RESTRICTED  
  
G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
6 March  2023 
(23-1537) Page: 1/48 
Committee on Trade Facilitation  Original: English  
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  
4-5 APRIL 2022  
CHAIRPERSON: MR . CHRISTOPHER O 'TOOLE (CANADA)  
Contents  
1   MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF  
THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT (TFA)  ................................ ................................ . 2 
1.1 Notifications by Members  ................................ ................................ ............................  2 
A. Notifications under Article 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreemen t ................................ ..... 2 
B. Notifications under Article 17 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................ ..... 6 
C. Notifications under Articles 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2.2 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  8 
D. Notifications under Article 22 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................ ..... 9 
1.2 Status of Ratification and Notification Process  ................................ ..............................  11 
1.3 Status of the Definitive Date Implementation (G/TFA/2, para 9.3(vi))  .............................  13 
2   EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  ................................ .....................  16 
3   DOCUMENT CONTAINING GOOD PRACTICES AND BUILDING BLOCKS OF  
SUCCESSFUL NTFCS (G/TFA/2, PARA 9.3(V))  ................................ ................................  16 
4   DEDICATED SESSION ON TRANSIT ISSUES OF LANDLOCKED COUNTRY MEMBERS  .... 17 
5   FOLLOW -UP TO THE 2021 FOUR -YEAR REVIEW OF THE OPERATION AND 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 23.1.6  
OF THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT (G/TFA/2, PARA 9.3(VIII))  ........................  36 
6   PROCESS TO AGREE REGULARIZED AGENDA TOPICS FOR THE DEDICATED  
SESSION ON ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING, WITHIN THE PARAMETERS  
OF ARTICLE 21.4 (G/TFA/2, PARA 9.2(III)) – REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON  ..............  37 
7   INFORMATION ON ONGOING ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY  
BUILDING – THE UNITED KINGDOM (G/TFA/W/68)  ................................ ......................  38 
8   COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA; BRAZIL; CANADA; COLOMBIA; ECUADOR; 
EUROPEAN UNION; ICELAND; JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; MEXICO; MONTENEGRO; 
NEW  ZEALAND; NORTH MACEDONIA; NORWAY; THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI A RABIA; 
SINGAPORE; SWITZERLAND; THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN,  
PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU; THAILAND; TÜRKIYE; THE UNITED KINGDOM;  
THE UNITED STATES AND URUGUAY (G/TFA/W/25/REV.8)  ................................ ..........  39 
9   PLANNING FOR THE FIVE -YEAR TFA ANNIVERSARY EVENT – UPDATE BY THE 
CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  41 
10   TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT FACILITY CONSULTATIONS – REPORT  
BY THE CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 42 
11   RECEN T AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  ................................ ................................ ...... 44 
12   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 46 
13   ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON FOR 2022 TO 2023  ................................ .....................  46 G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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1  MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRADE 
FACILITATION AGREEMENT (TFA)  
The Chair welcomed delegations and recalled that the agenda for the meeting had been 
circulated in documents WTO/AIR/TF A/21 and WTO/AIR/TFA/ 21/Rev.1.  
The Committee agreed to continue the practice of holding Item 2 of the agenda "Experience 
sharing/thematic discussions " in informal mode, to allow for frank and interactive exchanges.  
The Committee also agreed  that observers  to the meeting could remain throughout the informal 
session.  
The Chair added two items: (1) the dates for the Committee 's remaining meetings in 2022; 
and (2)  inviting Annex D partners and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to the next meeting 
of the Committee.  
The agenda was adopted  with the proposed changes.  
1.1 Notifications by Members  
The Chair  informed the Committee that 17 new notifications had been received since the 
Committee's meeting on 19 October 2021. All notifications had been issued as documents in the 
G/TFA/N / series.  
A. Notifications under Article 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
The Chair  drew the Committee's attention to the first group of notifications, namely those under 
Article 16 of the Agreement. Since the last meeting of the Committee, 4 notifications had been 
received from 3 Members.  
