RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/MA/IDB/W/3
14November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5008)
Original: English Committee onMarket Access
IDBTECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME
Note bytheSecretariat
I. BACKGROUND
On24June1997, theCommittee onMarket Access approved adraftdecision ontheSupply
ofInformation totheIntegrated Database forPersonal Computers which wasforwarded totheGeneral
Council andadopted on16July1997 (WT/L/225).
TheCouncil decision states:
"1. ThatWTO Members shallsupply totheSecretariat, onanannual basis, theinformation referred
toindocument G/MA/IDB/1/Rev.1.
2. ThattheSecretariat shall, upon request, provide technical assistance toMembers inrelation
tothesubmission ofthedatarequired fortheIntegrated DataBaseforPersonal Computers.
3. Thatthesubmission ofthedatarequired fortheIntegrated DataBaseforPersonal Computers
shallnotprejudice therights andobligations ofMembers under theWTO agreements."
Asdescribed inG/MA/IDB/1/Rev.1, IDBsubmissions would consist ofimports andtariffs
foryearn-1,tariffs foryearnandreference information. Theinformation under "References" would
beusedbytheSecretariat tostandardize certain datafrom submissions received from individual
Members.NationaltariffcorrelationtableswouldbefurnishedbyMembersshowingdifferencesbetween
thetariff nomenclatures foryearnandyearn-1where thenomenclature changed. ForMFN duties,
thefollowing willbeprovided:
- current bound duties; and
- current applied duties.
Theprime focus would beonaccepting whatisreadily available innational capitals inorder
tominimize theirresponse burden. When computerized dataarenotavailable incapitals orarebeing
set-up, theSecretariat would provide technical assistance toMembers intheformoftheexisting PC
dataentry application oncerevised toinclude newfacilities requested byMembers. Thiswould take
place afterthebasic system isoperational.G/MA/IDB/W/3
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Theprimary objective istoimprove theparticipation intheIDBwithuseful, quality andtimely
data. Thereafter, theSecretariat would concentrate oncreating anIDB"Data Warehouse" containing
rawdataandsummary filesforthecreation byusers ofIDBreports using standard PCsoftware such
asLotus, Excel, PCDBMS fordistribution toMembers. ThePCIDBdesign isdeliberately flexible
sothatadditional dataelements could beadded atalaterdate.
II. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME FOR THE IDB
Thisdocument examines thepossibilities forestablishing atechnical assistance programme
forthePCIDB. Elements covered include:
- development ofPCsoftware forsubmission preparation;
- participation inWTO seminars toprovide IDBtraining;
- conducting IDBseminars tailored toregional requirements andtoWTO Members;
- establishment ofcontacts inmissions andnational capitals;
- collaboration with other international organizations andregional secretariats for
follow-up; and
- funding considerations fortechnical assistance.
(a) PCSoftware forpreparation ofIDBSubmissions
Tofacilitate thereceipt ofdatafrom Members, asoftware application would be
developed in1998toenable Members toprepare theirIDBsubmissions. Theapplication would
provide dataentry andupdate facilities, features toimport datafromexternal files, validation
facilities, andthematching andreconciliation ofnomenclature between tariffs andimports.
Inorder toinput datafromexternal files, theapplication would provide functionality
tomanipulate thedatainaflexible, user-friendly manner. Inaddition todataentryandupdating
functions, some features provided bytheapplication would be:
- importing different types ofnative software formats;
- importing awiderange ofrecord structures;
- specification andsaving ofinput record structures;
- selection ofsubsets ofrecords forprocessing;
- mass changes todataelement values foralloraselected range ofrecords;
- mass copies ofonedataelement value toanother foralloraselected range
ofrecords;
- replication oftariff lineswhere theyarenotsystematically recorded onall
records;G/MA/IDB/W/3
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- validation ofthedata; and
- various options forviewing andupdating thedata.
(b) Participation inWTO Seminars toprovide IDBTraining
TechnicalassistancefortheIDBwouldincludetheparticipationbyIDBstaffinseminars
organized onmarket access issues, aswellasinworkshops already scheduled inthethree-year
plan(1998-2000) oftheWTO Programme forTechnical Cooperation.
