RESTRICTED  
  
G/TFA/M/13  
 
21 December 2020  
(20-9251) Page: 1/42 
Committee on Trade Facilitation   
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION AND  
THE DEDICATED SESSION ON ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
20-22 OCTOBER 20 20 
CHAIR: HE M S KATRINA NAUT  (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ) 
Contents  
1   REGULAR COMMITTEE MEETING  ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
A. MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
NOTIFICATIONS BY MEMBERS  ................................ ................................ .........................  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  .. 11 
Revisions that correct broken URLs contained in previously issued notifications  .........................  13 
Notifications under article 22 of the Trade Facilitation  Agreement  ................................ ............  15 
STATUS OF RATIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION  PROCESS  ................................ .............  17 
Update by the WTO Secretariat  ................................ ................................ ..........................  17 
B. EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  ................................ .................  18 
Elimination of consularization require ment (G/TFA/W/23) - Statement by Jordan  ......................  18 
Landlocked Countries - Transit and the COVID -19 Pandemic  ................................ ..................  19 
Presentation by Mongolia  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 19 
Presentation by Afghanistan  ................................ ................................ ..............................  19 
Presentation by Nepal  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 19 
Presentation by Paraguay  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 19 
Statement by Bolivia  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  19 
Statement by the Kyrgyz Republic  ................................ ................................ ......................  20 
E-Longroom: An Emerging Digital Customs Strategy - Presentation by Canada  .........................  21 
Time Release Study - Prese ntation by Guatemala  ................................ ................................ . 21 
List of the National Legislations and Notices on Temporary Measures Adopted in response to 
COVID -19 - Presen tation by the Dominican Republic  ................................ .............................  21 
The Effective Interventions by the Department of Customs of Sri Lanka During the COVID -19 
Outbreak  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  21 
Japan Customs' Response to COVID -19 ................................ ................................ ...............  22 
Measures Adopted by The European Union During the COVID -19 Crisis Concerning the Proof of 
Preferential Origin  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  22 
Measures taken during the COVID -19 pandemic by Switzerland  ................................ ..............  22 G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  Supporting the Timely and Efficient Rele ase of Global Goods Through Accelerated Implementation 
of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - Communication from The United States, Brazil and 
Colombia (G/TFA/W/25)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 22 
Intimation to the Committee on Trade Facilitation About  India's COVID -19 Trade Facilitation 
Measures  (G/TFA/W/26)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 24 
C. RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  ................................ ................................ .... 25 
D. DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT (2020) OF THE TRADE FACILITATION COMMITTEE TO THE 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS (G/TFA/W/27)  ................................ ...........................  25 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 25 
2   DEDICATED SESSION ON ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  ............................  27 
EXCHANGES ON ANY IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS; REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN THE 
PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY  BUILDING TO SUPPORT THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TFA; AN D, THE SHARING OF EXPERIENCES AND 
INFORMATION ON ONGOING ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY BUILDING AND 
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS, INCLUDING CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES  ..................  28 
RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  ................................ ................................ ............  39 
 
1  REGULAR COMMITTEE MEETING  
A. MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
1.1.  The Chair welcomed delegations to the meeting of the Trade Facilitation Committee (TF 
Committee, Committee, or TFC). They recalled that the proposed agenda had been circulated in 
WTO/AIR/TFA/13/Rev.1 and WTO/AIR/TFA/13/Rev.1/Corr.1, which indicated that the regular  
Committee session would be followed by a dedicated exchange on technical assistance and support 
for capacity building.  
1.2.  The delegate from Hong Kong, China  requested to include the item "Origin Marking 
Requirement by the United States " under Other Business.  
1.3.  The Chair added four items: (1) the forthcoming review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement 
(TFA, TF Agreement or Agreement) in 2021, (2) the suggestion by Canada at the informal meeting 
of the Committee on 30 September regarding the use of an E -Agenda pla tform, (3) proposed dates 
for the Committee's meetings in 2021, and (4) Members ' views regarding the participation in a 
specific agenda item by private sector entities which were not part of the Annex D+, in light of a 
request from the Global Express Assoc iation.  
1.4.  The delegate from the United States  requested to shift Agenda item C "Recent and Upcoming 
Activities " to the Dedicated Session. This agenda item, which was rooted in trade capacity technical 
assistance, was best placed on the Dedicated Session agen da. 
1.5.  The agenda was adopted  with the proposed changes.  
NOTIFICATIONS BY MEMBERS  
1.6.  The Chair informed the Committee that a total of 99 new notifications had been received since 
the Committee's meeting on 11 February 2020. All notifications had been issued as d ocuments in 
the G/TFA/N series.  
Notifications under articles 15 and 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
1.7.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the first group of notifications, namely those under 
articles 15 and 16 of the Agreement. Since the last meeting of the Committee, 43 notifications had 
been received from 34 Members. The notifications were introduced in alphabetical order of Members, 
as listed on the airgram.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.8.  The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Afghanistan 
(G/TFA/N/ AFG/1/Add.1 and G/TFA/N/AFG/1/Add.2)  
1.9.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Afghanistan for the notification and noted that 
Afghanistan had included article 10:6:2 of the TFA as a category A commitment and would look 
forward to that notification in th e near future.  
1.10.  On 10 -12 February 2020, the US Department of Commerce 's Commercial Law Development 
Program (CLDP) hosted a workshop in Sri Lanka for 16 officials from the Afghanistan Customs 
Department. During this 3 -day workshop, experts from US Customs an d Border Protection provided 
presentations on advance rulings for classifications, valuations, and rules of origin. Participants also 
had a chance to provide an overview of Afghanistan's advance rulings procedures and partook in 
meaningful discussions on t he challenges they were facing in implementing an effective advance 
rulings unit within the Afghanistan Customs Department.  
1.11.  The delegate from Afghanistan  thanked the Membership for agreeing, at the last meeting, to 
grant Afghanistan an extension for the no tification deadline and thanked the United States, 
especially the Commercial Law Development Programme, for their cooperation on capacity building 
issues.  
1.12.  The delegate from the European Union  appreciated the efforts made by the Chair and the 
Secretariat to  hold the Committee meeting and noted the variety of notifications under review. As a 
matter of methodology, they enquired if the references to transparency notifications and technical 
assistance activities should be made under the corresponding upcoming a genda items.  
1.13.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Angola 
(G/TFA/N/AGO/1/Add.1 and G/TFA/N/AGO/1/Add.1/Corr.1).  
1.14.  The delegate from United States  thanked Angola for the notification. They applauded the 
initiative to increase the spe ed of implementation of TFA articles 3 and 12 by shifting those 
commitments from category C to B. Efforts to fully implement the TFA set an example for WTO 
Members and were especially commendable given the importance of full and global implementation 
of the TFA amid the current COVID -19 crisis.  
1.15.  The delegate from Angola  thanked the US and indicated that the first notification on category 
C had been made as a precaution, but new information had revealed they would be able to implement 
those articles without a ny technical assistance.  
1.16.  The delegate from the European Union  commended Angola for its decision to shift categories. 
This was opportune given that in the COVID -19 crisis, as shifting provisions from C to B was crucially 
important to fight in this context.  
1.17.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to the notification from the Kingdom of Bahrain 
(G/TFA/N/BHR/1/Add.1).  
1.18.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Bahrain for the notification and noted the use 
of article 17 of the TFA ( "Early Warning Mechanism ") to extend the definitive implementation date 
for article 2:2 of the TFA, citing the need for additional time to secure technical assistance to 
implement the provision.  
1.19.  In order to utilize the "Early Warning Mechanism ", article 17 provided that developing country 
Members must submit their notification to the WTO Secretariat 120 days prior to the original 
definitive implementation date. It appeared th at Bahrain had submitted its notification three days 
prior to its original implementation date, which meant that the request for an extension under article 
17 was untimely.  
1.20.  The delegate asked if Bahrain could elaborate with more detail why it had not yet s ecured 
technical assistance. What new steps had Bahrain taken to ensure that it met the new proposed 
deadline?  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.21.  The delegate from Bahrain  explained that they had asked for an extension to secure the 
adequate technical support to develop the legal framework needed to hold consultations across all 
agencies at the border. They would be available to discuss the matter in more detail bilaterally  or if 
the US would send their comments in writing.  
1.22.  The delegate from the European Union  supported the US remarks and requested clarification 
on the background for the request of Bahrain at the earliest possible convenience, either in writing 
or bilaterall y. 
1.23.  With the notification not having been submitted within the period set out by article 17:1(a) 
of the TFA, the request could not be granted.  
1.24.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Bangladesh 
(G/TFA/N/BGD/1/Add.3). There were no co mments from the floor.  
1.25.  The Chair drew Members ' attention to a notification from Benin (G/TFA/N/BEN/2).  
1.26.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Benin for the notification. They noted that Benin 
had included articles 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA as categ ory A commitments, and Benin 's self -
designated deadline to implement article 1:4 of the TFA had passed. The US looked forward to those 
notifications in the near future.  
1.27.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to a notification from Burkina Faso.  
1.28.  The deleg ate from the United States  thanked Burkina Faso for the notification. They noted 
that Burkina Faso had included article 10:6:2 of the TFA as a category A commitment and looked 
forward to that notification in the near future.  
1.29.  The Chair moved to notification s from Burundi (G/TFA/N/BDI/1 and G/TFA/N/BDI/1/Corr.1)  
1.30.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Burundi for the notification. They noted that 
Burundi had included articles 1:4, 10:6:2, and 12:2:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and 
looked forward to those notification in the near future.  
1.31.  The delegate from the European Union  recalled that Burundi was a least -developed country 
(LDC). The EU was appreciative of their notification and observed that needs for assistance for 
category C designations had n ot been included in all cases. This could be an issue for further 
discussion during the Dedicated Session.  
1.32.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Cambodia 
(G/TFA/N/KHM/1/Add.1) . 
1.33.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Cambodia for the notification and their forward 
leaning efforts towards full TFA implementation by shifting article 11 ( "Freedom of Transit ") from 
category C to B.  
1.34.  The delegate  from the European Union  commended Cambodia for their notification.  
1.35.  The Chair drew the Co mmittee's attention to a notification from Chad (G/TFA/N/TCD/1).  
1.36.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Chad for the notification and noted that Chad 
had included articles 1:4, 10:6:2, and 12:2:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and would look 
forward to those notifications in the near future.  
1.37.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to a notifi cation from Djibouti 
(G/TFA/N/DJI/1/Add.1)  
1.38.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Djibouti for the notification and noted that 
Djibouti had included article 10:6:2 of the TFA as a category A commitment and would look forward 
to that notification in th e near future.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.39.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to a notification from the Gambia 
(G/TFA/N/GMB/1/Add.1).  
1.40.  The delegate from the European Union  thanked the Gambia for the notification and the notified 
definitive dates for implementation of their cate gory B commitments.  
1.41.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to a notification from Guinea (G/TFA/N/GIN/1). 
There were no comments from the floor.  
1.42.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention moved to a notification from India 
(G/TFA/N/IND/1/Add.1).  
1.43.  The deleg ate from India stated India attached high priority to trade facilitation. To bring all 
facets of trade facilitation under one umbrella, India had put in pace a detailed National Trade 
Facilitation Action Plan 2017 -2020, which aimed to transform the trade e cosystem by reducing the 
time and cost of doing business through the simplification of procedures, ensuring easy access to all 
trade related information and infrastructure augmentation. The National Trade Facilitation Action 
Plan recognized that it would a lso require a change in mindset of government bodies, from the role 
of regulators to facilitators, and meaningful engagement with the private sector.  
1.44.  The Plan stated that the crux of trade facilitation  largely emanated from four pillars:  
i. Transparency, with  a focus on improved access to accurate and complete information;  
ii. Technology, with development and use of digital and detection technologies to ease out 
bottlenecks and improve efficiency;  
iii. Simplification of procedures and resort to risk -based assessments; and  
iv. Infrastructure augmentation, particularly ports, airports, inland container depots, land 
customs stations and road and rail infrastructure.  
 