The first notification came from Antigua and Ba rbuda  which was circulated  in documents 
G/TFA/N/ATG/1/Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
We thank Antigua and Barbuda for its notification of implementing Article 7.5 ahead of their 
initially notified Janua ry 2022 deadline. We want to express our appreciation for the notification.  
The United States condemns Russia's premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine as well 
as the actions of the Belarus regime, which is aiding Russia's war of aggression. Preside nt Putin's 
premeditated war has brought catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia is solely 
responsible for this death and destruction, and the world must hold Russia accountable. We call upon 
Russia to immediately cease its use of force agains t Ukraine and refrain from any further unlawful 
threat or use of force against any UN member State. 
We are united with our allies and partners in our commitment to ensure the Russian 
Government pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further invasion of Ukraine. The 
actions of Russia are incompatible with the rules -based system we have built and work to improve. 
The WTO is predicated on certain values, among these that a fair and just international order is one 
built on rules, reciprocity, and transparency.  
The delegate of the Russian Federation  raised  a point of order at the time of the United States' 
intervention and indicated the following :  
Let me draw to Members ' attention that considerations of matters of global security concerns 
do not fall under the mandate of the present Committee , and it goes far beyond the agenda of 
today's meeting.  I call on you, Chair, to moderate the discussion accordingly by not permitting 
interventions from the delegation s negligent to this basic consideration. I request that statements G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  which  do not correspond to the agenda of this meeting and mandate of the Committee  are not 
included into the minutes. I also encourage delegates to exercise self -restraint in this regard.  
The Chair  indicated the following:  
Thank you. Your statement will be included in the minutes of the meeting.   
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following :  
Japan appreciates Antigua and Barbuda's efforts to implement Article 7.5 Post -clearance 
Audit, before the originally notified date.   
We welcome Antigua and Barbuda's follow -up notification to confirm the implementation of 
the provision. We highly value the notification as it enhance s the transparency of the actual 
implementation status and would like to encourage other Member s to follow suit.  We consider it 
important for Member s to manage their own implementation schedules based on their own 
notifications, in order to meet the deadline for implementing the relevant provisions.  
Japan would like to echo and add its voice to the preceding interventions on the Russian 
invasion as we consider it is something that should not be ignored when we discuss international 
agreements and facilitation of international trade.  
The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia is an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo 
by force. It is an act that u ndermines the very foundation of the international order. It constitutes a 
blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. As such, it is unacceptable, and Japan 
condemns it in the strongest terms.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated th e following :  
The European Union  would like to commend Antigua and Barbuda, for their commitment and 
dedication to implement provisions ahead of the notified definitive implementation date .  
However, while we speak about the successes of some Member s, we n eed to keep in mind 
what is happening elsewhere. I would like to stress that the European Union and its member States 
wish to express our full solidarity with Ukraine and its people. There was an extensive discussion on 
Russia's military aggression in the General Council last week. It reflected the broad condemnation 
felt by many Member s, and squarely put the responsibility for negative effects on food security, 
trade, and global economic stability at Russia's door.  
The EU and its member States will continu e to support Ukraine. The EU has adopted significant 
economic and trade sanctions against Russia and remains ready to take further measures. We 
demand Russia to immediately put an end to this aggression, withdraw its military , and respect 
Ukraine's soverei gnty and territorial integrity.  
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following :  
Trinidad and Tobago wish to thank Antigua and Barbuda for the notification and congratulates 
them on the swift implementation of this Article ahead of the impleme ntation date.  
The delegate of St. Vincent and the Grenadines  indicated the following :  
On behalf of the WTO Member s of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, which include  
Antigua and Barbuda , we just wanted to communicate appreciation of Antigua an d Barbuda . All of 
the Member States of the OECS take our TFA obligations very seriously and we very much appreciate 
the support that we continue to receive through the TFAF , from  other Member s, and from the 
Annex  D organizations .  