National representatives atthese seminars could consult with IDBstaff onthe
methodology andtechnical aspects oftheirnational tariffs andimport submissions totheWTO,
inorder toensure thattherequirements oftheIDBareunderstood. Briefings could beconducted
forthose officials whoarenotinvolved inthecollection oftariffs andimport statistics forthem
toconvey theIDBrequirements totherelevant authorities. Furthermore, theguidelines for
thepreparation ofIDBsubmissions could becirculated toparticipants along withthecontact
points intheSecretariat fortheIDB.
Furthermore, presentations oftheIDBCD-ROM might beorganized atthoseseminars.
Thiswould demonstrate thepossibilities ofextracting information which could beusedby
countries inbilateral negotiations, andforanalysing theirexport opportunities andother means
oftrade diversification.
Aswell,theSecretariat staffinvolved intechnical cooperation, inconducting seminars
orincollecting datainnational capitals could provide training onIDBrequirements. When
onmission, these staffcould establish IDBcontact points, andifpossible, collect theavailable
information fortheIDB.
(c) Conducting IDBSeminars tailored toregional requirements andtoWTO Members
Inearly1998, national fact-finding andcooperation missions toanumber ofdeveloping
countries aswellassome countries intransition, would beenvisaged. These activities would
target theofficers responsible forthecollection ofcustoms tariff dataandimport statistics,
andtheintention would betoidentify needs tobegin with. General information onIDB
requirementswouldbepresented,andcontactswithnationalrepresentativesforfurtherfollow-up
andcollection ofdatawould beestablished.
Starting inmid-1998, regional seminars could beorganized ontheIDB. These seminars
could cover allaspects ofdatarequirements, useofthePCsubmission preparation software,
thesetting-up oftariff andtrade databases innational capitals, theuseoftheIDBInternet
filetransfer facility, andtheuseoftheIDBCD-ROM. These seminars could beorganized
byregion andlanguage groups.
Itwould beuseful ifparticipants atsuchseminars brought withthem thelatest tariff
andimports dataonelectronic media forsubmission orreview byIDBstaff.G/MA/IDB/W/3
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(d) Establishment ofcontacts inmissions andnational capitals
IDBcontact points havealready beenestablished insome national capitals. However,
thisneeds tobeextended tocover alarger number ofdeveloping andleast-developed countries.
TheSecretariat would alsoobtain thisinformation from themissions inGeneva.
(e) Collaboration withother international organizations andregional secretariats
Forsome developing countries, thecollection ofimport andtariff datamayprove to
beextremely difficult since thebasic infrastructure maynotbeinplace. Inthisregard, the
needexists fortheSecretariat toestablish contacts withsuchorganizations asUNDP, WCO,
OAS, theWorld Bank, andRegional Development Banks toestablish thebasic requirements
forsetting-up thisinfrastructure andforitsfinancing.
Some international organizations involved inthecollection andprocessing oftariff
andimport statistics havealready beenidentified. Thefollowing isashort summary oftheir
programmes:
UNCTAD: (ASYCUDA -Automated System forCustoms Data)
In1984, UNCTAD distributed acomputerized system tofacilitate customs operations
toassist developing countries inthecollection andcompilation offoreign trade data.
Itwascreated tomeet therequirements ofinternational trade andtopromote trade
efficiency. Ittakes intoconsideration theinterlinked rôlesoftrade, service providers
andtransport users. Themainobjectives oftheASYCUDA project aretoshorten delays
atborder crossings, increase Customs revenue, simplify formalities, andenhance trade.
However, UNCTAD 'sASYCUDA project doesnothaveasanobjective thecollection
oftrade andtariff datafrom these countries.
Atpresent, UNCTAD isresponsible forensuring some technical assistance foraperiod
oftwoyears afterimplementation oftheASYCUDA system inacountry. There are
three training centres atthecountries 'disposal -Malta, Kuala Lumpur, andLusaka.
Afourth centre isforeseen fortheCaribbean for1998.