1.45.  Objectives of trade facilitation efforts had included: improvement in Doing Business rankings 
through reduction in the transaction cost and time; reduction in cargo release time; paperless 
regulatory environment; transparent and predictable legal regime, including development of a 
legally binding mechanism for prior consultation about proposed new rule s or amendments; and 
improved investment climate through better infrastructure.  
1.46.  The Trade Facilitation Agreement contained Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) 
provisions for developing countries and LDCs, which allowed a developing country Member to 
categorize its commitments under categories A, B and C, with flexibility to implement them with 
effect from different dates. At the outset, India had allocated 72.3% of its commitments under 
category A and the remaining 27.7% commitments under category B, w ith 22 February 2022 as 
their definitive implantation date. No commitments had been assigned to category C.  
1.47.  Notwithstanding the flexibility available, India had made efforts for early implementation of 
its category B commitments. As a result, they had impl emented seven of their category B 
commitments ahead of their original definitive implementation date. Document 
G/TFA/N/IND/1/Add.1 provided the details of these commitments. With these early 
implementations, their rate of implementation of commitments now stood at 78.2%.  
1.48.  Efforts had also improved their ranking in the Trading Across Borders indicator in the World 
Bank's Doing Business Report 2019, from 126 in 2015 to 68, showing an improvement of 58 places 
in ranking. India would continue its efforts towards  early implementation of its remaining category 
B Commitments.  
1.49.  The delegate from the United States  thanked India for their notification. India's accelerated 
implementation of several TFA commitments that improved transparency in customs practices, 
reduced documentary requirements, and allowed for processing of documents before goods arrived 
would have an immediate impact on traders. The US applauded India's effort and held it as an 
example of how India and the TFA were playing a crucial role to help traders  respond to the COVID -
19 pandemic.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.50.  The delegate from the European Union  thanked  India for its presentation and for their efforts 
to implement provisions under category B before the notified implementation date. The EU was 
interested in the paper circulated  by India containing all of the measures implemented to adjust its 
procedures in the COVID -19 times.  
1.51.  The delegate from India expressed gratitude for the interest of the EU in their strategy for 
trade facilitation implementation.  
1.52.  The Chair drew the Committe e's attention to notifications from Lao People's Democratic 
Republic (G/TFA/N/LAO/1/Add.3 and G/TFA/N/LAO/1/Add.4).  
1.53.  The delegate from Lao People's Democratic Republic  thanked Members and the Committee 
on Trade Facilitation for having considered the extensi on of the deadline to notify the definitive dates 
for the implementation of category B commitments. Lao PDR had submitted the corresponding 
notification on 28 July 2020, as agreed.  
1.54.  Trade Facilitation was a priority for Lao PDR. Consequently, they had devel oped a 
comprehensive five -year Trade Facilitation Roadmap (2017 -2022) which aimed at full 
implementation of the TFA during that period. The Roadmap had been formally launched in 
November 2017 and its implementation was being monitored in close coordination  with the 
concerned line departments and the private sector.  
1.55.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Lesotho 
(G/TFA/N/LSO/1/Add.1). A subsequent notification (G/TFA/N/LSO/1/Add.2) would be on the agenda 
of the next Committee meetin g. 
1.56.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Lesotho for the notification and noted that 
Lesotho had included article 10:6:2 of the TFA as a category A commitment and would look forward 
to that notification in the near future.  
1.57.  The delegate from the United Kingdom  thanked Lesotho for its notifications setting out the 
definitive implementation dates for its category B commitments. The Foreign Commonwealth and 
Development Office, in partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO), had recently 
undertak en a number of activities to improve trade facilitation in Lesotho. This had included a WCO -
led advanced rulings workshop for the Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA). This had enhanced the 
internal capacities of the LRA to effectively carry out work on classif ication and origin, and also to 
develop an advance ruling system for classification and origin. The workshop had come at a timely 
juncture as the LRA was drafting a new Customs Bill, including a section on advance ruling.  
1.58.  The UK had also worked with the Un ited Nations Conference on Trade and Development 
(UNCTAD) to continue the roll -out of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) 
Empowerment Programme and had supported Lesotho in coordinating and facilitating its 
implementation of the Agreement. The  UK would look forward to seeing further progress as Lesotho 
moved towards implementation of its category B commitments.  
1.59.  The Chair moved to a notification from Macao, China (G/TFA/N/MAC/1/Add.2). There were no 
comments from the floor.  
1.60.  The Chair drew the Co mmittee 's attention to a notification from Madagascar 
(G/TFA/N/MDG/1/Add.2).  
1.61.  The delegate from Madagascar  indicated that the allocation of provisions between categories 
B and C had been done to ensure better coordination of the implementation of the Agreem ent, as 
well as technical and financial assistance.  
1.62.  The delegate from the European Union  thanked Madagascar for their comments to explain 
the notification. They wished to clarify if Madagascar had notified the definitive dates for category B 
commitments.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.63.  The delegate from Madagascar  said that they had transferred articles 6:1 and 6:2 of the TFA 
from category B to category C, for which the deadline would be 31 December 2021. There were no 
longer any provisions under category B.  
1.64.  The delegate from the Europea n Union  thanked Madagascar for their response.  
1.65.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Mauritania 
(G/TFA/N/MRT/1/Add.1 and G/TFA/N/MRT/1/Add.1/Corr.1).  
1.66.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Mauritania for the notification and noted that 
Mauritania had included articles 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and would 
look forward to those notifications in the near future. They enquired if Mauritania could provide an 
update on their plans to ratify the TFA.  
1.67.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Myanmar 
(G/TFA/N/MMR/1/Add.1) and Nepal (G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.1). There were no comments from the 
floor.  
1.68.  The Chair moved to notifications from Nicaragua (G /TFA/N/NIC/4 and G/TFA/N/NIC/1/Add.2).  
1.69.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Nicaragua for the notification, noting that it 
represented a timely use of the "Early Warning Mechanism " provided for in article 17 of the TFA  
1.70.  With the request for an extens ion contained in document G/TFA/N/NIC/1/Add.2 not exceeding 
18 months, Nicaragua was entitled to the extension without further action from the Committee in 
accordance with article 17:2 of the TFA.  
1.71.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification  from Niger 
(G/TFA/N/NER/2/Add.1).  
1.72.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Niger for the notification and noted that Niger 
had included articles 1:4 and 10:6:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and would look forward 
to those notifications in the ne ar future.  
1.73.  The Chair proceeded to a notification from Pakistan (G/TFA/N/PAK/1/Add.3).  
1.74.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Pakistan for the notification and noted that 
Pakistan had timely utilized the "Early Warning Mechanism " in line with article 17 of the TFA to 
request an extended definitive implementation date for their category C commitments. The US 
understood that the serious challenges encountered during the current difficult times might have led 
to resource constraints.  
1.75.  However, there were donors willing to provide the assistance needed to fully implement the 
TFA. It was of the utmost importance that Pakistan implemented the TFA to mitigate the serious 
impacts the pandemic had caused to supply chains and distribution cha nnels. If Pakistan had no 
other choice but to slow down implementation of its category C commitments, the US strongly 
encouraged the consideration of accelerating implementation of other articles in order to keep trade 
flowing and to allow essential goods to get to those who needed them.  
1.76.  The delegate from Pakistan  thanked the US, took note of the concerns and indicated that they 
would convey them to capital.  
1.77.  As the request did not exceed 18 months, Pakistan was entitled to the extension without 
further acti on from the Committee in accordance with article 17:2 of the TFA.  
1.78.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification received from the Philippines 
(G/TFA/N/PHL/1/Add.1).  
1.79.  The delegate from the United States  thanked the Philippines for the notificat ion. The US 
enquired about the steps taken to address these unforeseen challenges in order to meet the new 
extended implementation deadline . G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.80.  The delegate from the Philippines  thanked the US for the interest, took note of their concern 
and requested a writt en statement to properly reply to the questions raised.  
1.81.  As the request for an extension did not exceed 18 months, the Philippines received the 
extension  without further action from the Committee in accordance with article 17:2 of the TFA.  
1.82.  The Chair drew t he Committee 's attention to notifications from Rwanda 
(G/TFA/N/RWA/1/Add.1 and G/TFA/N/RWA/1/Add.2).  
1.83.  The delegate from the United Kingdom  thanked Rwanda for the notifications setting out 
definitive implementation dates for its category B commitments, and i n particular under article 7 of 
the TFA ( "Release and Clearance of Goods "). Under the auspices of Her Majesty 's Revenue and 
Customs ' (HMRC) capacity building programme, the WCO through its Mercator Programme had 
delivered an advanced post -clearance audit ( PCA) workshop in Kigali last year for the benefit of the 
Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA). This workshop enhanced the internal capacities of the RRA in 
conducting PCA, as well as piloting, enhancing and finalising the development of the "Advanced PCA 
trainin g package ". This WCO PCA training package had been developed based on specific needs of 
Mercator beneficiary countries. It provided practical training for effective PCA implementation, with 
a focus on moving away from using PCA only as a compliance enforce ment tool to instead using it 
increasingly as a facilitative tool, in line with article 7 of the TFA. This had helped RRA move towards 
a more effective, client focused systems -based audit in Rwanda. The UK would look forward to seeing 
further progress as R wanda moved towards implementation of its category B commitments.  
1.84.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Rwanda for the notification. The US had noted 
that Rwanda had included article 1:4 of the TFA as a category A commitment and looked forward to 
that notification in the near future.  
1.85.  The Chair moved to a notification from Saint Kitts and Nevis (G/TFA/N/KNA/1/Add.1).  
1.86.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Saint Kitts and Nevis for the notifications and 
expressed the view that they had appropriate ly utilized the "Early Warning Mechanism " in article 
17:3 of the TFA to request an extended definitive implementation date for articles 1:1, 5:3, 6:2, 
7:4, and 7:7 of the TFA. They observed the extension request for articles 1:1, 5:3, and 7:4 was for 
longe r than 18 months, so the request needed Committee action as per article 17:4 of the TFA.  
1.87.  The United States acknowledged the challenges posed by the current health crisis but 
reiterated that technical assistance was available. They encouraged Saint Kitts an d Nevis to continue 
prioritizing TFA implementation and consider accelerating implementation of other articles in order 
to keep trade flowing and allow essential goods to get to those who needed them most.  
1.88.  In the absence of any objections, the request for an extension requested by Saint Kitts and 
Nevis was granted by the Committee, in accordance with article 17:4 of the TFA.  
1.89.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Samoa 
(G/TFA/N/WSM/1/Add.2).  
1.90.  The delegate from the United States  thank ed Samoa for the notification but noted that Samoa 
had not utilized the "Early Warning Mechanism " within the deadline set out in article 17:2 of the 
TFA, which required a Member to request an extension no later than 120 days prior to its originally 
notifie d definitive date. It appeared that Samoa had submitted its extension request only 11 days 
prior to its deadline and had circulated such notification to WTO Members one day after the deadline. 
Members shared a collective responsibility to abide by the time lines negotiated in the TFA, especially 
as the dates for category B and C commitments were self -declared. By the terms of the Agreement, 
the US could not accept this notification.  
1.91.  The delegate from Samoa  thanked the US for their statement and explained tha t from 
September 2019 to February 2020, Samoa had been hit by a measles epidemic which had taken 83 
lives, mostly children. While they were recovering from that calamity, COVID -19 had reached the 
Pacific shores, and in order to protect human life and healt h, the Government of Samoa had called 
a state of emergency and imposed border closure measures. Consequently, all government 
resources had been reallocated towards health priorities and the state of emergency.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.92.  With the notification not having been submitt ed within the period set out by article 17:1(a) 
of the TFA, the request could not be granted.  
1.93.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to notifications from Senegal 
(G/TFA/N/SEN/1/Add.1 and G/TFA/N/SEN/1/Add.2) and Sierra Leone (G/TFA/N/SLE/1/Add.1). there 
were no comments from the floor.  
1.94.  The Chair moved on to two notifications from the Solomon Islands (G/T FA/N/SLB/1 and 
G/TFA/N/SLB/1/Add.1).  
1.95.  The delegate from the United States  thanked the Solomon Islands for the notification and 
noted that the Solomon Islands had included articles 1:4 and 10:6:2 of the TFA as category A 
commitments and would look forward to  those notifications in the near future. They enquired if the 
Solomon Islands could provide an update on their plans to ratify the TFA.  
1.96.  The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Tanzania (G/TFA/N/TZA/2).  
1.97.  The delegate from the United S tates thanked Tanzania for the notification and noted that 
Tanzania had included articles 1:4 and 10:6:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and would 
look forward to those notifications in the near future.  
1.98.  The delegate from Tanzania  informed Members they  had notified their category B measures 
with their definitive dates, as well as category C measures, in accordance with article 16 of the TFA. 
Tanzania would submit the definitive implementation dates of their category C measures at a later 
stage.  
1.99.  Tanzania  requested donors to provide technical assistance to support Tanzania's endeavours 
and to enhance their capacity in trade facilitation. Similarly, they urged Members to understand the 
situation at this period with the challenge of COVID -19 and made the cas e for the necessary flexibility 
to consider a request for extension under the "Early Warning Mechanism ", even if they did not meet 
their required deadline.  
1.100.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Togo 
(G/TFA/N/TGO/1/Add.1).  
1.101.   The dele gate from the United States  thanked Togo for the notification and noted that Togo 
had included articles 1:4 and 12:2:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and would look forward 
to those notifications in the near future.  
1.102.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Ukraine (G/TFA/N/UKR/4).  
1.103.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Ukraine for the notification. The US Commercial 
Law Development Programme (CLDP) planned to hold a series of engagements to provide technical 
assistance to the State Customs Service of Ukraine to improve its advance rulings practice so that 
Ukraine may meet and exceed its obligations under article 3 of the TFA.  
1.104.   The delegate from the European Union  appreciated the notification from Ukra ine which 
indicated the state of play of implementation of the assistance provided by donor countries and 
showed that the US and EU were donor partners. The EU would initiate bilateral talks to examine 
Ukraine's implementation plans. It would be very usefu l for future meetings if notifications on 
assistance could be considered during the annual Dedicated Session rather than in the course of the 
examination of notifications under the Agreement.  
1.105.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from  Vanuatu 
(G/TFA/N/VUT/1/Add.1).  
1.106.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Vanuatu for the notification and noted that 
Vanuatu had included articles 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA as category A commitments and would 
look forward to those notifications in th e near future.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.107.   The delegate from China  thanked all 34 Members for their notifications. To this date, 121 
Members had notified category A measures, 105 Members had notified category B measures, 95 
Members had notified category C measures, but there were sti ll 4 Members that had not made any 
notification. China called on the relevant Members to finish the categorization and make the 
notifications in accordance with articles 15 and 16 of the TFA in the near future.  
1.108.   With regard to the reasons why Members had be en unable to make a notification and the 
possible difficulties they may have faced, China suggested to discuss those issues in the Committee 
in order to collectively find solutions.  
1.109.   The delegate from Japan  welcomed the notifications made by Members to date . They 
especially appreciated the fact that three LDC Members , Afghanistan, Lao People's Democratic 
Republic, and Sierra Leone had notified the Committee of definitive dates for implementing 
provisions they had designated in category B, before the extended  notification deadlines that they 
had requested respectively in February. Japan encouraged the remaining Members to follow suit and 
submit notifications before their respective deadlines.  
1.110.   Some developing country Members had failed to provide certain notifi cations within the 
relevant deadlines. Japan encouraged those Members to submit notifications as soon as possible, 
and if they were having difficulties, to explain the reason why in the Committee.  
1.111.   The delegate from the European Union  echoed the points of v iew set out by China and Japan. 
In view of the structure of the Committee's agenda, it would appear that Members that did not notify 
had not been included, as had been the case in the past. The EU would continue to stress the 
importance of the agenda not m erely focusing on notifications made but also on the absence of 
notifications. They recalled that on previous occasions, when the TFC had reported to the Council 
for Trade in Goods, a table had been prepared, but Members did not have to wait until such occ asion 
to identify outstanding notifications. That table was necessary at each meeting to carefully monitor 
the development of the situation without forgetting that next February, Members would be reviewing 
the four -year implementation of the Agreement.  
1.112.   The delegate from the United States  thanked all the Members for the presented notifications. 
The US proposed removing the review of notifications under article 15 of the TFA as a standing item 
on the agenda going forward. The time for receiving category A no tifications from all Members had 
long past, whether a Member had ratified the TFA or not. The presence of a standing agenda item 
on article 15 of the TFA implied that the deadline for notifications under category A was an 
insignificant and pliable obligati on when it was not.  
1.113.   Furthermore, it was necessary to clarify that the only notifications under article 16 of the 
TFA that were eligible for acceptance by the TF Committee were notifications from LDC Members, as 
laid out in article 16:2 (b) -(f) of the TFA. The only appropriate exceptions were to review a 
developing Member's accelerated implementation of a category B or C commitment, or notifications 
on arrangements of technical assistance and capacity building for category C provisions.  
1.114.   The US asked the WTO Secretariat to include a review of notifications according to article 17 
of the TFA in the agenda of future Committee meetings. In addition, the US asked that the 
Secretariat refrain from updating any WTO websites to reflect that a Member's implementation 
timeline had changed as a result of an extension request until after the Committee had reached 
consensus regarding the request.  
1.115.   This proposal to remove the review of notifications under article 15 of the TFA as a standing 
item was not to be misunderstood. Access to this information was vital to all traders, particularly in 
the midst of the COVID -19 pandemic. The Committee should continue to review all notifications, but 
if that were to take place as a standing agenda item, it would leave room for lingering confusion as 
to the operation of the Agreement.  
1.116.   The delegate from Tanzania  stated that Members might lose the good intention of 
accelerating the implementation of provisions from categories B and C to category A. If Members 
considered that they could direc tly implement measures, it would be an advantage if there was no 
bureaucratic approach and long procedures of discussion on category A. It would be wise to accept 
the flexibility of Members to move certain measures to category A and take advantage of it.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.117.   The delegate from the European Union  thanked the US for the proposal. The EU was not yet 
in a position to voice an opinion but took note of the legal arguments offered by the US. The delegate 
indicated it would be helpful to have the arguments in writing. T hey recalled that in light of article 
23:1:6 of the TFA, Members would be conducting a review of the operation and implementation of 
the TFA in 2021. Perhaps Members would be in a better position to have a formal position then.  
1.118.   The delegate from Vanuatu  enquired how to rectify the notification that was rejected from 
Samoa. In regard to the US proposal, they requested that the proposal be submitted in writing so 
that it could be shared with capital and develop a position. They could not voice an opinion at t his 
point.  
1.119.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Members for their feedback. They would be 
pleased to circulate something in writing for Members consideration. They added that the principle 
with respect to the change for the agenda was that Members would continue to review notifications 
as they came in. However, the US did not believe it appropriate to retain article 15 of the TFA as a 
standing agenda item as the agenda could reflect the current deadlines of the Agreement.  
Notifications under articl es 1:4, 10:4:3, 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement  
1.120.   The Chair moved to the "transparency " notifications, mandated by articles 1:4, 10:4:3, 
10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA. They all had the objective of providing transparency, either in a 
broader context , providing information on publication sources, or providing information on specific 
items, suc h as a single window operation, the use of customs brokers, and customs cooperation.  
1.121.   Since the last meeting, 40 transparency notifications had been received from 32 Members.  
1.122.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the first notification which was from  Antigua 
and Barbuda (G/TFA/N/ATG/3).  
1.123.   The delegate from the European Union  noted that there had been a number of notifications 
which had been separately listed in the airgram as brand -new notifications and those reviewed 
notifications because of broken we blinks. This was a very useful approach to these notifications. As 
previously stated, the EU attached strong importance to transparency in the WTO and in particular 
these TFA measures at times of the COVID -19 crisis. It was important that notifications con tinued 
to be submitted by Members that had categorized transparency commitments in category A or whose 
definitive implementation date had already lapsed. This was useful for business and government 
officials.  
1.124.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to no tifications from Armenia (G/TFA/N/ARM/3), 
Cambodia (G/TFA/N/KHM/2) and the Central African Republic (G/TFA/N/CAF/2).  
1.125.   The Chair moved to the next notification from China  (G/TFA/N/CHN/2/Rev.).  
1.126.   The delegate from the United States  thanked China for its notif ication regarding the 
temporary measures taken in response to the COVID -19 pandemic. The US encouraged other 
Members to use this mechanism to notify its use of temporary measures taken in response to the 
pandemic.  
1.127.   The delegate from China  stated that since last year, months ahead of schedule, China had 
notified the advance implementation of the provisions on single window, customs cooperation and 
the establishment and publication of the average release times , the only three category B measures 
in their imple mentation schedule. China's rate of implementation of trade facilitation measures under 
the Agreement had reached 100%. The updates had been made to take account of several temporary 
measures China had adopted in response to the COVID -19 pandemic.  
1.128.   China co mmended all Members' efforts in making notification of their official websites, single 
window, use of customs brokers, enquiry points, and called on more Members to make the relevant 
notifications.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.129.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification  from Cote d' Ivoire 
(G/TFA/N/CIV/3) .  
1.130.   The Chair moved on to the next notification from the Dominican Republic 
(G/TFA/N/DOM/3/Rev.1).  
1.131.   The delegate from the United States  thanked the Dominican Republic for their notification 
regarding the temporary measures  they had taken in response to the COVID -19 pandemic.  
1.132.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from the European Union 
(G/TFA/N/EU/1/Rev.2, G/TFA/N/EU/1/Rev.3, G/TFA/N/EU/1/Rev.4).  
1.133.   The delegate from the United States  thanked the European U nion for its notification of 
temporary measures taken in response to the COVID -19 pandemic and encouraged other Members 
to use this mechanism to notify its use of temporary measures taken in response to a global crisis.  
1.134.   The Chair drew the Committee 's atten tion to a notification from Guatemala 
(G/TFA/N/GTM/3).  
1.135.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Guatemala for its notification and highlighted 
that the US Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) had worked closely with the Guatemalan 
National Trade Fa cilitation Committee to improve its interagency coordination and publication 
practices.  
1.136.   CLDP planned to continue providing technical assistance to the Guatemalan government to 
strengthen its public consultation practices by harmonizing transparency process es and stakeholder 
engagement mechanisms across Guatemalan trade ministries so that Guatemala might meet and 
exceed its obligations under article 2 of the TFA.  
1.137.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Honduras (G/TFA/N/HND/3).  
1.138.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Honduras for their notification. It was robust 
and structured, and provided traders with a clear understanding of how to find rules and 
requirements as well as the documents needed to trade in th e Honduran market.  
1.139.   CLDP had worked closely with the Honduran government to draft and finalize the notification. 
US officials had been impressed with the determination and enthusiasm of Honduras to create such 
a thorough notification. CLDP would continue to  assist the Honduran government to implement the 
WTO TFA.  
1.140.   On 27 -28 July 2020, CLDP held a virtual workshop with Honduras on article 3 of the TFA 
("Advance Rulings "). The workshop focused on the importance of transparently publishing decisions 
on the classi fication, origin, or customs value of the good in question. Sessions highlighted best 
practices to consider as the Honduran government strengthened its ability to safeguard confidential 