The next notification was from India and was circulated in document G/TFA/N/IND/1/Add.2.  
The delegate of India indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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India made its notification under Article 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement ahead of the 
February 2022  designated date for implementation of the Category  B provisions. India notified to 
the WTO via the document G/TFA /N/IND/2 dated 23 January 2017  that the indicativ e dates for 
implementation of Category  B commitments shall be five years from the date of entry into force of 
the Agreement. Thereafter, by the document, G/TFA/N/IND/1, dated 14 March 2018, India notified 
that the indicat ive date of implementation of Categ ory B commitments was 22 February 2022. In 
document G/TFA/IND/1/Add.2 dated 28 February 2022, India notified that the new definitive date 
for the implementation of the Category  B commitments was 14 October 2021. The implementation 
of these Category  B commi tments w as completed on 14  October 2021 , more than 31 days ahead of  
schedule. This implementation greatly enhances ease of doing business in India as well as reduces 
the compliance burden for trade. As part of these obligations, India has entirely streamlined enquiry 
points ; notification requirements ; mechanisms where stakeholders are provided an opportunity to 
comment on the proposed introduction or amendments of laws and regulations ; legislative changes ; 
ensuring the judicial appeal review ; border  agency cooperation ; formalities and documentation 
requirements, and establishing the single window for imports into the country.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
The EU welcomes India implementing 16 provisions that are of cri tical importance for traders. 
Could India inform WTO Member s on how they successfully managed to implement these provisions 
in such a timely manner? We would also be interested in which challenges were overcome, if any.  
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
Japan appreciates India's efforts to implement the provisions it has notified as Category  B 
provisions, before the notified deadlines, and its follow -up notification to confirm the 
implementation.  
We understand that India has now fully implemen ted the TFA provisions and would like to 
congratulate India for achieving that at this difficult time.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
We thank India for its notification of implementing Articles 1, 8, 10, and 11. We congratulat e 
India on their efforts to fully implement all TFA provisions ahead of their initially notified 
February  2022 deadline.  
The delegate of the Republic of Korea  indicated the following:  
Korea also welcomes the notification from Antigua and Barbuda and India  under Article 16. 
I wish to echo previous speakers regarding the  situation in Ukraine. T he Korean Government also 
strongly condemns Russia's armed invasion against Ukraine as a violation of the principles  of the 
UN Charter. The use of force against  innoce nt casualties cannot be justified under any 
circumstances. It has resulted in worsening of the crisis. Ukraine's sovereignty, sectoral  integrity, 
and political independence must be respected. We share the concerns of the international 
community .   
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following:  
Trinidad and Tobago wishes to thank India for the notification of the implementation 
commitments and commends them on implementation of these commitments ahead of  time. 
The delegate of India indicated the following:  
We welcome the comments of the EU, Japan, US, Korea and Trinidad and Tobago relating to 
our notification, and we thank them for their comments. We will be sharing our experiences during 
the 29 June ses sion, and also remain open for bilateral discussions.  
The next notification came from Indonesia  and was circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/IDN/1/Add.1.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of Japan  indicated the following :  
Japan welcomes Indonesia's follow -up notification to confi rm the implementation of Article 3 
of the TFA, which has been notified as a Category  B provision. We appreciate Indonesia's efforts to 
implement the provision before its originally notified deadline.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the followi ng:  
We thank Indonesia for its notification of implementing Article 3. We congratulate Indonesia 
on their efforts to fully implement all TFA provisions ahead of their initially notified February 2022 
deadline.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
The U nited Kingdom  would like to thank Indonesia along with Antigua and Barbuda for their 
notification s and would like to congratulate all of the Member s for implementing their commitments 
before the definitive date. We would wel come any Member sharing their experiences in 
implementation as well as any challenges and successes in implementing the TFA within the 
Committee .  
