting 
nature of the discussions in the TFAWG and in the Capacity Building Committee.  
4.51.   The twelfth meeting of the TFAWG would  take place at the WCO Headquarters on 4 and 5 
March 2020. The TFAWG meeting would  bring together WCO Members, represented by Customs 
administrations and relevant ministries, as well as Trade negotiators from Geneva, donors and other 
relevant stakeholders such as other global -standard -setting bodies and the private sector. A Joint 
Session would  be held with the Capacity Building Committee on Wednesday 4 March. After the Joint 
Session, the TFAWG proper would  continue on Thursday 5 March 2020.  
4.52.   H.E. Ambassador Mohammad Qurban HAQJO, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to 
the WTO and Chair person  of the TFC had been invited to the Joint Session as a Keynote Speaker. 
He would  address developments taking place in the WTO TFC and how they related  to the WCO.  
4.53.   In the meantime, the WTO Secretariat  would  also participate in the Joint Session and provide 
an update regarding the WTO TFC and the WTO TFA state of play including the latest data on 
ratifications and notifications.  
4.54.   The draft Agenda of the meeting also included the  following topics:  
• A report on progress in the overall and the tailor -made tracks of the Mercator Programme.  
• How the interaction between Members and WCO in specific TFA -related areas was taking 
place in practice and how the lessons learned shape d the Secretariat 's ongoing an d future 
work on improving/amending the WCO tools and guidance in different areas. Specifically, 
the meeting would  be informed about the latest initiatives in the area of the Time Release 
Study, Post Clearance Audit and Transit.  
• A Secretariat presentation on the latest findings on Single Window environment collected 
through a WCO survey.  
• A Secretariat report on progress on the development of the "Reform and Modernization – 
Monitoring Activities and Projects " (RAM -MAP) and "Single Window Interactive Map " (SWIM). 
Both of them were web-based platforms designed to allow the user to access news articles 
and information on WCO Technical Assistance and Capacity building activities including 
information related to the Members ' automated systems such as Single Window  systems.  
• A discussion on different aspects of Article 12 of the TFA on Customs Cooperation. It would  
include provisions on voluntary compliance, exchange of information and bilateral and 
regional agreements. WCO Members would  present their experiences on implementation of 
Customs cooperation following which  the TFAWG would discuss the topic in break -out 
sessions.  
• A discuss ion on  the concept of account -based border management, its applicability to 
Customs and border clearance processes for enhanced facilitation and effective holistic 
risk, as well as associated requirements and critical success factors.  
• An opportunity to hear about Member(s) 's experience on the implementation of Article 7.3 
of the TFA on separation of release from final determination of Customs duties, taxes, fees 
and charges.  
• The TFAWG Work Programme and Annual Work Plan for the Financial  Year 2020/2021 would  
be discussed and approved.  
 
4.55.   All meeting documents, presentations and also Executive Summary of the meeting would be 
made publicly available on the WCO official website a few weeks after the meeting.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  WCO Mercator Programme  
 
4.56.   The WCO launched the Mercator Programme in 2014. It was a programme aimed at assisting 
members in implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement, but also in implementing trade 
facilitation measures more broadly.  Five years after its launch, in March 2019, the WCO published a 
Report on the implementation of the programme to take stock of the results achieved.  
• The report highlight ed the approach, people, instruments, tools and partnerships that 
underpin ned the Mercator Programme 's success.  
• In the meantime , it offer ed specific case studies and lessons learned for the continued roll -
out of the Programme.  
• Case studies from MY Mercator partnerships demonstrate d the connection between the TFA 
and the WCO 's instruments, tools, standards and approaches, o ffering insights into the 
unique potential of the Mercator Programme to support TFA implementation from a global 
perspective.  
• The report was publicly available on the WCO web site . 
• The WCO was working on the  next edition of the Mercator Programme Report wh ich would 
cover additional information for the last one -year period. The n ew edition would  be 
presented to the WCO Council in June 2020.  
 