business information while broadly publishing advance ruling decisions . To continue CLDP's efforts 
of encouraging regional integration and coordination across Central American governments, 
representatives from El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Mexico shared their experiences and 
lessons learned in implementing their re spective advanced ruling processes.  
1.141.   On 17 -18 November 2020, CLDP, in coordination with the Government of El Salvador, would 
conduct a workshop setting forth best practices for TFA article 8 (Border agency coordination), and 
TFA article 1 (Publication of tr ade-related information). Participants would include Salvadoran private 
sector representatives and government officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Customs, 
Economy, Health, Infrastructure, and Finance. Additionally, government representatives from  the 
Guatemalan, Honduran, and Costa Rican Ministries of Agriculture, Customs, and Economy would 
participate to encourage regional integration and harmonization of processes across the region. The 
workshop was part of a multiphase effort to promote transpa rency, cooperation, and coordination 
within the Salvadoran government and to improve interregional trade in Central America.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.142.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Norway 
(G/TFA/N/NOR/2/Rev.1), Senegal (G/TFA/N/SEN/3), Sri Lanka ( G/TFA/N/LKA/3)  Switzerland 
(G/TFA/N/CHE/2/Rev.1), and the  Chinese Taipei ( G/TFA/N/TPKM/1/Rev.1).  
1.143.   The Chair moved to the next notification from Tajikistan ( G/TFA/N/TJK/2).  
1.144.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Tajikistan for the revised notification. In their 
reading, Tajikistan had listed the homepages for the websites of major government agencies but 
had not provided specific webpages to access information for items in subparagraphs 1.1 (a) through 
(j). For example, a trader looking for Tajikistan's fees and charges would have to search through 
several webpages to find that information.  
1.145.   The US requested if Tajikistan could provide the direct locations for the individual items in 
sub-paragraphs (a) through (j) of article 1 of the TFA, indicating import , export and transit 
requirements. For example, the direct location for the procedures to repeal or review a customs 
decision, penalty provisions, and fees and charges. In addition, could Tajikistan provide the 
description or practical steps needed for imp ortation, exportation, and transit. Ease and accessibility 
in the publication of this information and locations of necessary forms to complete would assist small 
businesses in fully benefiting from the Agreement.  
1.146.   The customs service of Tajikistan had appli ed the United States Agency for International 
Development (USAID) Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs (CTJ) Trusted Trader Charter to develop its 
national Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program. During a virtual training in June 2020, 
experts from the Wor ld Customs Organization (WCO) had updated over forty customs officials from 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the latest versions of WCO guidelines on AEO. 
In July, the WCO's technical experts had conducted online gap analysis sessions f or the State 
Revenue Committee of Kazakhstan. Those measures would contribute to the actions of Central Asian 
republics to increase the number of mutual recognition agreements (MRA) and authorized operators.  
1.147.   The delegate from Tajikistan  thanked the US for their continued support and technical 
assistance and encouraged other development partners to extend their technical assistance to 
developing countries, including Tajikistan, to fully implement the TFA, particularly its category C 
provisions.  
1.148.   He also thank ed the US for their comments on Tajikistan's notification, which would be 
conveyed to capital for further review. As indicated in the notification with symbol G/TFA/N/TJK/2 
dated 7 July 2020, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade had provided deta iled 
information on import, export and transit procedures of goods and detailed information on applied 
rates of duties and taxes of any kind imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation 
on the following two websites: www.medt.tj  and www.tajtrade.tj . 
1.149.   The Chair drew Members ' attention to a notification from Thailand (G/TFA/N/THA/3).  
1.150.   The Chair moved on to the next notification, from Vanuatu (G/TFA/N/VUT/2).  
1.151.   The delegate from the European Union  recalled that according to their own calculations, 22 
Members were still to notify under article 1:4 of the TFA, about 36 Members were due to notify thei r 
measures regarding article 10:6:2 of the TFA, and about 18 Members on article 12:2:2 of the TFA. 
Some Members were still lagging behind – South Africa, Kuwait, Qatar, Namibia, Mozambique and 
Zimbabwe. The EU would focus on outstanding notifications, not only those that had been submitted.  
Revisions that correct broken URLs contained in previously issued notifications  
1.152.   The Chair drew Members ' attention to a list of transparency notifications under the heading 
"Broken Links". At the meeting of 11 February 2 020, the Secretariat had informed the Committee 
that 600 of the 3,000 weblinks that were contained in the submitted transparency notifications were 
broken. The Secretariat had reached out to Members that had broken weblinks and the revised 
notifications un der this heading were notifications that had been submitted by Members to correct 
those weblinks.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.153.   The Chair moved to the first notifications under this heading which came from Argentina 
(G/TFA/N/ARG/2/Rev.2 and G/TFA/N/ARG/2/Rev.3)  
1.154.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Argentina for their revised notifications and 
acknowledged the positive steps taken to update the transparency notifications. This was another 
model for other Members to follow to ensure that TFA notifications contained the most releva nt and 
up to date information for all traders. Argentina's notifications were robust and provided traders with 
a clear understanding of how to find rules and requirements as well as the documents needed to 
trade in the Argentinian market.  
1.155.   The delegate from  Argentina  thanked the Secretariat for its support with the revised 
notifications and appreciated the comments from the US.  
1.156.   The delegate from the European Union  supported the comments made by the US. During 
these times of crisis, it was vital that the meas ures notified were correct and reflected the reality 
accurately. Although not listed in this section of the airgram, the EU had submitted a revised 
notification on 14 October with updates on the websites notified by the 27 member States, not 
considering th e UK which was in the transition before leaving the EU. The EU thanked all of the 
Member for their efforts.  
1.157.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to a notification from Australia 
(G/TFA/N/AUS/1/Rev.2).  
1.158.   The Chair then moved on to a notification from Chil e (G/TFA/N/CHL/2/Rev.2).  
1.159.   The delegate from the United States  thanked Chile and other Members for providing updates 
to these important notifications to ensure they remained accurate and useful for traders.  
1.160.   The delegate from Chile thanked the WTO Secretariat for its efforts. Some of the broken 
links that had been identified had led to the discovery of other issues to be further addressed. They 
thanked the US for its statement.  
1.161.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notificat ion from China 
(G/TFA/N/CHN/2/Rev.4).  
1.162.   The delegate from China  thanked the Secretariat for its hard work and commended all 
Members' efforts in updating and correcting broken URLs. This was helpful for improving the 
effectiveness of notifications.  
1.163.   The Chair drew Members ' attention to a notification from Ecuador 
(G/TFA/N/ECU/2/Add.1/Rev.1).  
1.164.   The Chair then moved on to a notification from Guyana (G/TFA/N/GUY/2/Rev.1).  
1.165.   The delegate from Guyana  said that Guyana's revised notification was relevant to article 
1:4(c) of the TFA on providing reasonable answers to governments, traders and other interested 
parties as it related to import, export and transit procedures. This update was particularly important, 
especially in light of COVID -19 relief measures that the Gove rnment of Guyana had undertaken. 
Guyana took note of the encouragement by the European Union for Members to notify measures 
taken in response of the COVID -19 pandemic. Guyana would notify these measures to the 
Secretariat in this regard.  
1.166.   The Chair drew th e Committee 's attention to notifications from Honduras 
(G/TFA/N/HND/3/Rev.1), Israel (G/TFA/N/ISR/1/Rev.1), the Republic of Korea 
(G/TFA/N/KOR/1/Rev.1), the Kyrgyz Republic (G/TFA/N/KGZ/1/Rev.1), Macao, China 
(G/TFA/N/MAC/2/Rev.1), Mauritius (G/TFA/N/MUS/2 /Rev.1), and Moldova (G/TFA/N/MDA/2/Rev.1).  
1.167.   The Chair moved to a notification from North Macedonia (G/TFA/N/MKD/1/Rev.3).  
1.168.   The delegate from the United States  thanked North Macedonia for their notification. A trade 
facilitation program by the US Department of Commerce's Commercial Law Development Program G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  (CLDP), in coordination with US Customs and Border Protection, had been facilitated with 
participation from North Macedonia, Albania, Moldova, and Montenegro. Although a workshop 
meeting had been postponed t his year due to travel restrictions related to the COVID -19 outbreak, 
CLDP had planned to continue the program at a future date to identify gaps in each participating 
agency's risk analysis and post clearance audit processes and to develop action plans for  bringing 
those agencies ' practices in line with best practices.  
1.169.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Chinese Taipei 
(G/TFA/N/TPKM/1/Rev.2) and Thailand (G/TFA/N/THA/2/Rev.1).  
1.170.   The Chair went on to draw the Committee's attention t o a notification from Turkey 
(G/TFA/N/TUR/2/Rev.1).  
1.171.   The delegate from Turkey  underlined their commitment to the transparency provisions of 
the TFA. The transparency notification came from the recent merger of the trade agency and customs 
administration, a move to achieve costless flows of goods and reduced time frames.  
1.172.   The Chair drew Members ' attention to a notification from the United States 
(G/TFA/N/USA/1/Rev.1).  
1.173.   The delegate from the United States  considered the submission of these notifications as an 
ongoing effort to provide stakeholders with the most up -to-date and accurate information possible. 
With this revised notification, they had updated broken links from their original notification. Online 
locations had also been included for new and temporary measures that border agencies had issued 
to mitigate the COVID -19 crisis and included online information portals intended to better guide 
traders during this uncertain time.  
1.174.   The websites of the Customs and Border Protection, Department of Agriculture, and Food 
and Drug Administration had provided a rapid response to publishing information in a way that was 
clear and accessible for any interested party during this fast -moving crisis. The delegate concluded 
by thanking the Secretariat for their work in going through the links.  
1.175.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to notifications from Uruguay 
(G/TFA/N/URY/2/Rev.1) and Vanuatu (G/TFA/N/VUT/2/Rev.1).  
1.176.   The Chair added that since the agenda had been issued, the European Union and Malaysia 
had submitted notifications. Their notifications would be included on the agenda of the next formal 
Committee meeting.  
1.177.   The delegate from Hong Kong, China  thanked the Secretariat for the excellent initiative and 
hard work in supporting Members to correct broken URLs. They thanked Members for the efforts in 
submitting notifications and revised notifications, which were particularly difficult, but crucial at 
times of challenges under  the pandemic.  
1.178.   In summary, 66% of Members had submitted transparency notifications. As the TFA had 
been implemented for almost four years, the situation would need to be further improved to benefit 
the trade. Hong Kong, China called on Members and the Secr etariat to work together, discuss specific 
problems, share experiences and make concrete and continuous progress on transparency 
notifications.  
Notifications under article 22 of the Trade Facilitation  Agreement  
1.179.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to t he notifications under article 22 of the TFA. 
There were three separate notifications identified under article 22  - article 22:1, notifications by 
donor members on their recent capacity building activities; articles 22:2 and 22:3, notifications from 
inform ation on contact points. Since the meeting of 11 February 2020, 16 Members had provided 
18 notifications under article 22.  
1.180.   The delegate from the United States  noted that the review of the article 22:1 and 22:2 of 
the TFA notifications appeared on both the Regular Session and Dedicated Session agendas. In order G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  to avoid repetition and to use time efficiently, the US requested that the Committee reviewed these 
notifications only once, and to do so under this agenda item and not in the Dedicated Session.  
1.181.   It was so agreed . 
1.182.   The Chair moved to the four notifications that had been received under articles 22:1 and 
22:2 of the TFA. They had been submitted by Australia (G/TFA/N/AUS/4), Canada (G/TFA/N/CAN/4), 
Japan (G/TFA/N/JPN/5), and the United States (G/TFA/N/USA/4 ). 
1.183.   The delegate from the United States  referred to notification G/TFA/N/USA/4. In the reporting 
year 2018, the United States had notified more than US D 62 million in support for technical 
assistance and capacity building for over 100 projects in countries and regions across the globe. 
Capacity building and technical assistance had been provided by multiple US Government agencies, 
including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Homeland Security (Customs and Border 
Protection).  
1.184.   The United States was also continuing to support implementation of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement through its support to and collaboration with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation 
(GATF) and the World Bank's Trade Facilitation Support Program (TFSP). The United States 
welcomed expressions of interest for additional technical assistance and capacity building by 
contacting USAID.  
1.185.   The Chair turned to article 22:3 of the TFA, under which 14 notifications had been received 
from 12 Members: Angola (G/TFA/N/AGO/2), Antigua and  Barbuda (G/TFA/N/ATG/2), Cambodia 
(G/TFA/N/KHM/3), Cote d'Ivoire (G/TFA/N/CIV/2), Kingdom of Eswatini (G/TFA/N/SWZ/3), 
Honduras (G/TFA/N/HND/2 and G/TFA/N/HND/2/Rev.1), Jamaica (G/TFA/N/JAM/2 and 
G/TFA/N/JAM/2/Rev.1), Nepal (G/TFA/N/NPL/3), Senegal (G/TFA /N/SEN/2), Sri Lanka 
(G/TFA/N/LKA/2/Rev.1), Tanzania (G/TFA/N/TZA/1) and Tonga (G/TFA/N/TON/2/Rev.2).  
1.186.   The delegate from the United Kingdom  thanked Eswatini for its notification under article 22:3 
of the TFA and the provision of a contact point for coordina ting external assistance to support 
implementation of the Agreement. Her Majesty's Government had worked closely with the Eswatini 
Revenue Authority under the auspices of the WCO 'Mercator' programme and UNCTAD's 
'Empowerment' programme. Recent examples in cluded post -clearance audit (PCA) training, giving 
customs officers an increased understanding of advanced system -based audits and dedicated 
capacity building to support the development of the National Committee for Trade Facilitation.  
1.187.   In the recent months , the UK had also conducted a virtual "Stocktake and Forward Planning " 
mission with the aim of reviewing progress in implementing recommendations identified in the 
August 2018 Mercator Implementation Plan for Eswatini; and identifying needs for forwarding 
capacity building support. The mission had been conducted under the fr amework of the United 
Kingdom 's Trade Facilitation Programme which constituted a partnership with Her Majesty's Revenue 
and Customs (HMRC), the WCO and UNCTAD to support developing and least -developed countries 
in the implementation of the WTO 's Trade Faci litation Agreement. The UK would look forward to 
continuing their collaboration with Eswatini to identify their capacity building needs and to support 
their timely implementation of the Agreement.  
1.188.   The delegate from the United States  stated their preference  for reviewing notifications one 
by one, instead of a group. They thanked Jamaica for the notification and recalled that the deadlines 
to implement articles 1:4 and 10:6:2 of the TFA had passed and encouraged Jamaica to make the 
relevant information availa ble to the Secretariat promptly. Tanzania had included articles 1:4 and 
10:6:2 as category A commitments and the US would look forward to those notifications in the near 
future. Tonga had designated article 10:6:2 as a category A commitment, and they encou raged 
them to make the relevant information available to the Secretariat promptly.  
1.189.   The delegate from  China  commended Members' notifications of the capacity building support 
and assistance provided to developing and LDC countries. China also recounted that Angola, Antigua 
And Barbuda , Cambodia ，Cote d'Ivoire, Kingdom of Eswatini, Honduras, Jamaica, Nepal, Senegal, 
Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tonga had also notified their contact points responsible for coordinating and 
prioritizing the assistance and support. China e ncouraged more Members that needed capacity 
building assistance and support to make relevant notifications in the near future.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.190.   The delegate from the Kingdom of Eswatini  explained that they were currently implementing 
their trade facilitation implementation  roadmap and had made their notification under article 22:3 
of the TFA, regarding the notification of contact points of the officers responsible for coordinating 
and prioritizing trade facilitation related technical assistance and support for capacity buil ding. 
Eswatini appreciated the assistance and support from the UK government, and looked forward to 
further collaboration and assistance in this regard.  
1.191.   The delegate from the European Union  welcomed notifications under article 22:3 of the TFA, 
particularly  those from developing or least -developed country Members, who had indicated an 
enquiry point for receiving assistance. This was an issue that needed to be discussed further in the 
dedicated session. They encouraged all Members to submit those notification s that were so important 
for discussing assistance modalities and the most effective way of providing help and assistance to 
those that had made a category C notification. The EU also thanked donors for their notifications. 
The notification submitted by th e EU covered the period 2016 -2020 which was why they had not 
submitted a notification this year.  
1.192.   The Committee took note of the notifications addressed under agenda items A, B and C and 
of the information contained therein . 
STATUS OF RATIFICATION AND NOTI FICATION  PROCESS  
Update by the WTO Secretariat  
1.193.   At the request of Members, the WTO Secretariat  provided an update on the status of 
ratifications and notifications covering implementation, transparency and technical assistance and 
capacity building.  
1.194.   Since th e February meeting, four ratifications had been received from Tanzania, Vanuatu, 
Tunisia and Colombia. That brought rate of ratification to 93.3% which represented 153 Members.  
1.195.   Based on the definitive implementation dates that they had notified, there were  now 15 
developing Members with a 100% rate of TFA implementation commitments.  
1.196.   Twenty -seven least developed country Members (LDCs) (84%) had notified their definitive 
B dates before the 22 February 2020 deadline. Nine LDCs had requested an extension of th e deadline 
to notify those dates, and the requests had been approved by the Committee at the meetings in 
February 2020. Of the nine LDCs, four had already provided their definitive dates – Afghanistan; Lao 
PDR; Senegal and Solomon Islands. The remaining fi ve Members were required to notify these dates 
by 21 February 2021: Burkina Faso; Chad, Djibouti; Mauritania and Sierra Leone.  
1.197.   The next notification deadline was 22 February 2021,  and this was for LCDs to notify category 
C indicative dates. Out of the 33 L DC Members that had notified category C designations to date, 
76% (25 Members) had already notified these dates ahead of the deadline.  
1.198.   Regarding the implementation notifications, data reflected that some Members had not yet 
presented any designation. In addition , three LDCs and one developing country had not yet notified 
their implementation notifications.  
1.199.   To date, the TFA was being implemented at an overall rate of 66.4% by developed, 
developing and LDC Members. The rate of TFA implementation commitments o f developing and LDC 
Members was of 56.2%. According  to notification data, it was expected that a 79% overall rate of 
implementation would be reached between 2021 and 2022. Between 2023 and 2026 that would 
increase to 91% and from 2027 onwards it would rea ch 95%. At the moment, about 6% of the 
Membership had not provided any information.  
1.200.   These numbers were based on the definitive dates provided by Members. In cases where 
indicative dates had been notified, those had been used instead. A full graph represent ing the 
timeline for implementation was available on the TFA Database Website ( www.tfadatabase.org ), as 
well as other data used in this presentation.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  1.201.   With regards to the transparency notifications, 40 such notifications had been received since 
the February meeting, of which 20 were in relation to repairing broken URLs. Members had notified 
approximately 3,000 links through their transparency notifications out of which 600 were broken. 
Thanks to the work of t he Members, the number had been reduced to 400. A report identifying 
broken links could be provided to Members. The Secretariat had already reached out to some 
Members and would continue to do so.  
1.202.   Work would continue, not only through encouraging Members t o provide revisions of 
corrected broken links but of updating some of the new links that had been received.  
1.203.   Regarding technical assistance and capacity building notifications under article 22 of the TFA, 
18 notifications had been received  since the last meeting.  
1.204.   Work was being conducted to add more tools and functionalities to analyse implementation 
progress and make general improvements  to the TFA Database Website ( www.tfadatabase.org ).  
1.205.   The del egate from the United States  recognized the work of the Secretariat and Members to 
meet the Section I and II notifications deadlines outlined by the Agreement. The US especially 
appreciated the Secretariat's initiative taken this year to notify all Members  of broken links on their 
transparency notifications. The process of continually reviewing and updating these documents 
ensured that the work of this Committee was alive and useful for the trade community.  
1.206.   Regarding the Section II transparency notification s, there had been some progress since the 
last meeting in February 2020 to improve the rate of submission for Members that had not made 
the deadline to submit transparency notifications. But there was still much room for improvement, 
and the US would conti nue to press this issue with Members at Committee and bilaterally until all 
Members complied with their self -designated deadlines to implement those obligations.  
1.207.   Providing clear and accurate information to the public should be of the utmost priority during  
these times of crisis and change . The US called for all Members to adhere to their self -designated 
implementation deadlines and submit transparency notifications that were overdue.  
1.208.   The United States had already presented its experience to the Committee re garding their 
process of drafting these notifications. They understand it took hard work to complete this task and 
were willing to assist any Member seeking guidance.  
1.209.   The delegate from the European Union  supported the statement made by the United States.  
1.210.   The delegate from China  welcomed the Members that had ratified the TFA. The Secretariat 
had placed considerable efforts  to support Members. China would look forward to the Secretariat 
continuing to provide assistance to Members making notifications.  
1.211.   The Committee  took note  of the information and of the statements made.  
B. EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  
1.212.   This segment of the  meeting  was conducted in informal  mode , with the understanding  that 
information  Members were willing to share would be made available on a dedicated website 
(https://tfadatabase.org/trade -facilitation -committee/meeting/2020 -10-20) with related links also 
being included in the minutes of the  meeting. If a delegation requested it, their intervention would 
also be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.  
1.213.   Members  addressed the following  issues:  
Elimination of consularization requirement (G/TFA/W/23) - Statement by Jordan  
1.214.   The delegate from Jordan  referred to document G/TFA/W/23 informing the TFC about the 
elimination of the consularization requirement on the list (invoice) which set the prices and origin of 
goods by the Consular Missions or the Chambers of Commerce according to the amended Customs 
Law no. 33 of the year 2018. Consularization or legalization was no longer a requirement and original 
copies were sufficient. Jordan had committed to the elimination of this requirement during its G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  accession to the WTO and additional time had been required to finali ze legislative procedures to 
amend the customs law.  
1.215.   The delegate from the United States  congratulated Jordan on the elimination of its 
consularization requirement and appreciated the update. They enquired if they had experienced any 
positive effec ts, particularly as it related to the exports of micro, small and medium sized enterprises 
(MSMEs), now that this consularization requirement had been eliminated.  
1.216.   The delegate from Jordan  thanked the US for their interest in the document and would come 
back to the requested clarification at a later date.  
Landlocked Countries - Transit and the COVID -19 Pandemic  
Presentation by Mongolia  
1.217.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Mongolia.pdf  
Presentation by Afghanistan  
1.218.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Afghanistan.pdf  
Presentation by Nepal  
1.219.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Nepal_Revised.pdf  
Presentation by Paraguay  
1.220.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the followin g link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Paraguay.pdf  
Statement by Bolivia  
1.221.   The delegate from Bolivia  stated the pandemic had impacted many asp ects of life, 
highlighting the fragility and vulnerability of humanity. International bodies had confirmed that the 
impact on the world economy was severe and anticipated that economic recovery would be gradual 
and laborious. Bolivia was deeply concerned a bout the negative economic, social and financial effects 
of the COVID -19 pandemic, which would be persistent and would go beyond this health crisis and 
would affect landlocked developing countries, least  developed countries and small island developing 
states more because of their geographical location, their greater dependence on international trade 
and their more fragile economic and social structures.  
1.222.   Bolivia was aware that it needed to improve its infrastructure and connectivity with the world 
in order t o reduce logistics and transport costs; to achieve greater commercial and economic activity 
for the benefit of the most vulnerable and affected sectors, such as women entrepreneurs, young 
people and small and medium enterprises. In this context they had in vested time, resources and 
efforts in the digitalisation of MSMEs, trade promotion and recently they had inaugurated the fibre 
optic internet network, with direct connection to the Pacific Ocean. This would make it possible to 
increase internet speed and r educe costs and the digital divide in order to boost digital trade and 
the economy, which was an alternative for landlocked developing countries.  
1.223.   Since Bolivia had ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement in 2017, a series of efforts and 
actions had been taken to implement it, seeking to make transparent and improve procedures that 
facilitated international trade. However, in recent times, due to events that were known to the G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 20 - 
 