The Chair had discussed the positive occasion of early notification and early implementation 
of the TFA . We cannot sit by and ignore the egregious violations of international law and the UN 
Charter by one Member against another. The WTO is founded on respect of law, which Putin has 
showed he holds in contempt. Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is unprovoked an d premeditated 
attack against the sovereign, democratic State. It is entirely in violation of international law and 
Russia's illegal invasion is fully relevant to the work of this Committee . Their illegal war is frustrating 
trade in every sector of the Ukr ainian economy and stopping Ukraine from getting goods in and out 
of its own borders. Indeed, in addition to destroying Ukraine's manufacturing and agricultural 
facilities, Russian troops, tanks, and missiles destroyed Ukraine's border and infrastructure. As well 
as its ports and airports. This is a fact that Russia's illegal invasion is , therefore , materially affecting 
Ukraine's ability to implement its commitments under the TFA , and as a Committee  responsible for 
upholding and monitoring the TFA, it is im portant that we recognize it for what it is. Ukraine's ability 
to trade and implement the TFA is frustrated solely as a result of Russia's illegal war. While Russia 
continues its illegal invasion of Ukraine, these impacts on Ukraine's ability to implement the TFA at 
its borders will continue to persist to the detriment of Ukraine and to the world. Russia's invasion of 
Ukraine is sending shockwaves through the global economy, particularly by severely disrupting trade 
and increasing the prices of commodities,  such as oil, gas, grains and metals raising further risks to 
the global trading system at large. The resulting trade frustration is hitting the poorest countries 
and the poorest people hardest. There is only one solution, and it lies with one WTO Member o nly. 
Russia must withdraw its troops. While Russia continues to violate international law, human rights 
and multiple commitments to peace and security , the UK and our international partners continue to 
stand united condemning the Russian Government's repre hensible actions and egregious violations 
of internal law and the UN Charter.  
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following:  
Trinidad and Tobago wishes to thank Indonesia for the notification and congratulates them 
on the swift implementati on of this article ahead of the scheduled implementation date.  
The delegate of Australia  indicated the following:  
Australia would like to thank Indonesia for their notification and congratulate them on their 
early implementation. Like other Member s have raised, we cannot ignore current global affairs which 
are relevant to this Committee  given the relevant impact on trade. Australia condemns in the 
strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine. This invasion 
is a gross violation of international law, including the UN Charter. Australia strongly supports 
Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We call on Russia to cease its attacks on Ukraine and 
withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory. Australia sup ports collective action with like -minded 
countries to impose costs and increase leverage on Russia and those in Russia who bear 
responsibility.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
 The E uropean Union would like to commend Indonesi a for their commitment and dedication 
to implement provisions several months ahead of the notified definitive implementation date . 
The delegate of Indonesia  indicated the following:  
Indonesia would like to thank all Member s for their kind remarks and we l ook forward to the 
full implementation  of the TFA . 
The Committee took note of the notification s as well as the statements made.  
B. Notifications under Article 17 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
The Chair drew the Committee's attention to notifications under Articles 17 of the TFA  which 
cover  the Early Warning Mechanism and the extension of implementation dates for provisions in 
Categories B and C.  
The first notification came  from Zambia  and was circulate d in document 
G/TFA/N/ZMB/1/Add.1.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
We thank Zambia for their notification . The United States support Zambia's extension request 
despite their lack of timely notification to delay implementation f rom December 2021 to June 2023.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following : 
The EU takes note of Lesotho and Zambia's requests for the extension of their implementation 
deadlines for several provisions. The EU recognizes that the COVID pand emic has made the situation 
difficult.  
The EU would appreciate if Zambia could inform the Committee on their situation regarding 
donors' commitments for their implementation of Category  C commitments.  
The EU takes note of the update of the contact point for aid notified by Zambia, but has not 
yet seen a notification on the progress regarding the reception of assistance. The EU recalls that, 
under Article 17, LDCs should request extensions of deadlines at least three months in advance.  