4.57.   The Mercator Programme was possible due to the donors who were providing support.  
4.58.   With the aim of achieving the necessary coordination of activities, the WCO was also working 
very closely with the different development partners, including with the TFA Facility.  
4.59.   The following developments had taken place under  the Tailor -Made Track of th e Mercator 
Programme.  
• Tailor -Made Track was specially designed to meet specific needs of the individual Members 
or sub -regions  
• In accordance with the Mercator Programme operating model, adopted in 2017, Tailor -Made 
Assistance include d needs assessment, str ategic planning and implementation planning, 
followed by monitoring and evaluation.  
• Tailor -Made Assistance could  come in the form of  Multi-Year (MY) Mercator Programme 
Implementation Plans or ad -hoc engagements supporting specific TFA articles.  
• A growing p roportion of TFA related support under the tailor -made track was now being 
delivered under Multi -Year (MY) Mercator partnerships.  
• There were currently 52 Members benefiting from the so -called "Multi Year (MY) Mercator 
Programme " under the tailor -made track.  
• MY Mercator engagements were based on medium to long -term partnerships with Members 
and employ ed a project -based approach.  
• There was a significant role for WCO accredited experts, in particular Mercator Programme 
Advisors (MPA s). The WCO now ha d a total of 76 MPAs recorded in the Accredited Customs 
Experts (ACE) database.  
• Many of MPAs were now regularly providing effective TFA implementation support through 
sustained engagement with beneficiary Members.  
 
4.60.   Since the commencement of the Mercator operating model over 40 diagnostic missions ha d 
been conducted. Further TFA diagnostic missions were planned later in 2020.  
4.61.   From the 10 diagnostic missions delivered in the last one -year period;  
• Over 200 strategic recommendations had been  developed in close collaboration with 
Members.  
• 90% of those strategic recommendations had been  related to technical trade facilitation 
procedures closely associated to specific articles of the TFA. Further analys is reveal ed a 
continuing high requirement for support in the broad areas of publication and transparency, 
Customs procedures, compliance and risk management, along with cooperation, 
collaboration and connectivity with stakeholders.  
• The remaining 10% of re commendations relate d to important crosscutting matters 
associated to organizational development. Experience ha d shown that in order to achieve G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  sustainability, support under the Mercator Programme need ed to extend to those crucial 
areas considered to be TF A enablers. Th ose areas commonly include d project management, 
donor coordination, human resource development, information and communication 
technology, integrity, and gender and diversity.  
 