  international community as a whole, the Bolivian Government had focused its effor ts on pacification 
and reconciliation actions among Bolivians, in addition to those aimed at overcoming the health crisis 
caused by the COVID -19 pandemic; for this reason they asked Members to take into account the 
critical and exceptional situation the co untry had gone through and supported their additional efforts 
needed to implement the commitments in categories B and C.  
Statement by the Kyrgyz Republic  
1.224.   The delegate from the Kyrgyz Republic  recalled they were a landlocked country for which 
trade and expe dited free movements of goods were vitally important for trade relations with other 
WTO Members and for economic stability and prosperity. Being geographically located in the middle 
of the continent and having no access to the sea, the Kyrgyz Republic had no other choice than to 
rely on ground trade routes without any impediments and obstacles. The implementation of the TFA, 
which called for the minimization of administrative and procedural barriers, was critically important 
as a guarantee of transparent an d predictable trade with their main trading partners.  
1.225.   Millions of people around the world depended on international trade for their food security 
and livelihoods. Trade was not only the catalyst of economic growth of nations. Common efforts for 
boosting th e trade could also be considered the effective remedy to resist to the global challenges 
such as COVID -19. In the wake of the COVID -19 pandemic, guaranteeing accessibility and 
unhampered and fast movement of strategical goods as food, medicines, protection  devices and 
supplies and others was critically important to avoid the lack and shortage on local markets.  
1.226.   The Kyrgyz Republic believed that protection of the lives and well -being of its citizens should 
not translate into obstacles to trade. Disruptions, i ncluding affecting the movement of goods, could 
adversely affect the capacity of Members to respond to the struggles of COVID -19. Various 
complications of trade procedures could also cause unjustified restrictions that in turn, could have a 
negative impact  on the social and economic situation. If such a scenario were to materialize, it would 
impede the movement of goods, with particular adverse consequences for the most vulnerable 
Members.  
1.227.   In these harsh times, WTO members should act and trade within the WT O norms and spirit 
of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. The economies of WTO Members suffered significantly from the 
negative consequences of COVID -19, including the Kyrgyz Republic.  
1.228.   Common efforts geared towards the implementation of the TFA could be imp eded by 
unnecessary disruptions to global trade and supply chains, in the form of complication of trade 
procedures. Governments ' trade policy decisions significantly influenced getting vital important 
goods to where they were urgently needed and catalysed the supply of critical goods to fight the 
pandemic. Countries could respond to the obstacles and recover from the consequences of COVID -
19 by saving trade flows and maintaining the achieved progress in the implementation of TFA norms 
and provisions attaine d before the pandemic. This was their common interest.  
1.229.   The Kyrgyz Republic called on Members to continue sharing information about their 
measures and maintain the predictability of trade in line with the established transparency 
mechanisms to avoid the unn ecessary burdensome measures. In conclusion, bearing in mind the 
upcoming second wave of COVID -19 which coincided with the seasonal surge of regular flu and other 
seasonal disease, the Kyrgyz Republic called WTO Members to put collegiate maximal efforts no t 
only to implement the measures within the framework of the TFA requirements but also to reconsider 
their trade policies towards avoiding unnecessary complicated measures and procedures at the 
borders in this severe time.  
1.230.   The delegate from the United Stat es thanked Members who had delivered presentations 
during the session. They were very informative, and showcased successes that were happening step 
by step with the implementation of the TFA. They noted Paraguay's impressive moves towards digital 
tools and  enquired if Paraguay was considering their consularization regime, which was paper -based 
and unfriendly to MSMEs. Earlier during the session Jordan informed that they had eliminated such 
requirement and the US congratulated them on that. In that vein, the  US applauded Paraguay for 
its impressive efforts in implementing the TFA and would be interested in hearing about this 
particular aspect of the agreement.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  E-Longroom: An Emerging Digital Customs Strategy - Presentation by Canada  
1.231.   Information  on the present ation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Canada.pdf   
Time Release Study - Presentation by Guatemala  
1.232.   Informa tion on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Guatemala.pdf  
List of the National Legislati ons and Notices on Temporary Measures Adopted in response 
to COVID -19 - Presentation by the Dominican Republic  
1.233.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Dominican_Republic.pdf  
The Effective Interventions by the Department of Customs of Sri Lanka During t he COVID -
19 Outbreak  
1.234.   The delegate from Sri Lanka  spoke on "The Effective Interventions by the Department of 
Customs of Sri Lanka During the COVID -19 Outbreak". During the first phase of the COVID -19 
pandemic, the entire world had been in a dilemma due to its dreadful nature. The first case has been 
reported in Sri Lanka in mid -March and a curfew had been imposed on 16 March. Prompt actions 
had been taken to form the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 as per the directive of H.E. the 
President in order to monitor the disease. In this arena, uninterrupted  facilitation of the cross -border 
movement of relief and essential commodities became an issue as a result of the island -wide curfew. 
Being the frontline border agency, Sri Lanka Customs had to adopt some new and interim measures 
to facilitate the legitima te trade processes. They had been able to manage this situation with the 
lessons learnt during colossal disasters, such as the tsunami in 2004 and having adopted the 
guidelines of WCO on disasters management.  
1.235.   Accordingly, Sri Lanka Customs had been prompte d to adopt the following key measures 
during the first COVID -19 outbreak:  
• The routine cargo selectivity criterion had been tailored, especially to release medium and 
low risk cargo with minimum or no customs intervention. Accordingly, around 70% of 
essenti al items had been exempted from physical examinations, subject to random 
inspection through NII Scanning.  
• Regulatory approvals, such as, standards and permits had been coordinated via electronic 
means and some had been relaxed subject to post clearance aud its. 
• Prompt actions had been taken to facilitate requests made by foreign missions, especially to 
expedite essential exports.  
• A special South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Heads of States meeting was 
held in order to discuss the interim measur es to facilitate those processes. Accordingly, the 
provisional online procedures had been introduced to verify certificates of origin providing 
for preferential tariff treatments for shipments under preferential trade agreements.  
• The provisional clearance procedure had been extended for priority consignments of relief 
goods.  
• Existing 24/7 services for exports had been limited to approximately 8 hours per day in view 
of the low volume of exports, as most of the factories had been closed as per the government  
instructions. However, customs staff had been kept on an "On -Call" to facilitate urgent 
export shipments.  
• A customs Enquiry Point had been established in January 2020 as required under article 1:3 
of TFA, which was in operation 24/7. Additionally, a speci al 24/7 help desk had been 
established to attend to stakeholder inquiries.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 22 - 
 
