WORLD TRADE G/L/226
18March 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1087)
Council forTrade inGoods
16March 1998
STATEMENT BYH.E. MR.R.SABOR ÍOSOTO,
CHAIRMAN OFTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS,
UNDER ITEM I(TRADE FACILITATION)
Attheoutset, Iwould liketomake ashort statement concerning theSymposium onTrade
Facilitation. Youwillrecall thattheSymposium wasorganized bytheSecretariat ontheinitiative
oftheCouncil forTrade inGoods. TheSymposium tookplace lastMonday andTuesday, 9and
10March 1998.
Twenty-seven speakers from private enterprises andindustry groups gaveanoverview ofa
number ofareas where traders faceobstacles when moving goods across borders. Speakers from
intergovernmental organizations (IMF, ITC,UNCTAD, UN/ECE, World Bank, andWorld Customs
Organization) reported ontheexperiences intheirwork ontrade facilitation.
350delegates from around 75Members andmore than20observers were present overthe
twodaysoftheconference. Many delegations included high-ranking capital based experts onCustoms
andCommerce affairs, aswellasinterested private sector representatives.
Aftertwointroductorypresentationsexplainingthecomplexdetailsofatypicaltradetransaction,
threeconsecutivepanels(ontransport,customs,andfinancialrequirementsfortrade)providedaplatform
fortheprivate sector toelaborate onthemainpractical obstacles theyfacewhen moving goods across
borders, andtosuggest solutions inthese areas. Afourth panel, onelectronic facilities withpotential
fortrade facilitation, introduced theaudience tosome ofthebenefits andpossible applications of
automation andElectronic DataInterchange between government agencies andtraders, andgavean
outlook onhowbusiness transactions maybeconducted electronically inthefuture.
Themain concerns traders voiced during beSymposium could besummarized under five
headings:
- Excessive documentation requirements;
- Lack ofautomation andinsignificant useofinformation-technology;
- Lack oftransparency; unclear andunspecified import andexport requirements;
- Inadequate procedures; especially alackofaudit-based controls andrisk-assessment techniques;
- Lack ofmodernization of,andcooperation among customs andother government agencies,
which thwarts efforts todealeffectively withincreased trade flows.
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Most speakers andseveral discussants from thefloor suggested thattheWTO hadaroleto
playintrade facilitation, beitthrough strengthening existing WTO disciplines andrules, sothat
administrative barriers aremore effectively tackled, orbybringing thework ofother organizations
under theWTO rule-based system, thusmaking them multilaterally binding andenforceable. There
werealsosuggestions thattheWTO should playaco-ordinating roleorthatitshould promote adherence
toorawareness ofexisting orfuture instruments concerning trade facilitation. Some Members drew
attention totheimportant workontradefacilitation currently underway invarious WTO bodies, namely
ontheimplementation oftheCustoms Valuation Agreement, onpreshipment inspection, andonrules
oforigin. They stated thatpriority should begiven tothesatisfactory andtimely completion ofthese
issues. Some others stated thatitwould notbeappropriate totakeupadditional work orcreate new
bodies. Several discussants stated thatitwasimportant tolookclosely attheissues thatwereraised
during theSymposium inthecontext offurther work ontrade facilitation intheWTO.
Iwould liketorecall thattheSymposium wasintended toplace WTO Members inaposition
tomove tothephase ofanalytical work ontrade facilitation, inorder toassess thescope forWTO
rules inthisarea, assetoutintheSingapore Declaration. Iwould liketoaskyoutoreflect onhow
ourwork ontrade facilitation should continue inthefuture. Inmyview, there aretwoquestions to
consider:
First, whatshallbetheimmediate follow-up oftheSymposium? Howshould theinformation
wehavereceived beprocessed inorder tobeauseful resource onwhich wecandrawinouranalytical
work?
Secondly, howshould theanalytical process ofourwork bestructured inthefuture?
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