Asastarting point, theWTO Secretariat could request tariffs andimports fromthose
countries where theASYCUDA project hasalready beenimplemented.
EUROSTAT: (EUROTRACE project)
TheEUROTRACE project isimplemented byEUROSTAT andcovers bothanational
andregional dimension.
EUROTRACE National isintended forGovernment Statisticians responsible forthe
production, dissemination andanalysis ofexternal trade statistics. Itispresently
installed in48countries, mainly inthenational statistical offices. More specifically,
thesystem isusedtocollect external tradedata,check theirreliability, correct thedata
when necessary, andproduce external trade statistics.G/MA/IDB/W/3
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EUROTRACE Regional isdesigned forregional organisations. Current siteswhere
ithasbeenimplemented areECOWAS (Economic Community ofWestern African
States) andCOMESA (Common Market forEastern andSouth Africa). Thesystem
isusedfortheproduction ofintraandextra-regional statistics onexternal trade. It
compiles aggregate datafromtheregional member states, which arethentransferred
intoacommon statistical databank, from which figures onregional external trade
statistics areproduced.
Thedatagenerated byASYCUDA canbeimported intoEUROTRACE. Statistical
information suchasimports, exports, re-exports including customs value, netweight
canbeselectedbycommodity,countryandperiod.EUROTRACEpermitsthedefinition
anduseofstandard commodity nomenclatures suchastheHarmonized System (HS)
andtheStandard International Trade Classification (SITC).
FortheIDB, theWTO Secretariat could request imports fromthose countries where
theEUROTRACE project hasbeenimplemented andinitiate contacts withtheregional
organizations.
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB):
InMarch 1995 andinthecontext oftheFreeTrade Area oftheAmericas (FTAA),
theWorking Group oftheMarket Access Committee requested theIADB toconstruct
aHemispheric Market Access DataBase. In1995and1996, theIADB requested and
received assistance fromtheWTO Secretariat regarding training onIDBrequirements,
preparation ofsubmissions, andclarification ofIDBcontents andformats.
Although theFTAA database andmethodology werebased ontheWTO IDB,countries
participating inthisdatabase havenotsubmitted theFTAA information totheWTO
IDB. Now thatitisobligatory tofurnish IDBsubmissions, countries intheFTAA
might agree onfurther collaboration withtheWTO, regarding IDBsubmissions.
Regional Secretariats
ItisexpectedthatregionalsecretariatssuchasCARICOM,ASEAN,APECandESCAP
could bestrategic allies infamiliarizing theirmember countries withtherequirements
oftheIDBandinfollowing-up onthecollection oftariffandimports data. TheIADB
hascarried outseveral workshops concerning requirements fortheFTAA datawhich
havemetwithconsiderable success.
(f) Funding considerations fortheIDB
In1998 asindicated above, theIDBwould beincluded, where possible, inregional
seminars organized onmarket access issues aswellasinworkshops already scheduled bythe
WTO initsthree-year plan(1998-2000) ontechnical cooperation. Inthisconnection, general
information onIDBrequirements would beprovided andcontacts would beestablished with
national representatives forfurther follow-up and collection ofdata (funding
requirements -SwF100,000).
Itisenvisaged inearly 1998, toprovide targeted assistance intheform ofmissions
tofiveorsixMembers onademand-driven basis. Preference would begiven torequests from
African, Asian andLatin American countries (funding requirements -SwF90,000).G/MA/IDB/W/3
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Starting inmid-1998, threeIDBregional seminars would beorganized covering three
distinct geographical areas andlanguages, thatis,inAfrica, Asia, Latin America andthe
Caribbean. Itisexpected thatsome twenty countries perregional seminar would participate
withtworepresentatives percountry. Theseminars would target theofficers responsible for
thecollection ofcustoms tariff dataandimport statistics. These regional seminars could be
coupled with subsequent national workshops intherespective hostcountries (funding
requirements -SwF100,000).
Thefunding fortheabove missions andseminars would come partly fromthemonies
already available fortheWTO Programme onTechnical Assistance. However, additional
funding mayberequired.