  • COVID -19 contingency plans, working arrangements and contact point numbers, were 
published and regularly updated on the Sri Lanka Customs website 
(http://www.customs.gov.lk ). 
 
1.236.   The scenario had again been changed according to the second outbreak. However, the first 
epidemic situation had been managed in a highly successful manner keeping a very low death toll. 
Sri Lanka Customs had taken promp t measures to face any emergency, having streamlined the 
previously adopted measure with the assistance of the other governmental agencies.  
Japan Customs' Response to C OVID -19 
1.237.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Japan_revised.pdf  
Measures Adopted by The European Union During the COVID -19 Crisis Concerning the 
Proof of Prefe rential Origin  
1.238.   Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/European_Union.pd f 
Measures taken during the COVID -19 pandemic by Switzerland  
1.239.   The delegate from Switzerland  said that Switzerland had taken a series of measures in order 
to ensure the rapid processing of goods as well as a smooth flow of traffic at the border. Measures 
included facilitated pre -arrival processing, new electronic communication processes and the 
establishment of so -called "Green Lanes" at certain border crossings, allowing accelerated clearance 
of goods relevant to the fight against the pandemic and the supply  of the population. These measures 
had contributed to alleviating the pressure on supply chains during the critical time of the pandemic, 
and they remained in place today. Further details can be found in Notification G/TFA/N/CHE/2/Rev.1.  
Supporting the Tim ely and Efficient Release of Global Goods Through Accelerated 
Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement - Communication from The 
United States, Brazil and Colombia (G/TFA/W/25)  
1.240.   Information on the presentation  can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/W25.pdf  
1.241.   The Ambassador the United States  welcomed Brazil, Colombia and Japan as co -sponsors and 
invited all Members to join this important effort.  
1.242.   The WTO was not the forum for providing the health solutions to COVID -19; however, it was 
the forum for providing the roadmap for countries to access  goods and trade across borders. Cross -
border trade was a critical channel for getting essential medical and health supplies and equipment 
to those who needed them.  
1.243.   COVID -19 had changed the way people lived their lives and how trade flowed. This year, 
different international organizations had put out multiple statements about COVID -19. As the US 
reviewed those communications in the Office of the US Trade Representative, they had asked 
themselves, how could trade ministries help and what could they do?  
1.244.   The a nswer was clear: stay the course. Staying the course meant continuing to implement 
the Trade Facilitation Agreement. The TFA was already resulting in greater customs efficiency, more 
effective revenue collection, and better access for micro and small and m edium enterprises (MSMEs) 
to new export opportunities. TFA measures continued to improve transparency in customs practices, 
reduce documentary requirements, and allow for processing of documents before goods arrive.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 23 - 
 
  1.245.   The WTO was not going to come up with th e vaccine nor was it going to come up with test 
kits, but the Trade Facilitation Agreement could play a critical role in keeping those goods moving 
across borders.  
1.246.   The communication from the US, Brazil and Colombia was not asking any Member to take a 
new c ommitment. In essence, the communication was asking each Member to self -reflect on its 
implementation of the TFA and its timelines for doing so, and to accelerate that process, where 
possible. Moving a vaccine around the globe was going to be a monumental task. What could be 
more important today than facilitating the movement of medicine, PPE, vaccines, and essentials?  
1.247.   Developing and LDC Members who had been working hard to implement the TFA and 
believed they might require additional technical assistance a nd resources to accelerate 
implementation were asked to bring those concerns and requests to the Trade Facilitation Committee 
for the consideration of assistance providers. Their commitment to the TFA and interest in 
accelerating its implementation would s urely demonstrate to the providers their willingness and 
readiness to do so. WTO Members were called to demonstrate leadership by committing to ensure 
the smooth and continuous trade in goods.  
1.248.   Now more than ever was the time to work together and keep press ing forward to harness 
and capitalize on the benefits of the TFA through its accelerated implementation. The US urged all 
Members to join this communication as co -sponsors and commit to the accelerated implementation 
of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement . 
1.249.   The delegate from Brazil  invited other Members to co -sponsor the communication supporting 
the timely and efficient release of global goods through accelerated implementation of the WTO 
Trade Facilitation Agreement. They shared the understanding that full  implementation of the TFA 
was an important step to ensure greater agility, transparency and predictability with respect to rules 
and procedures related to import, export and transit of goods.  
1.250.   Furthermore, in the current context of a pandemic, Brazil under stood that, whenever 
possible, Members should strive, to the extent of their possibilities, to implement measures related 
to the use of technology for the release and clearance of goods and to make available the use of 
documents and electronic systems for foreign trade actors.  
1.251.   Domestically, Brazil was a pioneer in the use of information technology for the trade 
facilitation. It had implemented measures to promote the use of digital documents for import, export 
and transit and were heading towards the final stage of the implementation of the Foreign Trade 
Single Window. Brazil had adopted a paperless system, where all trade procedures were conducted 
in an electronic environment, through the "Electronic Attachment System of Documents " on the 
Foreign Trade Sys tems Portal (SISCOMEX).  
1.252.   Brazil and the United States had signed on 19 October an ambitious and modern trade 
package, which included trade facilitation and customs cooperation. The text was very advanced, 
going beyond the commitments of the TFA. The documen t included the use of documents and 
electronic payments, interoperability between foreign trade windows, automation in risk 
management, use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. There was also a section for the 
treatment to be given to agricultu ral products, of special interest to Brazil and the United States, 
which were major exporters in this sector.  
1.253.   The delegate from Japan  thanked the United States and Brazil for their interventions. Japan 
had become a co -sponsor as they shared an appreciation  for the need for accelerated 
implementation of the TFA. Before the informal CTF meeting on 30 September, as a member of the 
Ottawa Group, Japan had shared their COVID -19 related trade facilitation measures in the document 
G/TFA/W/24. This contribution mad e by the Ottawa Group, and this communication aiming at 
accelerating the implementation of the TFA, were complementary to each other and expected them 
to produce a synergy effect.  
1.254.   Implementation of the TFA by each Member had increased in importance not onl y for coping 
with the current pandemic or preparing for future crises, but also for economic recovery. The TFA 
had great value in the current situation. Japan welcomed further support for implementation of the 
communication by other Members and would conti nue its contribution to accelerating the G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 24 - 
 
  implementation of the TFA by, for example, providing technical assistance for capacity building of 
developing countries.  
1.255.   The delegate from Colombia  thanked previous speakers and indicated they were using 
provisions of the TFA as a political model and had decided to proceed with its swift implementation. 
In May 2018, Colombia had created the Technical Committee of Trade Facilitation. One of the most 
important aspects of this committee was its diverse composition, not only of government entities 
but also by private actors. This allowed first -hand knowledge of difficulties and cooperation to solve 
them. The committee had shown its effectiveness at overcoming bottlenecks and progressively 
implementing the TFA. In March 20 20, given the situation deriving from the pandemic, the National 
Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) had worked for 14 months on focusing government -wide efforts 
on the efficient movement of medical equipment and other medical goods. The committee had 
contributed by overcoming the worst problems of the pandemic, instead of being one additional 
problem. By working in a cross -cutting manner, the NTFC had contributed to Colombia 's 
competitiveness.  
1.256.   There was much to be done. There were technical and political difficulties to deal with and 
some procedures were very slow. This highlighted the need for accelerating implementation of the 
TFA. Members should rapidly implement the provisions of the Agreement because of the collective 
good that contributed to a better  response to the pandemic and a better promotion of the world 
economy. Colombia was in favour of accelerating their work internally as this enabled them to focus 
their efforts. The delegate encouraged all other Members to join this initiative in sprit and practically - 
to take the measures necessary to have swift responses.  
Intimation to the Committee on Trade Facilitation About  India's C OVID -19 Trade 
Facilitation Measures  (G/TFA/W/26)  
1.257.   The delegate from India said that transformation of the cross -border clea rance eco -system, 
through efficient, transparent, coordinated, risk based, seamless, digital and technology driven 
procedures, was particularly important for efficient trade procedures, as even modest reductions in 
the cost of trade transactions would have  a positive impact on trade, for both the developing and 
the developed world. To optimize the gains of trade facilitation, India had put in place a National 
Committee on Trade Facilitation and a National Trade Facilitation Action Plan 2017 -2020. Action 
points in the Trade Facilitation Plan had been mapped according to TFA commitments and aligned 
to policy objectives on improving the Ease of Doing Business. India had also shared its experience 
of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) during the Fe bruary 2020 meeting of the 
Committee.  
1.258.   For the period 2020 to 2023, India was in the process of finalizing the Trade Facilitation 
Action Plan, with a vision to take additional reforms to further trade facilitation efforts. These would 
be supported by state -of-the-art seaports, airports, land border crossings, rail, road and other 
logistics infrastructure. Following this proactive approach, India had implemented some of its 
category B commitments ahead of the original implementation date. Document 
G/TFA/N/IND /1/Add.1 provided the details. India had also taken a number of COVID -19 related 
trade facilitation measures, details of which had been notified under document G/TFA/W/26. This 
reflected India 's commitment towards trade facilitation. In this context, India  also welcomed 
proactive steps taken by Member countries for automation of customs processes in the times of 
crises.  
1.259.   However, accelerated implementation of TFA provisions should be at the discretion of the 
Member concerned, instead of saddling them with a  binding commitment. In fact, experience showed 
that many Members were already trying to do that, on their own, to the best of their abilities. The 
WTO had a very important role to play in enabling countries to cope with this unprecedented crisis. 
In fact,  India, along with some other Members had already submitted a proposal for a 'Waiver from 
certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for prevention, containment and treatment of COVID -19'. 
Similarly, the Council for Trade in Services should also examine the  need for easier cross -border 
movement of health care professionals and provision of health care services through other modes 
to better handle the COVID -19 crisis.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 25 - 
 
  C. RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  
1.260.   As agreed by the Committee, this agenda item was moved to the Dedicated Session on 
Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Support.  
D. DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT (2020) OF THE TRADE FACILITATION COMMITTEE TO THE 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS (G/TFA/W/27)  
1.261.   According to the Procedures for an annual overview of WTO Activities and for reporting under 
the WTO (WT/L/105), which had been adopted by the General Council on 15 November 1995, all 
bodies constituted under Agreements in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement wer e required to submit 
an annual factual report to the Council for Trade in Goods, which was then to take note of these 
reports. In line with this requirement, a draft report of the Trade Facilitation Committee had been 
circulated in document G/TFA/W/27.  
1.262.   The Chair informed there was a correction to be made in paragraph 9, footnote 3 of the Draft 
Report. Lao People's Democratic Republic should be added to the list of countries in the footnote.  
1.263.   The Chair proposed that the Committee adopt  the Annual Report to th e Council for Trade in 
Goods1 and instructed the Secretariat to update it as necessary to take account of the discussions 
in the October  meeting.  
1.264.   The Committee so agreed . 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
1.265.   The delegate from Hong Kong, China  recalled that on 11 August, the United States had 
announced a  revised origin marking requirement for Hong Kong products imported into the US. 
Under this revised requirement, which was scheduled to come into effect on 9 November 2020, 
goods produced in Hong Kong and to be exported to the US may no longer be marked to  indicate 
"Hong Kong" as their origin but must be marked to indicate "China" instead. Hong Kong, China 
strongly objected the revised origin marking requirement imposed by the US. They had already 
requested in writing the withdrawal of such measure with imm ediate effect and had invited the US 
for bilateral discussions with a view to resolving the matter in mutual benefit. Regrettably, the US 
had so far not withdrawn the measure.  
1.266.   This US measure ignored that Hong Kong was a separate customs territory with it s own 
trade policies and origin rules. The measure also overlooked the well -established WTO origin marking 
rules that aimed at facilitating the flow of international trade and eliminating unnecessary trade 
barriers. By arbitrarily dictating the name to be used on the origin marking without regard to the 
facts, prevailing commercial practices and relevant WTO rules, this US measure would impose 
unnecessary burden and difficulties to the business communities of both sides and cause confusion 
to US customers. The US measure in question would not be conducive to expediting the movement, 
release and clearance of goods; and would hinder the achievement of the objectives under the 
Agreement on Trade Facilitation.  
1.267.   Hong Kong, China was a staunch supporter of the rule s-based multilateral trading system. 
They had been the first of the WTO Members, back in December 2014, to have formally accepted 
the TFA, showing a strong commitment for cooperation among Members to facilitate trade. Today, 
under the COVID -19 pandemic, th e importance of trade facilitation in the global economy was 
greater than ever. Therefore, Hong Kong, China urged the US to honour the spirit of trade facilitation, 
observe relevant WTO rules, and withdraw immediately its revised origin marking requirement  on 
Hong Kong products.  
1.268.   The delegate from the United States  stated that, as a procedural matter, it was not 
appropriate for a Member to raise a substantive issue under "Other Business". They also expressed 
that Hong Kong, China, as a co -sponsor of WT/GC/W/ 777/Rev.5, which advocated procedural 
 
1 Subsequently issued as document  G/L/1333.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 26 - 
 
  guidelines for WTO Councils and Committees addressing trade concerns, did not practice what should 
be horizontal practices across committees when raising trade concerns.  
1.269.   On 5 June 1997, the US Customs Service had issue d a Federal Register notice that goods 
produced in Hong Kong should continue to be marked to indicate their origin as "Hong Kong" under 
19 U.S.C. 1304 after Hong Kong's reversion to the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China on 
1 July 1997. On 14 Ju ly 2020, the President of the United States issued Executive Order 13936 on 
Hong Kong Normalization. Pursuant to section 202 of the United States -Hong Kong Policy Act of 
1992, the President suspended the application of section 201(a) of that Act (as amende d) to certain 
statutes, including 19 U.S.C. 1304, due to the determination that Hong Kong was no longer 
sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to China.  
1.270.   The United States had implemented Executive Order 13936 transparently. O n 11 August 
2020, the US Customs and Border Protection had issued a Federal Register notice that informed the 
public that, in light of the Executive Order, imported goods produced in Hong Kong may no longer 
be marked to indicate "Hong Kong" as their origin , but must be marked to indicate "China". The 
United States also provided for a transition period, in light of commercial realities.  
1.271.   USTR was currently reviewing and analysing  the concerns that Hong Kong had raised in 
letters to Ambassador Lighthizer, Amba ssador Shea, and Acting Deputy United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) Barloon. USTR was in contact with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office 
(HKETO) in Washington DC and would follow up once they had completed their review and analysis.  
1.272.   The Chair drew Members ' attention to the upcoming Review of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement. Article 23:1:6 of the TFA stated that "the Committee shall review the operation and 
implementation of this Agreement four years from its entry into force, and periodically the reafter ". 
Consequently, the first review of the TFA would take place next year.  
1.273.   At the informal meeting of the Committee on 30 September, Canada had suggested that the 
Committee might like to explore using the e -Agenda platform for future committee meeting s. The 
Chair enquired if it might be useful for Members to have a presentation on the E -agenda at the next 
Committee meeting. In absence of any requests for the floor, they requested the Secretariat to make 
a presentation on the matter to Members at the ne xt Committee meeting.  
1.274.   The Chair moved to the next agenda item which was a request from the Global Express 
Association to address to the TFC. The Chair invited Members to express their views on how the 
private sector could address the Committee, taking into  consideration that they were not a part of 
the Annex D partners.  
1.275.   The delegate from the European Union  welcomed the suggestion. It was important to receive 
feedback from businesses and the private sector as the "customers " of trade policies and it was a 
means to have an assessment, even if informal, of how Members were performing collectively or 
individually. The EU had no clear idea of how this could take place, but the suggestion was welcomed.  
1.276.   The delegate from the United States  indicated they would need to consult with other 
Members and capital on how to proceed.  
1.277.   The delegate from Canada  did not have any instructions from capital but mentioned that 
there were other WTO committees and informal groups that had some experience in consulting with 
the private sector. It would be useful for the Secretariat to gather information about the practice of 
other bodies in the WTO and to hold an informal meeting to explore the available options to approach 
this question.  
1.278.   The delegate from Brazil  indicated they would con sult with capital on the matter.  
1.279.   The delegate from Vanuatu  stated that more consultations were needed. Many Members had 
National Trade Facilitation Committees in place and were working towards regional bodies. They 
wondered how private sector participation  in a WTO committee would link to these domestic and 
regional initiatives. Vanuatu supported the initiative from Canada to review the experience from 
other bodies at the WTO.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 27 - 
 
  1.280.   The delegate from the Dominican Republic  remarked that it was important to intera ct with 
the private sector in the plenary session of the Committee. Members would have to explore the 
possibility of stakeholders from the private sector being able to voice their opinion, even when these 
interventions were not present in all of the items on the agenda. It was necessary to consider how 
to have these exchanges in an agenda item involving entities from the private sector that were not 
part of the Annex D partners.  
1.281.   The delegate from the United States  suggested that the Chair consult with Membe rs, as they 
consulted domestically, so that they could exchange views on how to engage with the private sector.  
1.282.   The Chair took note of the suggestions made. Turning to the issue of Committee dates for 
the coming year it was proposed that the Committee woul d meet on 2 and 3 March; 27 and 28 July; 
and 19 to 21 October.  
1.283.   The delegate from the European Union  recalled that they were consulting with Members on 
a proposal to hold additional Committee meetings and a special session for the review of the 
operation of  the Agreement. This proposal would entail one additional meeting before the end of the 
year and one before early March 2021.  
1.284.   The delegate from the United States  said that the US could support the concept of more 
meetings but wanted to discuss the matter f urther. It was not possible to take any decisions given 
that the matter had been raised under "Other Business ". 
1.285.   The delegate from Vanuatu  expressed concern over the proposal from the EU. There were 
small delegations in Geneva who experienced difficulties t o connect to virtual meetings. The 
scheduling of meetings should take into account time differences in order to allow for increased 
participation.  
1.286.   The Chair expressed her availability to consult with Members on the matter.  
1.287.   The Chair asked Members if it was agreeable to invite representatives of the Annex D 
organizations to participate in the next Committee session.  
1.288.   The delegate from Canada  requested to add the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to the 
organizations invited to participate in the next Committee session.  
1.289.   It was so agreed . 
1.290.   The Committee took note  of the information and of the statements made.  
1.291.   The meeting was  adjourned . 
2  DEDI CATED SESSION ON ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
2.1.  The Chair recalled that in accordance with article 21:4 of the TFA, the Committee should hold 
at least one dedicated session per year. The agenda items for the dedicated session were also listed 
under artic le 21:4, and they included (i) exchanges on any implementation problems; (ii) review of 
progress in the provision of assistance and support for capacity building to support the 
implementation of the TFA; (iii) the sharing of experiences and information on ongoing assistance 
and support for capacity building and implementation programs, including challenges and successes; 
(iv) review of donor notifications as set forth in article 22 and (v) review of the operation of article 
21:2 (assistance and support for LDCs).  
2.2.  She recalled that the Committee had agreed to review item (iv) during the regular session and 
to take up  item C of the regular meeting "Recent and Upcoming Activities" in the Dedicated Session.  
2.3.  Considering the cross -cutting elements and to facilitat e a free -flowing discussion, the Chair 
proposed to take the first three items under this session as a group.  
2.4.  It was so agreed . G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 28 - 
 
  EXCHANGES ON ANY IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS; REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN THE 
PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY  BUILDING TO  SUPPORT THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TFA; AND, THE SHARING OF EXPERIENCES AND INFORMATION 
ON ONGOING ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY BUILDING AND 
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS, INCLUDING CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES  
2.5.  The delegate from Saint Lucia  explained they wer e one of six sovereign -island nations along 
the Caribbean archipelago that formed the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) 
Economic Union, all of whom were long -standing member States of the WTO. In addition to Saint 
Lucia, these countries inclu ded Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and, 
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  
2.6.  Individually and collectively, the Members of the OECS Economic Union had committed to deep 
and far -reaching trade facilitation reforms. These reforms  were key to unlocking the economic 
potential of the region through improved efficiencies in trade logistics, ensuring greater transparency 
and predictability in the management of trade flow, and minimizing disruptions and risks to critical 
supply chains. Critically, the commitment to improved border agency efficiency by OECS authorities 
was supported by the public policy drive towards updating, and modernising the delivery of public 
goods and services, and more fundamentally, the building of economic resil ience through improved 
economic and trade efficiency.  
2.7.  The on -set of the COVID -19 pandemic had amplified the need to accelerate reform measures 
and update systems in -line with international best practice as well as the commitments undertaken 
through the TFA . Some of the more recent trade facilitation measures adopted by Member States 
included:  
• New protection of front -line workers, including customs workers , through improved systems 
and automation;  
• Streamlining of procedural formalities between and across bor der agencies  - customs, 
bureau of standards, ports authorities, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) authorities etc.;  
• Strengthened risk management to prioritize clearance of imports and exports of low -risk 
critical supplies;  
• Border agency cooperation to facil itate the import of critical supplies (including medical 
supplies);  
• ICT to support trade (e.g. single windows and trade information portals);  
• Extending border agency working hours;  
• Increased dialogue between industry and governments; and  
• Increasing the ava ilable of trade -related information on websites and through inquiry point.  
 