The EU welcomes the important document prepared by the WTO Secretariat to help Member s 
having Category  B and C commitments deadlines to check their progress against final deadlines 
notified to the WTO , and report any challenges.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
The UK thanks Zambia for their transparency in submitting an extension request under 
Article  17, albeit marginally late. While we believe that COVID -19 makes the need for trade 
facilitation more pressing, we acknowledge the diffi culties faced by many LDCs, including Zambia,  
in implementation due to the pressures of the pandemic. We will continue to provide technical 
assistance to Zambia through our capacity building program me to support further implementation.  
The delegate of Japan indicated the following:  
Japan appreciates Zambia's efforts to implement Article 3 and Article 7.6 of the TFA. We 
welcome Zambia's notification of its need to extend the deadline, as such a notification enhances 
transparency of the implementation status . 
While we consider this notification to have been submitted in an untimely manner, we would 
like to support and encourage Zambia's continuing efforts to implement the relevant provisions.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The next notification came  from Lesotho  and was circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/LSO/1/Add.3.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
We thank Lesotho for their notification. The United States support s Lesotho 's extension 
request, despite their lack of timely notification to d elay implementation of Article 11 from 
December  2021 to December 2024. We would like to note that both of these Article 17 requests by 
LDCs, namely Zambia and Lesotho, were untimely  but were only late by three days for one and less 
than two -weeks for the o ther. As such, we wanted to show maximum flexibility to LDCs by supporting 
these requests. However we reiterate that the timelines in Section II of the TFA are part of the core 
commitments  that make up the unique Agreement. We see no difference between  the Section 1c 
and Section 2  commitments , and we treat them equally as binding.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
The UK thanks Lesotho for their transparency and submitting an extension request within this 
Committee , albeit marginally late. We would like to reiterate our acknowledgement of the difficulties 
faced by LDCs in implementing the TFA while dealing with the pandemic. The UK will continue to 
support Lesotho with capacity building to support further assets to further i mplement the TFA. 
Finally, we would encourage Member s to utilize the support and assistance available to them within 
this additional period to ensure they are able to implement these provisions and realize the benefits 
of implementation.  
The delegate of Japan indicated the following:  
Japan appreciates Lesotho's efforts to implement Article 11 of the TFA. We welcome Lesotho's 
notification of its need to extend the deadline, as such a notification enhances transparency of the 
implementation status.  
While we  consider this notification to have been submitted in an untimely manner, we would 
like to support and encourage Lesotho's continuing efforts to implement the provision.  
The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
The LDC group welcomes the request fro m Zambia and Lesotho for an extension of deadline. 
We appreciate continued commitments and the LDC group supports the request . The LDC Group 
also appreciates all Member s for supporting the  request s.  
The next notification came  from Guatemala  and was circul ated in document 
G/TFA/N/GTM/1/Add.2.  
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
Japan appreciates Guatemala's efforts to implement Articles 10.4.1 and 10.4.2, and welcome s 
its timely notification.  
We hope that the early implementation of the relevan t Articles will be achieved so that 
Member s can enjoy the benefits of facilitation and simplification of Customs procedures.  
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following:  
Trinidad and Tobago acknowledges the submission of notifications from  Zambia, Lesotho and 
Guatemala for extensions of definitive dates. We support the request for the extension. Trinidad and 
Tobago also looks forward to these countries overcoming the current challenges in order to 
successfully implement their respective pro visions under the identified articles.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
We thank Guatemala for their notification. The United States supports Guatemala for their 
timely extension request to delay implementation of Articles 10.4.1  and 10.4.2 from July 2022 to 
January  2024. We have been in contact with Guatemala to discuss their implementation needs and 
we offer to partake in a capital -based discussion in coordination with the EU to further discuss 
Guatemala's implementation needs.  
