./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/309
2 September 1999
(99-3666)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Trade Facilitation
Communication from Korea
The following communication, dated 1 September 1999, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Korea.
_______________
Introduction
1. The discussion and exchange of views on trade facilitation in the Council for Trade in Goods
conducted in the past two years have highlighted the need to develop a WTO framework for trade
facilitation.  Korea believes that the WTO has a pivotal role to play in this area, in particular to
coordinate the various efforts exerted by individual Members both at the regional and multilateral
levels.
Review of the existing WTO Agreements related to trade facilitation
2. WTO Agreements such as the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures and the Agreement
on Rules of Origin and their provisions should be subject to amendment/revision to improve their
ability to facilitate commercial exchanges.  At the same time, this process should be done in close
coordination with other organizations such as th e World Customs Organization to avoid duplication.
Matters which possibly require new rule s in relation to trade facilitation
3. In conjunction with the amendment/revision of the existing WTO Agreements, Korea regards
the matters dealt with below as possibly requiring new rules within the WTO legal framework in
relation to trade facilitation.  New rule-making should nonetheless be confined to what is collectively
recognized as essential so as not to impose too heavy a new burden on developing countries.
Simplification and modernization of customs procedures
4. There is little doubt that trade facilitation measures such as modernization and reform of
customs procedure through the adoption of international standards and practices for documentation
and data gathering, coupled with introduction of modern customs techniques by national customs
authorities, will make it easier for countries to use resources more efficiently, improve revenuecollection, and control better and increase trade flows.WT/GC/W/309
Page 2
Use of electronic media and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
5. The use of accelerated and simplified systems and EDI for imports and exports accelerates
customs clearance and facilitates inspections of goods as the related data can be transmitted before the
goods reach their destination, thereby also making it easier to collect customs duties and loweringoverall transaction costs.
Technical cooperation
6. To put into practice the above-suggested ideas, greater technical cooperation is necessary.
The future work programme on trade facilitation – encompassing all relevant WTO Committees –
should thus devote due attention to technical assistance aiming at building capacity, both human and
physical, in developing countries to help them reach a adequate level of automation andmodernization in export/import administration.
Transparency of rules and regulations on trade and customs procedures
7. Laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application, made
effective by any contracting party and pertaining to international trade and customs administrationshould be published in full and promptly in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to be
acquainted with them.
8. As such, transparency is of utmost importance, as it enables both governments and traders to
have access to formalities and requirements relating to trade and customs procedures.  The
introduction of a database constructed by and available to all WTO Members would in this sense be auseful contribution to greater transparency.
Conclusion
9. In view of the need to concretely address the aforementioned considerations and bearing in
mind the benefits to all generated by more fluid trade flows, it is Korea’s opinion that the tradefacilitation issue should be listed on the agenda of the upcoming new round of trade negotiations.  The
multilateral forum that a new round represents is the optimal setting to discuss such issue and to build
on the discussions already held on the subject in organizations such as the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Asia-P acific Economic Cooperation (APEC), World
Customs Organization (WCO) and the United Nati ons Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).
__________