2.8.  These critical interventions aimed, firstly, to achieve the establishment of a Maritime Single 
Window for the OECS. The OECS Commission had secured funding through the Caribbean 
Development Bank to implement trade facilitation measures to address infrastru ctural and 
operational deficits and inefficiencies in shipping. More specifically, measures included the 
implementation of an Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS) in the OECS Protocol Member 
States, which would allow for electronic interface between cu stoms and port authorities to facilitate 
information exchange on cargo moving into and throughout the Economic Union Area; and the 
establishment and integration of a Maritime Single Window (MSW) to allow for electronic clearance 
of vessels and the completi on of formalities, in keeping with the Convention on Facilitation of 
International Maritime Traffic from the International Maritime Organization.  
2.9.  UNCTAD would provide technical support for the implementation of the Advance Cargo 
Information System while t he CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) 
would assist with the integration of the MSW into the platform. Overall, this project would enable 
the creation of a one stop facility at port authorities which accommodated full -time access to  all the 
relevant border control agencies involved in vessel release and clearance.  
2.10.  Another headline trade facilitation project for the region was the Regional Risk Management 
Mechanism for the OECS. The OECS Commission had secured funding through European  partners G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 29 - 
 
  under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) to build the Institutional and Regulatory Capacity 
for a Regional Risk Management System (RRMS) for the OECS Economic Union. This project was 
geared toward enhancing risk analysis and management in t he Economic Union by building the 
capacity of border control agencies to coordinate the identification and management of risks; as well 
as developing the institutional and regulatory framework at the national and regional level for a 
Regional Risk Manageme nt System to analyse  and manage shared and common risks and threats.  
2.11.  This project was in keeping with:  
i. the Guiding Principles for Establishing an OECS Customs Union and Regime for the Free 
Circulation of Goods, which had been approved by the OECS Economic Affairs Council (EAC). 
These recommended the establishment of a regional risk management system which would 
identify, limit and counter internal and external threats to revenue, health and safety, 
security and general law enforcement of the economic union;  and 
ii. the CARICOM Strategy for Regional Implementation of The WTO TFA which had identified a 
regional approach to implementation of seven of the common category C measures; in 
particular, the establishment of a regional risk management system to identify, 
communicate, and evaluate results of controls on common regional threats, and an 
electronic system for the rapid and secure exchange of risk information among CARICOM 
members.  
 
2.12.  It had also been agreed that this would be implemented at an OECS level before e xpanding 
to the wider CARICOM Community.  
2.13.  Another trade facilitation project being rolled -out in partnership with the EU was the 
programme supported by the 11th EDF to execute a project geared toward the Restructuring and 
Harmonization of Non -tariff Border Taxes and Charges in the OECS Economic Union. This project 
was aimed at improving the efficiency, predictability and transparency in the application of non -tariff 
border taxes and charges in an effort to (a)comply with international trade rules and regulat ions and 
(b) strengthen the overall border tax management structure in the economic union.  
2.14.  The final, big -ticket headline trade facilitation project that the OECS Economic Union would 
be pursuing was the establishment of a Trade Information and Facilitatio n Platform (TIFP). Under 
the EU - ACP TradeCOM II Programme entitled "Consolidating the OECS Economic Union through 
Sustainable Trade Capacity Building ", the OECS Commission would be developing an OECS Trade 
Information and Facilitation Platform for the Economic Union. The objective of this project was to 
mainstream the collection, analysis and utilization of statistical trade data as a risk management 
tool and critically, to accelerate efforts towards evidence -based decision making. The major outputs 
under this project were an Integrated Data Analytical Tool for usage by both public and private 
sector stakeholders, as well as a portal for the publication of relevant import and export requirements 
for trading within the economic union and with Third Countr ies. The International Trade Centre was 
providing technical support for this project with counterpart support from the UK Trade Partnership 
Programme.  
2.15.  The OECS member States were committed to advancing trade facilitation reforms within and 
beyond the legal  precincts of the TFA. The delegate thanked the EU for their stalwart commitment 
and support. They also appreciated the UK for their partnership, the Caribbean Development Banks, 
UNCTAD, ITC and other partners.  While positive steps had been made towards im plementing 
meaningful reforms, the journey was not complete, and they welcomed new expressions of interest 
for partnership building in order to assist in building economic resilience in the OECS through trade 
facilitation.  
2.16.  The delegate from Ecuador  shared their experience with the Global Alliance for Trade 
Facilitation (GATF or Global Alliance). Under the coordination of their National Trade Facilitation 
Committee (NTFC), and despite the challenges thrown out by the pandemic, for the first time, a 
virtual t echnical visit had taken place involving the Global Alliance with all of the public and private 
stakeholders directly involved in order to gather information on opportunities and challenges around 
trade facilitation in the country.  
2.17.  On the basis of this mee ting, they had identified possibilities for improvements in the various 
agencies involved in foreign trade operations such as traceability management and cooperation, as G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 30 - 
 
  well as institutional strengthening and capacity building, standards improvements and modernisation 
and automation, among others. The Global Alliance had carried out a selection to help Ecuador 
bolster the Ecuadorian single window, including the modification of 14 forms and the inclusion of 11 
new e -services.  
2.18.  Work would be carried jointly w ith four national agencies: the Ministry of Production and 
Foreign Trade, the phytosanitary authority, the environment ministry and transport ministry. At the 
same time, work would be undertaken on updating the phytosanitary quality network. Priorities 
included firstly information management and processes; and secondly, automation by a lab 
management system. In addition, they were working jointly on an additional project to optimi ze IT 
systems and processes on the National Health Monitoring Agency which inv olved re -engineering 
certain processes and overhauling the platform in order to simplify the procedures involved.  
2.19.  The NTFC continued its work to seek international donors who might wish to cooperate with 
Ecuador on trade facilitation projects. As such, the y had been in contact with the diplomatic missions 
of donor countries accredited in Ecuador. They had cast a wide net, since it took quite some time to 
approach potential donors and exchange information leading up to the confirmation of support, 
counterpar ts from the current pandemic make conditions. Nevertheless, Ecuador was committed to 
fulfil their objectives. Ecuador was also working closely with UNCTAD through the programme for 
empowering NTFCs, which had led to significant support for their endeavours . 
2.20.  The delegate from Eswatini  explained they had implemented a trade facilitation roadmap, 
which the recent launch of the Eswatini Informal Trade Portal (ETIP). The Kingdom of Eswatini had 
ratified the TFA in November 2016 and  had categorized 6 provisions u nder category A; 17 provisions 
under category B; and 13 provisions under category C. Notification of definitive dates for the 
implementation of category B and C had also been submitted.  
2.21.  Eswatini's NCTF had been established with a specific mandate and relev ant membership. The 
NTFC was governed by the highest level of cabinet and a cabinet sub -committee. The NTFC 
supervised other subsequent operational and technical levels. The mandate of the NTFC was to 
facilitate domestic coordination and implementation of provisions of the WTO Agreements, including 
the TFA and any other trade initiatives through the involvement of all cross -border trade and 
facilitation stakeholders in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Membership to the committee included all 
Principal Secretaries o f Government, Ministries and Chief Executive Officers of agencies that 
controlled cross -border trade and the private Sector.  
2.22.  The national trade facilitation (NTF) roadmap spanned from 2019 to 2022. In the short -term, 
priority had been assigned to instituti onal arrangements, the trade information portal and trade 
facilitation performance management. In the medium -term, they would be looking at coordinated 
border management, compliance risk management and customs -to-customs cooperation. The long -
term goals in cluded a national trade regulatory single window activity, implementation and regional 
integration as a whole. The programme was expected to come to an end on 2022.  
2.23.  The major goals of the NTF roadmap were to strengthen governance, management and 
coordinati on of all National Trade Facilitation initiatives and processes. This would be accomplished 
in 2020, along with the modernization of information systems of trade regulatory agencies, and the 
establishment of a single electronic platform enabling online pub lications, availability and 
accessibility of trade related information. In 2021, they were looking at implementing Coordinated 
Border Management (CBM) practices, systems interconnectivity and information exchange between 
all trade regulatory agencies and e nabling paperless trade. They hoped to establish a performance 
measurement system to monitor and improve efficiency of clearance processes by 2022; to 
strengthen the accreditation program for compliant traders and to improve cooperation between the 
Kingdom  of Eswatini and External Trade Partners, also by 2022.  
2.24.  They had already established the NTFC and its secretariat; signed an advisory agreement with 
the World Bank Group and developed a national trade facilitation roadmap with detailed 
implementation plans . Project teams and technical task teams had also been put in place, as well as 
an NTFC monitoring and evaluation plan for the project implementation. Progress had also taken 
place on the implementation of a One -Stop Border Post (OSBP) with South Africa an d the 
development of a Coordinated Border Management Framework Blueprint. Currently, they were 
reviewing and streamlining trade -related legislation towards developing an overarching National G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 31 - 
 
  Trade Facilitation Act to support coordinated border management, the national single window and 
the OSBP.  
2.25.  The Trade Information Portal ( https://www.eswatinitradeportal.gov.sz/ ) had been launched 
recently, in order to comply with the obligations under article 1:2 of  the TFA on availability of 
information. The kick -off event had been held on 27 February 2020, officiated by the Minister of 
Commerce Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Eswatini. The project had been supported by the 
World Bank Group, as part of its Trad e Facilitation Support Program (TFSP) and had been 
implemented by ECORYS UK in association with Imani Development. The launch of the Portal was 
held on the 30 September 2020 by His Excellency the Honourable  Prime Minister Mr. Mandvulo 
Dlamini.  Sustainabili ty of the trade portal was critical and a fulltime maintenance team comprising 
of a content analyst, webmaster and publicity officer were required. They would be working with 
focal points from different national agencies to make updates to the portal.  
2.26.  The implementation of the trade information portal had not been without its challenges. 
Cooperation from agencies providing information to populate the portal could be improved, as well 
as the standardization of TFA knowledge amongst agencies. National trade facilitation activities had 
limited priority and were hence underfunded. The sustainability of the work of the NTFC and its 
secretariat had also proven difficult.  
2.27.  Eswatini would require funding towards implementation of the other areas of the roadmap 
and to establish a full -time secretariat focusing on the TF work. Support would also be needed to 
maintain the trade portal which included staffing, hosting and publicity. Finally, assistance would 
also be required to conduct legal reforms to support implement ation of The Trade Facilitation 
Agreement.  
2.28.  The delegate from Canada  stated that the ability to move goods across borders quickly and 
predictably was an important factor in the success of any business. The WTO Aid for Trade initiative 
could help developing and least -developed countries increase their competitiveness and trade 
readiness in all areas, including in trade facilitation. Canada had continued to provide technical 
assistance and capacity building that would help developing and least -developed countr ies 
implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and meet higher standards of border 
management.  
2.29.  Members must collectively continue to pursue actions that increase awareness and 
understanding of core issues around inclusive trade. Sustainability of benefits and opportunities 
associated with trade and invested depended on their dissemination and publicity. To that effect, 
Canada was working with likeminded countries and in multilateral institutions to encourage best 
practices in the area of trade facilitation.  
2.30.  One such collaborative project, in partnership with the United Kingdom and delivered by the 
TradeMark East Africa, was the Integrated Border Management (TMEA -IBM) project from 2013 -
2018, which had produced impressive results in the reduction of trade costs and border delays across 
East Africa. Some of their achievements included:  
• Operationalization of integrated border management at thirteen One Stop Border Posts 
(OSBPs) in the East Africa Community (EAC) region, thus contributi ng to the reduction in 
the overall turnaround time from 21 days to 4 days along the northern corridor (Mombasa 
port to Kigali) and from 25 days to 5 days along the central corridor (Dar as Salaam to 
Bujumbura);  
• Operationalization of the single -customs terr itory and 100% of EAC member states ' selected 
goods are now cleared at the first port of entry;  
2.31.  Inclusive trade meant making sure that all segments of society could more widely share in 
the benefits and opportunities flowing from international trade. Women -led SMEs and traders were 
disproportionately impacted by unfavourable policy and trade environments including restrictive 
regulatory regimes, limited access to finance, gender insensitive customs border management, 
physical and financial harassment. To ma ke trade facilitation reform sustainable, it must address 
these differential impacts on these small -scale, women -led businesses.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 32 - 
 
  2.32.  Through its Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada prioritizes investments, 
partnerships and advocacy efforts that h ad the greatest potential to close gender gaps and help 
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, Canada was committed to a range of 
actions aimed at increasing women 's equal access to capital markets, technology, business 
development ser vices, and leadership and training opportunities. Canada had been collaborating 
with organizations like Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) Canada to build a gender lens directly into the 
core of their approach. One of their flagship projects, Canadian Market Access and Capacity Building 
Services, provided capacity building and technical assistance to small - and medium -sized enterprises 
(SMEs) and related trade -support institutions in developing countries to pursue export opportunities 
in Canada.  
2.33.  Their gender i nclusion results were notable: out of 497 participating SMEs, 138 had 
successfully achieved export readiness and established export relationships with Canada with the 
total amount of export exceeding CAD 24 million. Women -run SMEs made up 39 percent of the  
participants and 31 percent of total export value. While these numbers show progress, more had to 
be done.  
2.34.  Analysing the impact of trade on women was equally important, not only because they 
represented over half of most populations, but because they also  faced particular constraints which 
may make them less able to benefit from trade.  
2.35.  In this context, the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, which brought together as equal 
partners donor countries - Canada, Australia, Denmark, Germany, the UK and the US - and the private 
sector, had recently introduced their Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines. This initiative would help 
ensure a tailored approach to gender sensitising in its projects. To do so, the Alliance was equipping 
their staff to implement guidelines t hrough gender training, developing documents and adding 
gender -disaggregated data indicators to its result frameworks.  
2.36.  The delegate from the United States  thanked Saint Lucia, Eswatini, Ecuador and Canada for 
their presentations, as sharing experiences was  a vital part of the work of the Committee. They 
thanked Saint Lucia for the updates on work being undertaken in the areas of border agency 
cooperation and risk management. Their regional approach to risk management was also 
acknowledged, as well as the de tailed and intensive technical assistance partnership between the 
Caribbean Members and various donors.  
2.37.  The Trade Information Portal presented by Eswatini was impressive. This measure was MSME 
friendly and could serve as a best practice for others to follo w in the implementation of article 1 of 
the TFA. The US hoped to hear more from Eswatini in the future, as the Committee further discussed 
how best to provide transparency to Members. The US remained interested in reviewing National TF 
Committees, looking for good practices and lessons from experiences; they believed the experiences 
shared by Eswatini would contribute in that regard.  
2.38.  The delegate from the United Kingdom  expressed their strong support of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement and of the Committee . In the context of COVID -19, it was especially critical that countries 
did not backtrack on commitments in the Agreement and that trade flows, especially for essential 
food and medical supplies, were maintained. The United Kingdom remained committed to en suring 
that developing countries could reduce poverty through trading opportunities and recogni zed that 
for the poorest countries, providing market access was not enough.  
2.39.  That is why since 2014, the United Kingdom had supported developing countries implem ent 
the TFA through dedicated technical assistance. This included contributing to the World Bank Group's 
Trade Facilitation Support Programme, which supported the reduction of inefficient border processes, 
and administrative bottlenecks which hampered busi nesses reaching customers and made it harder 
to trade. For example, this programme had helped Nicaraguan customs authorities apply pre -arrival 
processing to all imported goods, thus helping reduce clearance times from eight to four days.  
2.40.  In Montenegro, TFS P had supported a simplified procedures regime, reducing time required 
for the clearance process by 40 percent and the number of documents required from five to one. In 
the context of the COVID -19 pandemic, TFSP was ideally placed to respond rapidly to req uests for 
assistance through its in -country teams for virtual support. Since the onset of the crisis, they had 
delivered guidance on managing risks and facilitating trade during the pandemic, as well as virtual G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 33 - 
 