4.62.   The Mercator Scoping Missions use d a combination of tools to asses s implementation of TFA 
articles. Depending on TFA notifications, previous diagnostics and other national circumstances, up 
to 41 measures were analy zed, together with associated organizational, enabling and institutional 
arrangements.  
4.63.   Complex TFA articles, such as Risk Management, Post Clearance Audit, Measurement of 
Release Times and Authorized Operators, where sustained and holistic engagement was needed for 
effective implementation, figure d strongly among these WCO -mediated efforts.  
4.64.   Multi-Year Implementation Support had also enabled complementary organizational 
development support encompassing matters of leadership, management, training, e -learning and 
competency -based human resources management.  
4.65.   In addition to the multi -year implemen tation support, many WCO Members continue d to 
benefit from ad -hoc technical assistance missions focused on individual TFA technical measures , 
such as advance rulings, risk management, post -clearance audit (PCA), time release study (TRS), 
authorized economi c operator (AEO), and single window (SW) along with support in areas associated 
to data harmonization, stakeholder engagement, coordinated border management (CBM), etc. Th at 
support was based on over 50 WCO instruments and tools which ha d been produced by the WCO 
and its membership through the comprehensive WCO committee structure.  
4.66.   The Chair said that i n light of the very helpful information that ha d been presented to the 
Committee under this item, since 2017, he would like to propose that for future Commit tee meetings, 
the updates would be provided  in writing and sufficiently ahead of the Committee meeting to allow 
for them to be circulated and included on the Airgram. He believe d that this approach would provide 
delegations with the opportunity to familiar ise themselves with the contents of the reports ahead of 
the meeting and that the meeting could focus on having a discussion and answering any questions 
in relation to the circulated updates.  
4.67.   It was so agreed . 
4.68.   The Committee took note  of the information and of the statements made.  
5  OTHER BUSINESS  
5.1.  The delegate of Mongolia said that he was making a statement on behalf of the landlocked 
developing country (LLDC) M ember s of the WTO . These  countries recognise d the importance of the 
TFA in bo osting global trade. They also acknowledge d the significance of addressing high trade costs 
of landlocked developing countries. The full implementation of the TFA would  reduce LLDC's trade 
costs by an average of 15.4% . Therefore, full implementation of the  TFA, specifically Article 11 on 
Freedom of Transit , was very much instrumental in removing obstacles for LLDCs and better 
integrating them into the global trading system.  
5.2.  A broad range of issues reflected in Article 11  on Freedom of Transit  - including el imination or 
restriction of regulations and formalities, fees or charges and restrain ts applied to traffic in transit  - 
was of upmost importance, not only for landlocked countries but also for neighbouring transit 
countries.  
5.3.  In that regard, the LLDCs  firmly believe d that achieving  implementation of Article 11 would  
positively contribute to achieving better results and further implementation of the Agreement . 
Therefore , they would like to propose to the Committee to study the possibility of establishing a su b-
committee on Freedom of Transit Facilitation, in accordance with Article 23.1.3 of the TFA. The 
proposed subsidiary body could be instrumental in identifying achievements in the process of the 
implementation of the TFA and providing recommendations to im prove transit facility for both 
landlocked and transit countries. The LLDCs hoped that their proposal would  be considered positively 
during the future meetings of the Committee.  G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  5.4.  On a separate note, the delegate informed the Committee that the Government of  Mongolia 
had voluntarily appointed its national transit coordinator in accordance with Article 11.17 of the TFA  
and the information had been circulated in document G/TFA/W/18. The delegation of Mongolia 
encourage d member States to also appoint their national transit coordinator s. 
5.5.  The delegate of China  said that he wished to thank all those Members who ha d provided 
generous and needed support to China to fight against the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP) 
epidemic. Since the outbreak of the NCP, China had received donations of epidemic prevention and 
control supplies and other support in various means from governments, institutions, companies and 
individuals. A friend in need was a friend indeed. China wishe d to express its gratitude to all.  
5.6.  The NCP was a challenge for all human beings, which need ed to be tackled jointly by the 
international community. In order to curb the outspread of contagion, the government of China and 
its people were making all -out efforts to fight against the epidemic and ha d taken decisive and 
effective measures to contain the spread of the disease. As WHO Director -General Dr. Tedros had 
put it, it was because of China's strong measures and Chinese people's sacrifice that cross -border 
spread of the epidemic ha d been effectively co ntained. UN Secretary -General António Guterres had 
also commended China for its massive and remarkable efforts to contain the virus propagation. 
China's all -out efforts were continuing with increasing effects. With all the efforts and the 
understanding and  support from the international community, China ha d full confidence and 
capability to win the fight against the epidemic. China was committed to working with all others to 
uphold global public health security.  
5.7.  Currently, the prevention and control of the epidemic was at a critical stage. China would 
continue to share information and strengthen cooperation with other WTO Members in an open, 
transparent and highly responsible manner to tackle the global challenge. China hoped WTO 
Members won 't overreact by i mposing unnecessary restrictions, to avoid having negative 
consequences for the international economy. As the DG of the WHO had mentioned that day, the 
outbreak was testing the world in many ways. It was a test of political solidarity -whether the world 
could come together to fight a common enemy that did not respect borders or ideologies. For that 
purpose, China would call on all WTO Members to abide by WTO rules, respect the authority and 
professional advice of the WHO, refrain from overreacting by imposin g unnecessary trade restrictions  
to avoid negative consequences for the international economy , and join efforts together to safeguard 
the normal conduct of international trade, support steady world economic growth, and safeguard 
the common interests of all  Members  
5.8.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the three items he wished to raise.  
5.9.  Firstly , in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of The Committee on Trade Facilitation 
(G/L/1342), the election of the incoming Chairperson took place at the first meeting of the year and 
took effect at the end of that meeting. As Members were aware, consultations had not yet started 
on the slate of names for Chairs of the subsidiary bodies of the Council for Trade in Goods. Therefore, 
he wished to propose that once the CTG process had concluded, he would send out a communication 
indicating the name of the delegate being nominated as Chair of the CTF. He would give a period of 
24 hours for comments. If no comment was received within the specified timeframe, the nomine e 
would  be considered elected through acclamation as of that moment. He or she would  commence 
their functions as Chair at the first meeting of the TF Committee immediately following his/her 
election.  
5.10.   It is so agreed . 
5.11.   The Chair confirmed that  the Committee 's next meeting would take place on 19 May and 
continue on 20 May as necessary. The regular session of the Autumn meeting would take place on 
20 and 2 1 October and would  be follow ed by the Dedicated Session on Capacity Building which would  
take pl ace on 23 October.  
5.12.   The Chair  asked Members if it was agreeable to them to invite representatives of the Annex 
D organizations to participate in the next Committee session, together with a representative from 
the Global Alliance.  
5.13.   It was so agreed . G/TFA/M/ 10 
 
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  5.14.   The Commi ttee took note  of the information and of the statements made.  
5.15.   The meeting was  adjourned . 
__________