G/TFA/W/56  
 
30 July 2021  
(21-5996) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade Facilitation  Original: English  
 
 
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT FOUR YEAR REVIEW  
ARTICLE 23.1.6 OF THE TFA  
 
PROPOSAL ON LEVERAGING THE WTO TFA FOUR YEAR IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW  
BY DEVELOPING GOOD PRACTICES IN NTFC IMPLEMENTATION  
COMMUNICATION FROM TURKEY AND THE UNITED STATES  
The following communication, dated 22 July 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation s of Turkey and the United States . 
 
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BACKGROUND  
1. On 30 January 2020, the Secretariat circulated a communication from the United Stat es, 
referenced in G/TFA/W/19, that suggested Members explore good practices and building blocks of 
successful National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs) based on the multitude of experience 
sharing presentations by Members on that topic. The United Sta tes encourages the Committee revisit 
this previous communication in light of the four year TFA implementation review.  
2. On 4 April 2018, the United States shared its own experience implementing the US NTFC in 
document G/TFA/W/5, The Structure and Role of the  US National Trade Facilitation Committee. Our 
study concluded that three key elements are essential for a well -functioning NTFC capable of 
implementing the TFA: full inter -agency participation, clear leadership with political imperatives, and 
strong links  to the private sector.  
3. Including the US' presentation, there have been 20 presentations from 24 Members and 1 
Annex D organization (UNCTAD) at the Trade Facilitation Committee to share experiences related to 
NTFCs. This topic comes second only to the amount of presentations by Members and Annex D 
organizations regarding the COVID -19 crisis. The United States' proposal aims to provide the 
Committee with the tools to take full advantage of the benefits of experience sharing on the popular 
topic of NTFC i mplementation, similar to previous proposals regarding presentations on COVID -19. 
4. The European Union's proposal (G/TFA/W/31 and subsequent Revisions) for the Secretariat to 
draft a compendium of all COVID -19 presentations, shared in the Secretariat's Factu al Report in 
G/TFA/W/ 41, has been a critical tool to memorialize the information that Members and Annex D 
organizations have shared. Review of the Factual Report has provided ease of reference to better 
understand how we as Members can use our shared exper iences to improve Committee function and 
domestic implementation. In conclusion, the multitude of presentations demonstrated that a wide 
range of efforts can be employed to implement the TFA towards a shared goal of mitigating the 
impacts of COVID -19 on su pply chains.  
PROPOSAL  
5. As Committee Members, we have all been energized by the TFAs first four year implementation 
review occurring amidst a global economic crisis. Given the significance of these two events, the 
United States proposes to draw from the comp endium to propose a consensus document that 
contains good practices and building blocks of successful NTFCs, and identifies a minimum of three 
concrete elements that all Members agree are essential for implementing a successful NTFC: full G/TFA/W/56  
 
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  government agency  participation, clear leadership with political imperatives, and strong links to the 
private sector.  
CONCLUSION  
6. We again call on Members to ensure the success of the ongoing implementation of the TFA by 
promoting a better understanding among Members of the  elements of successful NTFCs, possible 
solutions to challenges encountered, and an informed approach to support and enhance technical 
assistance efforts deployed by development partners.  
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