  risk management capacity building training. T he programme was also considering additional ways 
to help countries address specific COVID -19 related challenges.  
2.41.  The Government of the United Kingdom, through the new Foreign Commonwealth and 
Development Office and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, had partnered with the United Nations 
Conference on Trade and Development and the World Customs Organisation since 2015 to deliver 
customs related TFA capacity building. This programme had already seen ten recipient countries 
increase their (World Bank) 'Ease of Doing Business' score, and through other indicators such as 
customs release times and trader feedback, they were tracking positive changes in processes and 
behaviours which would help support implementation of the TFA and reduce the cost of cross -border  
trading globally.  
2.42.  The United Kingdom had launched TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) in 2010, as a specialist not -
for-profit agency to promote trade in East Africa including by supporting trade facilitation. A recent 
independent evaluation found that TMEA had s upported reductions in time and cost to export, 
resulting in USD 116 million in savings in 2017 alone. TMEA had also begun implementation of a 
GBP 19 million Safe Trade Emergency Facility in May 2020, responding to the challenges presented 
by COVID -19 in i ts operating countries. The United Kingdom was committed to working with partners 
and delegations around the world to build on the good progress that had been made in this 
Committee, and to support developing country partners as they implemented this landm ark 
agreement, in reaping the benefits of strong trade facilitation.  
2.43.  The delegate from the European Union  welcomed the presentations made, as they reflected 
the level of activity in speeding up implementation of the TFA with the support of partners and in 
collaboration with a whole range of stakeholders. They reviewed the activities taking place in Saint 
Lucia with great interest. They recognized the difficulties of setting up a single window; with 27 
member States involved, it was challenging to involve al l relevant agencies and ensure they were 
interoperable.  
2.44.  The integration of partner countries into the global rule -based trading system played a critical 
role in EU development cooperation on Aid for Trade, of which trade facilitation was a part of. 
Assist ance was available upon request at country, regional and global level. They were implementing 
Aid for Trade and trade facilitation programmes at different levels, and both their field EU Delegation 
offices as well as HQs remained available to support partn er countries in implementing the WTO 
TFA, within the notifications of aid submitted to this Committee.  
2.45.  During their yearly survey, sent to delegations to collect qualitative information for the annual 
Aid for Trade EU Progress Report, it had been found tha t, although since the entry into force of the 
WTO TFA in 2017 they had been approached by partners from many countries, requesting support 
for implementation of the Agreement, there was still room for improvement. Almost a quarter (24%) 
of EU delegations h ad not had such experience and a further 9% had reported on a slight dialogue 
on this topic. Since the entry into force of the WTO TFA in 2017, 43% of partner countries had 
requested EU support for implementation. There was room for improvement and develop ing partners 
were invited to pursue seeking our assistance on WTO TFA and contact our delegations in their 
country.  
2.46.  The current situation, with the COVID -19 crisis retaking strength in many parts of the world, 
made implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement even more relevant. The pandemic had 
accelerated reforms and renewed efforts to advance on the implementation of the TFA in areas such 
as exports/imports and transit procedures simplification, digitization, cooperation at the borders and 
between border agencies, among others.  
2.47.  The EU and its member States would follow the developments as regards the implementation 
of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). TFA implementation by African partners was 
an essential building block to the full  implementation of the AfCFTA trading rules and procedures.  
2.48.  The EU was the largest world donor of aid for trade, and on trade facilitation. Commitments 
for the year 2018 had amounted to EUR 13.5 billion. This was a third of the global aid for trade. 
Since the entry into force of the TF Agreement in 2017, the EU and its member States had committed 
to mobilize at least EUR 400 million in trade facilitation assistance over a five -year period, including 
for projects improving developing countries' customs' syst ems. EU and EU member States G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  commitments for TF for 2017 and 2018 already amounted to EUR 442 million. In 2018, the latest 
year for which data was available from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development 
(OECD), the EU and its member States had  provided EUR 288 million for trade facilitation, which 
stood for 51% of world's TF support.  
2.49.  The COVID -19 pandemic had cost a lot of activities in support programmes having to be 
cancelled, or delayed, or organized via virtual means. It would continue to be a challenge to 
sequence activities once the pandemic would be over, due to an overflow of activities of other 
programmes and donors that await the same moment. At times of crisis, there seemed to be low 
interest/capacity of the NTFC coordinating agency t o benefit from various development partners' 
programmes.  
2.50.  It had often been reported that lack of coordination between ministries and low institutional 
capacity were challenges to implement the reforms linked to the agreement. Lessons learnt showed 
that there was a need for coordination between national and international development partners on 
the ground, in particular. For instance, a series of surveys had been launched almost at the same 
time to assess the COVID -19 impacts. That could be streamlined, a s they had stressed in all 
dedicated sessions on aid.  
2.51.  In West Africa, the WTO TFA support structure already had multiple sources of donor and 
country funding to help West African countries implement the TFA, including the United Nations 
Conference on Trade  and Development (UNCTAD), the World Customs Organization, the 
International Trade Centre (ITC), and the WTO. The EU on Trade Facilitation in West Africa had 
aimed to complement and leverage these multiple donor options to maximize the TFA benefits for 
the region. In such cases, as the Trade Facilitation West Africa program had, it was best to focus on 
understanding "who was doing what" in relation to the other partners working in the region, and 
developing a work plan in coordination with the other partner s to advance the programme 's objective 
of TFA ratification and notification of categories by all countries from the Economic Community of 
West African States (ECOWAS).  
2.52.  SMEs in the Caribbean region (under the EU Regional Private Sector Development Programme  
for the Caribbean) had identified digital marketing, business continuity planning, and training in e -
commerce as the top three areas of focus following COVID -19. Therefore, information on e -
commerce that could be easily accessed by Caribbean firms and bus iness support organizations 
would be developed and made available, via the agency's CEIntelligence portal. This information 
would include, but not be limited to e -commerce platforms; e -payment gateways; logistics; shipping.  
2.53.  Coordination and communication would continue to be needed at the time of recovery: when 
travel would be authorized again, project components and development agencies would need to 
make sure that not all activities were organized at the same time. Some exa mples of programmes 
included:  
• EU-Sri Lanka Trade -Related Assistance Project, EUR 7.75 million, 2016 -2021, implemented 
by the ITC. The programme had supported the Government of Sri Lanka to prepare for the 
implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreem ent (TFA), by providing technical 
support to implement specific TFA measures, as well as by strengthening the institutional 
capacity of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) to drive trade facilitation 
reforms in Sri Lanka.  
• 11th EDF Regional Pri vate Sector Development Programme for the Caribbean, 2017 -2021, 
EUR 24 million. It had supported the TFA obligations in terms of availability of information 
on rules and procedures, automation and e -service: (a) The CE Intelligence portal 
(https://www.ceintelligence.com ) provided businesses with regional and international data 
on trade flows, packaging and labelling requirements, and a directory of buyers and suppliers 
in the Region; (b) i -guides for Caribbean countries (together with UNCTAD): a tool that 
enabled potential investors to discover and have a guide on investment opportunities; get a 
better understanding of a country 's "doing business " environment; and know the laws and 
procedures that govern a count ry, so that they could make informed decisions on investment 
activities. So far, i -guides had been developed for Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Saint 
Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  • Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) - Supporting Trade and Dev elopment in Mozambique 
– "PROMOVE Comércio", 6 million EUR. Objectives included support to government with 
implementation of the WTO TFA trade facilitation reforms (along with support to the 
implementation of the EPA).  
• Facilitating the Process of Uzbekista n's Accession to the WTO, 4.75 million EUR, 2020 -25, 
implemented by ITC. One component of the project was specifically dedicated to support the 
establishment/strengthening of the National Trade Facilitation Committee in Uzbekistan, as 
per article 23 of the  TFA. One of the NTFC 's first tasks would be to review and agree upon 
the categorization of the trade facilitation measures (as per the TFA nomenclature) for 
Uzbekistan. The project might also contribute to support the review/development of the 
Trade Facil itation -related legislative/regulatory framework in line with the requirements of 
the WTO TFA. These activities would be implemented in collaboration with Reade for Trade 
Central Asia R4TCA Project.  
• The EU's Trade -Related Assistance to Egypt had included t echnical assistance to the 
Government of Egypt, notably the Ministry of Trade and Industry and its affiliated agencies, 
in the field of Trade Facilitation. The Trade and Domestic Market Enhancement Programme 
(TDMEP) implemented by the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) in 2015 -2019 
had been the EU trade -related flagship programme to respond to the emerging trade -related 
needs of the Government of Egypt in key areas including trade facilitation issues and the 
implementation of the WTO Trade Facil itation Agreement. With an overall budget of EUR 20 
million, TDPEM had structured around two components: (i) foreign trade and trade 
agreements, and (ii) industrial policy and quality infrastructure. The first component had 
provided support to improve rule s and procedures related to foreign trade (import/export 
law, intellectual property rights law, trade remedies, trade facilitation, etc.) and to reinforce 
MoTI's capacity to build positions, negotiate trade agreements, and analyse implications of 
internati onal agreements. As part of the TDMEP Component 1, a dedicated technical 
assistance project on trade policy and trade facilitation, worth EUR 6.41 million, had been 
launched in 2015 in support of the Government of Egypt 's trade facilitation -related needs 
for the period 2015 -2019. Some of the deliverables of this specific technical assistance had 
included the IT design for border import and export procedures including e -payment and e -
forms; as well as the implementation of the national single window. Additio nally, within the 
framework of the EU facility for inclusive growth and job creation in Egypt, a twinning 
program with the Egyptian Customs Authority, worth EUR 1.7  million, was expected to start 
end of 2020. The project would contribute to simplify custom s compliance requirements for 
businesses, including SMEs, to reduce customs bureaucracy for better trade facilitation, and 
to make the movement of goods across borders more efficient and predictable. The specific 
objective was to strengthen the administrat ive and operational capacities of the Egyptian 
Customs Authority to perform more efficiently its core functions, by reducing bureaucracy 
and responding in an effective way to the needs of the trade community.   
2.54.  The delegate from Finland  informed that in add ition to country -specific projects and the 
contribution to the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF), Finland had funded a number of 
regional and multilateral trade development projects recently. Support had been channelled mainly 
through multilater al agencies that have the required expertise to deliver technical assistance in trade 
facilitation. The Finnish government believed that the combination of supporting regional trade and 
assistance to the private sector would accelerate economic growth and support job creation, with 
the ultimate goal of poverty reduction.  
2.55.  Out of the recent trade facilitation related projects supported by Finland, the delegate 
highlighted their support to the TradeMark East Africa (TMEA). The cooperation aimed at advancing 
trade and supporting regional trade integration within East African Community (EAC) e.g. by 
reducing the time and cost of transiting and transporting goods. Creating economic opportunities for 
women was also a central part of the strategy of TradeMark East A frica. Finland's support for the 
project in 2017 –2020 had totalled 9.8 million EUR.  
2.56.  A recent three -year project titled "To progress the trade facilitation agenda, within the 
framework of the WCO Mercator Programme in the East and Southern Africa Region 20 16-2018" had 
been implemented by the World Customs Organization. It aimed at increasing intra -African trade as 
well as trade between Africa and the rest of the world by supporting customs reform and 
modernization in beneficiary countries in Eastern and Sou thern Africa (ESA). The project had helped G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  the beneficiary countries implement the TFA and had contributed to facilitating trade and improving 
procedures of ESA customs administrations.  
2.57.  The delegate from France  indicated they had identified TF support pro jects as a matter of 
priority to foster an inclusive economy. In a globali zed world, goods crossed numerous borders and 
trade facilitation was key to rationalising procedures at borders, there by bolstering economy 
prosperity, particularly for developing c ountries and LDCs. Trade facilitation had a direct effect on 
the main stakeholders involved in trade.  
2.58.  France had given EUR 300,000 over the 2018 -2020 period to the WTO Trade Facilitation 
Agreement Facility (TFAF), which was an effective means to ensure pr oper application of the TFA, 
addressing various hinderances and bottlenecks in administrative procedures.  
2.59.  France was a financial partner committed to supporting countries with specific needs in 
connection with trade facilitation. Projects were financed by France and generally implemented by 
French development agencies. Noteworthy results had been reported in a project to support the tax 
and customs services of Guinea implemented by Expertise France since 2018.  
2.60.  The project had a France and EU budget of EUR 3.8 million and would conclude in 2021. 
Expertise France had provided training for the Guinian customs services in terms of granting 
approved economic operator status, enabling compliant companies to enjoy streamlined customs 
procedures and services, there by making their operations more straightforward. The status of 
approved economic operator had fostered competitiveness for Guinian companies but also more 
generally, it had encouraged national economic developments in the country. The training provided 
by Expertise France would lead to five Guinian companies being granted economic operator status 
by the end of 2020, with more targeted customs inspection based on suspicion of fraud. This would 
help to strengthen and secure the Guinian trading environment whi lst also broadening the tax base.  
2.61.  France had also been a major donor to the Standards and Trade Development Fund (STDF), 
having contributed EUR 450,000 for the 2018 -2020 period. France would continue to pursue its 
objective of working towards open and fai r international trade.  
2.62.  The delegate from the Netherlands  indicated that with a strong position in world trade, they 
favoured an open, rules -based global trade and investment system. A system where all countries 
would be able to benefit equally from trade. They were strong supporters of trade facilitation and 
among the major supporters of Aid for Trade. The Netherlands had implemented programs with the 
International Trade Centre (ITC), Trade -Mark East Africa (TMEA), Trade Facilitation West -Africa, the 
World Bank, UNCTAD and their Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries 
(CBI/RVO.nl). Multiple bilateral programs via our Embassies had also been put in place.  
2.63.  The health and economic impact of COVID -19 was unprecedented. The Netherlands ' COVID-
19 response to developing countries had been implemented along two lines: (i) an immediate 
support package in the short run (US D 100 million); and (ii) an agenda for Building Back Better for 
the long run. Trade support was a key element in both lines of work as a crucial element to ensure 
access to food and essential medical goods and services. In addition, trade was the way out of the 
economic crisis.  
2.64.  As part of the immediate response package, the Netherlands had supported the TradeMark 
East Africa (TMEA ) Safe Trade program together with donors like the European Union, the United 
Kingdom, Canada, USAID, Ireland, Finland, and Denmark. Safe Trade was being implemented in all 
TMEA countries of operations. It aimed to (i) make ports, borders, and critical sup ply chains safe for 
trade; (ii) ensure food security and access to critically required medicines; and support measures to 
prevent job and income losses and make the region more resilient to future crisis. TMEA had acted 
quickly and had started immediately,  due to its existing national structures and strong partnerships, 
but also based on newly established emergency procurement procedures for fast and effective 
implementation.  
2.65.  The program was highly demand -driven, embedded in local context and building on on going 
TMEA activities, like the Electronic Tracking System. TMEA had cooperated at all levels: global (World 
Bank, World Health Organization); regional (East Africa Community); and local (governments, G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  border networks, (NOC)s). The private sector had also b een engaged. Assistance had focussed on 7 
key thematic areas:  
• Emergency personal protective equipment: TMEA had partnered with the World Food 
Programme to deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitation goods for border 
agency officials for thei r protection in the discharge of their duties. In addition, 1,800 drivers 
had been tested (with the International Organization for Migration); TMEA was working with 
the Ministry of Health of Kenya to prepare three locations for testing;  
• Trade technology in terventions: TMEA had developed a tracking app for drivers to record 
the history of their trips and identify individuals interacted with during journeys from origin 
to destination. The app collected medical condition info to include temperature, blood 
pressure, etc. which was shared at border points and took privacy concerns into account;  
• Trade policy interventions: such as tariff schedules to facilitate medical supply in response 
to COVID -19; 
• Supply chain support in essential goods and exports;  
• Standards a nd sanitary and phytosanitary projects;  
• Advocacy interventions;  
• Gender inclusion: Women in Trade and Safe Trade Zones with clear procedures to ensure 
safety for traders, buyers and users of various border markets  
2.66.  In summary, trade continuity was crucial, but it also needed to be safe. The combination of 
health and trade was therefore a key factor for success, now and for future economic resilience.  
2.67.  The delegate from Sweden  thanked the EU for coordinating the interventions of the member 
States with regards to their support for the implementation of the TFA. As member of the EU, Sweden 
had contributed in various ways, methods, and channels to the implementation of the TFA. Th e 
Swedish Policy Framework for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance recognized 
inclusive economic development as a focus area, and free and fair trade as a key part of this 
endeavour. Free and fair trade was a powerful tool for economic grow th, sustainable development 
and fighting poverty. However, many low and middle -income countries had a limited capacity to 
exploit the potential of trade.  
2.68.  In 2019, Sweden had contributed SEK 4.1 billion to the international Aid for Trade agenda 
and had supp orted partner countries in their efforts to use trade as a means for development. They 
were firm believers of multilateralism and the importance of coordinating development partners, 
which is why they find it useful to support partners such as the Enhanced  Integrated Framework, 
the International Trade Centre and the World Bank Umbrella Facility for Trade.  
2.69.  Trade facilitation was one of the prioritized areas and it included addressing both the hard 
and soft constraints for effectively participating in trade. Sweden had recently signed a new 
agreement with the World Customs Organization (WCO) on customs modernization in Sub -Saharan 
Africa, for the 2020 -2022, for an amount of SE K 37.4 million. This was the third phase of 
collaboration with the WCO. The previous phase had achieved some valuable results, such as the 
accreditation of regional authori zed economic operators, IT connectivity and risk management, and 
the prevention of trade in endangered species. The focus in this new phase would be on trade 
facilitatio n, IT connectivity, green customs, regional harmonisation, gender equality and integrity 
and anti -corruption.  
2.70.  The WCO had highlighted lessons learned in order to implement TFA effectively including 
political will and commitment, private sector consultation  and buy -in, the crucial role of National 
Trade Facilitation Committees, and training of a crucial body of individuals to act as change enablers. 
The collaboration would involve five members of the Eastern African Community (Kenya, Tanzania, 
Uganda, Rwanda  and Burundi) and seven members of the Southern African Development Community 
(Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe). This partnership would 
be part of their support to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trad e area, for which 
trade facilitation was an instrumental factor.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 38 - 
 
  2.71.  Sweden had also supported the World Bank 's Trade Facilitation Support Program and several 
multilateral partners.  
2.72.  They kept a holistic view of how trade facilitation could contribute positivel y to sustainable 
development, with an emphasis on the importance of a gender equality lens in trade facilitation. 
Work on supporting small -scale cross border women traders in the Great Lakes region was one 
example where the Swedish International Developmen t Agency, through International Alert since 
2011, had focused on women small -scale traders at border crossing points that faced long queues 
and burdensome administrative processes due to inefficient systems and differences in 
documentation requirements on either side of the border. The existence of multiple and overlapping 
regional policies and legislation created confusion. International Alert had built strong relationships 
with authorities and small -scale traders on all sides of the target areas and had w orked to strengthen 
information sharing on the trade agreements that had been signed and what these meant for traders 
and border/customs officials in practice.  
2.73.  The issues of food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures was critical for trade 
as they contributed to raised incomes for farmers as well as addressing public health and food 
security concerns. To facilitate the export of SPS -related products from developing countries, 
Sweden, as one of the major donors to the STDF, had contributed to building SPS capacity in a 
number of countries. The overall purpose had been to strengthen systems which would facilitate 
trade and exchanges of agricultural and food products, complying with international norms and 
standards. Currently, Sweden was prepari ng a new support agreement to the STDF for an amount 
of EUR 4 million.  
2.74.  Sweden had also supported capacity building for trade policy, trade facilitation and 
standardization in a number of countries bilaterally. A forum such as the Trade Facilitation 
Committ ee had been vital for to assess the demand and needs from partner countries, and Sweden 
remained a committed partner to supporting developing countries in their endeavours to integrate 
into the world economy.  
2.75.  The delegate from Japan  thanked previous speake rs for their presentations. Every year, Japan 
had made a voluntary contribution to the Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF) which had been 
established to pursue customs cooperation programs provided by the WCO. For example, Japan 's 
contribution for 2018 to 2019 had amounted to about 24% of the total fund. The fund had been 
used to provide technical assistance, including by assigning experts to target regions, by holding 
regional workshops or country -by-country seminars, and by implementing human resource 
developm ent programs.  
2.76.  While Japan had contributed to the WCO's activities as the biggest donor to support the 
implementation of the TFA under its Mercator program, Japan had also been providing bilateral 
customs cooperation since 1996. Japan Customs had invited tr ainees and assigned experts overseas 
with a view to promoting the implementation of the TFA.  
2.77.  For instance, in February 2020, they held a one -week training program in Japan and had 
invited twelve customs officers from overseas. The program had been organize d based on a request 
for Japan to share its experiences and best practices regarding the implementation of article 7:1 on 
pre-arrival processing, article 7:8 on expedited shipments, and article 11:9 on advance filing and 
processing of transit documentation  and data. The training program had included experience -sharing 
sessions and an on -site visit to the Japan Customs offices so that the trainees could understand the 
actual operation of customs procedures in Japan. Throughout the course of the training sess ions, 
many questions had been asked and answered, and by making comparisons with their own systems, 
the trainees had been able to identify issues to address upon their return home.  
2.78.  The delegate from Paraguay  shared that the health situation and travel rest rictions 
demanded, in the case of Paraguay, the need to adjust work plans and particularly to restructure 
active cooperation projects. Both national and international activities had to be reformulated into 
online versions and practically all the exchanges that had been planned during this year had been 
reprogrammed into virtual versions.  
2.79.  Currently, the Paraguayan National Trade Facilitation Committee was working, among other 
things, on modifying its structure and developing its work plan for the next two ye ars. This had been G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 39 - 
 
  being carried out with the help of UNCTAD under its Empowerment Programme for National 
Committees, together with the World Bank and with funding from the European Union. The 
implementation of the Empowerment programme had been very valua ble for the reformulation of 
the functioning of the Committee, and it had also served as a great support for the virtual working 
format that Paraguay had to implement this year.  
2.80.  Paraguay had also received the valuable support of the International Trade Cen tre and 
UNCTAD for the inclusion of Paraguay in the Global Trade Helpdesk initiative, which also had to 
migrate to an online format modified by webinars by sector. The delegate thanked the European 
Union for its programme "Support for the Improvement of th e Competitiveness of Micro and Small 
Enterprises and the Business Climate in Paraguay" which had a trade facilitation component, as well 
as the cooperation of the United States Department of Agriculture, which was about to implement a 
project called Agricu ltural Systems and Technology for Trade Facilitation.  
2.81.  The delegate from China  stated that developing Members and LDCs were also supporting each 
other in technical assistance and capacity building of trade facilitation by training and experience 
sharing act ivities frequently. As a donor partner, China had donated US D 1 million (approximately 
CHF 1 million) to the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) and had signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding with the WTO Secretariat, which had been reported by WTO official press. China's 
donation had assisted the TFAF to finance the capacity -building support needed by developing 
countries to implement the Agreement. TFAF had helped these countries in assessing their specific 
needs and in identifying partners to fund  capacity -building activities.  
2.82.  China noted that six Members had requested to postpone the final implementation date of the 
notification of category B measures from 22 February 2020 to 22 February 2021. China called upon 
relevant Members to fulfil their not ification obligations in accordance with article 16:2 of the 
Agreement as soon as possible. As for the reasons for the Members' failure to timely fulfil their 
notification obligations, China suggested that relevant Members could share information in the 
Committee so as to jointly explore solutions and support them by technical assistance and capacity 
building.  
2.83.  With regard to the TFAF Report, China stated that the fund had planned to provide support 
and capacity building for the implementation of the Agreeme nt by its Members in its work in 2021. 
China was willing to contribute more to the future work of TFAF and was willing to actively participate 
in future activities held by TFAF, to share China's practices and experience in implementing the 
Agreement.  
2.84.  The C ommittee took note  of the statements made.  
RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  
2.85.  The Chair recalled that at the meeting of 11 February 2020, the Committee had agreed, in 
light of the very helpful information that had been presented to the Committee under this ite m over 
the past 3 years, that the updates would be circulated in a report in advance of the meeting. The 
intention was for Members to familiari ze themselves with the contents of the reports and use the 
time during the meeting to have a discussion based on the report.  
2.86.  The latest report had been circulated in document G/TFA/W/29 on 15 October 2020. It 
compiled updates by The ANNEX D+ partner organizations to the Trade Facilitation Committee since 
the last Committee meeting on 11 February. The Trade Facilitati on Agreement Facility (TFAF) had 
circulated a report on its recent and upcoming activities in document G/TFA/W/28 dated 15 October 
2020. They proceeded to draw Members' attention to the TFAF Workplan for 2021 which had been 
circulated on 13 October. It wou ld be issued as a Room document after this meeting. Next year, the 
approach would be to have the Workplan for 2022 circulated as a JOB document for consideration 
at the Committee's summer meeting and it would be finalized for the autumn meeting.  
2.87.  The delega te from the United States  referred to both the Report by the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement Facility to the Trade Facilitation Committee (G/TFA/W/28) and the Draft TFAF Workplan. 
The United States had undertaken a preliminary review of the Workplan circulate d and had some 
initial procedural questions. They had some comments on the document, and some concerns with 
some of the language used, particularly as it related to the persistent move away from the TFAF's G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 40 - 
 
  initial purpose and into areas they firmly believe d fell under the TF Committee's purview, or that of 
the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) , where consensus based capacity building 
activities should be managed.  
2.88.  After many years, TFAF had finally issued one grant and appeared to have  two in the queue. 
An active grant program was the sole basis for TFAF's establishment in 2014.  
2.89.  The US had raised concerns regarding trust fund management and the need to de -conflict the 
roles of trust fund managers with WTO Secretariat responsibilities for several years, both in the TFC 
and in the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration. Yet, these documents illustrated a 
refusal to address their concerns.  
2.90.  For instance, pursuant to what Member's request had TFAF joined the Global  Alliance and 
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in order to take part in a survey and issue findings and 
a report? Had this participation been on TFAF's own initiative? How was this activity and a report on 
COVID -19 in response to Members ' requests o r reflect the TF Committee? Why had TFAF participated 
in the WTO Food Trade Logistics? Was this not a Secretariat function where Members activities had 
been shared, why would the trust fund be speaking in that endeavour?  
2.91.  The trust fund should be an extensi on of the Members' and Committee's will, rather than 
participating on its own initiative and behalf. The same problems existed with TFAF's participation in 
Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF or Global Alliance), International Air Transport 
Associ ation (IATA), and ICC events and even the WCO. Why would the trust fund be representing 
the WTO and the Committee speaking about the Agreement and Member's activities?  
2.92.  The trust fund had been created to respond to requests by Members for implementation 
support, why was the trust fund acting proactively and participating on its own behalf? If the answer 
was that they were the WTO Secretariat and had participated in that capacity, then that would have 
more than proved their point that there was an unacceptabl e conflict between the trust fund activities 
and Secretariat staff. The US was unwilling to continue on this path any longer.  
2.93.  Since the United States remained a donor to the TFAF, their role in the management of TFAF 
extended beyond just offering comments on a pre -drafted document, and for that reason they would 
put on the record that the US was not in a position to endorse the proposed Workplan, and believed 
that no activities should be undertaken with TFAF resources, nor any disbursements made from the 
fund until donor members were given the opportunity to draft for themselves a workplan that 
reflected their view of the most appropriate use of resources.   
2.94.  The representative of the Global Alliance on Trade Facilitation  recalled that the Global Alliance 
for Trade Facilitation (GATF or Global Alliance) was a public -private partnership funded by the United 
States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Denmark. It was aimed at assisting 
developing and least -developed countries in implementing the TF A. It was also supported by private 
sector companies and in particular 30 multi -national companies and over 200 local and small and 
medium enterprises (SME) companies in country.  
2.95.  The Global Alliance operated by designing from the ground up, through the pro cess of public 
private partnerships, projects that were focused specifically on addressing TFA articles. It aimed at 
developing framed projects in terms of scope and time and focused on delivery outputs with the 
objective of enabling outcomes in relation t o reductions in time and cost of clearance of cargo.  
2.96.  The Global Alliance did not provide infrastructure or capacity building as such but could 
cooperate infrastructure, IT development or capacity building within the framework of larger 
projects.  
2.97.  They had i mplemented 11 projects all over the world spread across various geographies, 
regions and developments of countries. They were also in the process of scoping nine additional 
projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Of particular interest was the coming t o completion of an 
ambitious project in Colombia in relation to establishing a centre  dedicated to managing advanced 
rulings, and the scoping of a third project in Colombia in relation to assisting the institutes of 
agriculture and further assisting the lo cal agency for food and drugs.  G/TFA/M/13  
 
- 41 - 
 
  2.98.  There had been an excellent collaboration of work in Morocco with the implementation of an 
e-phytosanitary project and a project to improve the management of trucks inside the ports and 
harbours of Morocco. Projects in Zambia  and Mali had focused on establishing a new framework for 
the management of customs brokers. Within the scope of these projects, the objectives had been to 
train up to 700 customs brokers, examine these brokers and establish a full license process in order  
to professionali ze the profession , the objective being to reduce errors and therefore time and cost 
of clearing goods. In Brazil, they had been working in partnership and excellent collaboration with 
INMETRO which was the local standards agency in optimi zing their internal processing.  
2.99.  Work had been taking place in Madagascar with a virtual scoping mission that had taken place 
over the preceding three weeks. They would be starting the implementation of a project by the 
beginning of next year. As presented b y the delegate from Ecuador, they had completed the scoping 
process in Ecuador and had been enjoying an excellent collaboration with the local authorities. 
Interestingly, the collaboration with Ecuador had begun in Geneva at the last TFC meeting.  
2.100.   There was  very good progress to report in Jordan, through the establishment and running 
of 13 public -private partnerships in the past six months, which had led to a very precise list of 
potential projects where the Global Alliance would most probably be active. Thi s provided an overall 
update of the work that is being done around the world by the alliance.  
2.101.   If there were any Members interested in partnering with the Global Alliance and benefitting 
from their expertise, now was a good time. Funding and resources were still available to continue 
supporting countries in TFA implementation, but an infinite amount of time could not be guaranteed. 
The delegate urged Members to reach out to potentially consider some scoping activities.  
2.102.   The delegate from Brazil  thanked the Gl obal Alliance for their project with INMETRO. It had 
been a positive experience and the team in Brazil had received substantive information and support 
from the Global Alliance.  
2.103.   The delegate from Nepal , as a focal point of the core group on trade facilitat ion of the LDC 
group, delivered this statement on behalf of the LDC Group. They appreciated all Members, especially 
those from least -developed countries, for their notifications as per the requirements of the TFA.  
2.104.   Sharing experiences was not only an opport unity to learn from each other but also to 
understand the ground reality of different countries, especially LDCs, landlocked LDCs (LLDCs) and 
others, that might convince donor Members to extend cooperation with additional support packages 
in order to impro ve the situation of trade facilitation in LDCs and LLDCs.  
2.105.   During the informal meeting held in September, various international organizations had 
provided updates about their interventions. Members had done so during this meeting. Presentations 
had been inf ormative and useful. After hearing from various donor Members, it became clear that 
support had been extended, as and when needed, to developing and least -developed country 
Members for effectively implementing the TFA provisions. The delegate commended all  donor 
Members for such support, in particular to least -developed country Members.  
2.106.   During the negotiation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, it had been communicated that 
developing countries including LDCs would benefit much from this agreement. Now, it  might be 
opportune to assess whether Members had gained from the implementation of this Agreement in a 
just and equitable manner. Such benefits could be linked to export competitiveness and productivity 
enhancement of LDCs.  
2.107.   While discussing about LDC Memb ers, it seemed that some LDCs had not been able to notify 
their technical assistance requirement to implement the category C measures. In this context, 
demand -driven technical assistance to such Members would be difficult to materialize and therefore, 
some  support was needed in advance to enable them to notify their requirements. Additionally, 
landlocked least -developed countries may have further difficulties, especially within their territory, 
to develop and maintain sufficient trade infrastructure includi ng digital infrastructure, without which 
reforms at border administration might only facilitate import rather export and productivity.  
2.108.   Trade facilitation for LDC Members started with farming areas, MSMEs and women 
entrepreneurs. However, they were located far from the border customs points and facilitation and G/TFA/M/13  
 
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  improvement at border points were not always sufficient. For this reason, well -integration of entire 
domestic business with ICT systems was needed, so that the domestic supply chain could be made 
operational and linked with the cross -border trade. In addition, bridging the digital divide among 
and within countries had become urgent in the current context of the COVID -19 pandemic.  
2.109.   If there was still a significant portion of businesses running without au tomation and not 
connected with ICT, border improvement would only facilitate imports of LDCs, but not exports. This 
would not promote job creation, domestic economic recovery from the COVID -19 pandemic and 
ultimately the achievement of the global target o f LDC graduation and Sustainable Development 
Goals by 2030.  
2.110.   Furthermore, major businesses in LDCs had been compelled to remain fully disconnected 
from the regular supply system and were mostly closed.  
2.111.   In this context, Nepal extended their appreciation to a ll donor Members for taking timely 
responses to the crisis that businesses were facing during the COVID -19 pandemic, especially in 
developing and least developed countries.  
2.112.   They urged all donor Members and the international community to join hands for brid ging 
the huge infrastructure gap including ICT infrastructure in LDCs, not only at their border points but 
also from their major production and farming areas. It was critical to integrate all these sectors 
through ICT and e -commerce with significant additi onal support from development partners in terms 
of resource, technological, institutional and human capacity building, so as to strengthen and 
reconnect domestic supply chain through development and utilization of ICT and e -commerce and 
then integrating th e local business community of LDCs with national, regional and global value chain 
process.  
2.113.   The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
2.114.   The dedicated session was adjourned . 
 
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