The delegate of Guatemala  indicated the following:  
We would like to acknowledge the statements of Member s regarding our notification contained 
in document G/TFA/N/GTM/1/ADD.2, which is a supplement to the notification dated 7 March 2018 
(G/TFA/N/GTM/1/Add.1), and in the framework of Articles 17.1(a), 17.1(b) and 17.2 of the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement. Guate mala hereby notifies the extension of the final dates for the application 
of the provisions of Articles 10.4.1 and 10.4.2 on single window. As indicated in the notification, the 
new definitive date for the application of these obligations will be 1 January  2024.  
The reasons for this change are that limitations have been identified in the IT developments 
of some government agencies, which do not allow them to operate with the single window. Technical 
and financial assistance is required for these government  agencies in order to achieve 
interoperability of the single window. The new notified date is in less than two years, so we are 
requesting the support of donors to help us solve these problems and fully implement this obligation.  
We would particularly lik e to thank the donors who have already approached us to discuss 
their support . As stated by the United States we will be organizing a capital meeting in conjunction 
with the European Union to discuss Guatemala's needs with respect to this article and hope that with 
your support Guatemala will be able to comply with the implementation of the single window as soon 
as possible.  
The Committee took note  of the notification s and the statements made.  
C. Notifications  under Articles 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2.2 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement  
The Chair drew the Committee's attention to transparency notifications under Articles 1:4, 
10:4:3, 10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA. They have the objective of providing transpa rency, either in 
a broader context – providing information on publication sources – or providing information on the 
specific items, such as a single window operation, the use of customs brokers, and customs 
cooperation.  
The first notification c ame from Tonga in document G/TFA/N/TON/3/Rev.1.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
We thank Tonga for the updated transparency notification and for providing this detailed 
information which is very critical for our traders.  
The next notificat ion came from Niger , in document G/TFA/N/NER/5.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
The United States would like to thank Niger for submitting the Article 1.4 and Article 10.6.2 
notifications. We appreciate the work that went into submitting these notifications .  
The delegate of the Niger  indicated the following:  
We thank the Member s for their interest in our notification G/TFA/N/NER/5 which 
complements our previous notifications.  G/TFA/N/NER/5  is designed to meet certain requi rements 
and provides Member s with information on our implementation efforts. By way of example, the 
information provided on the single window  demonstrates the commitment of our authorities to do 
everything possible to have a single window  in the future.  We trust that developed Member s and G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  Annex D partners will be sensitive to the challenges faced by developing Member s such as ours and 
will continue to be more supportive of our efforts to implement the Agreement.  
The next notification came from Kenya  in docu ment G/TFA/N/KEN/4.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
The United States would like to thank Kenya for completing the transparency notification 
and for providing detailed information which is very critical for our traders.  
The next notification came from Indonesia  in document  G/TFA/N/IDN/2/Rev.1.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
The United States would like to thank Indonesia for completing the transparency notification 
and for providing detailed information  which is very critical for our traders.  
The next notification came from Norway  in document  G/TFA/N/NOR/2/Rev.2 and 
G/TFA/N/NOR/2/ Rev.2/Corr.1.  
The delegate of Norway  indicated the following:  
Norway has undertaken a review based on a check of web -links in our notifications. We think 
that this is an important exercise for all Member s, and we encourage everyone to do likewise .  
Norway continues to condemn in the strongest possible terms the unpre cedented military 
aggression of Russia against Ukraine. Let me express Norway's concern for the severe destruction 
and human suffering that this illegal act of aggression is causing. It was unprovoked, unjustified, 
premeditated military actions . The Russia n Federation is grossly violating international law, the core 
principles of international rule -based order and the fundamental principles of the UN Charter that 
has prevailed since World War II. It is an attack on what the UN, WTO, and Geneva as a capital of 
multilateralism stands for. Let me conclude by expressing Norway's full support and solidarity with 
Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.  
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following :  
Trinidad and Tobago wishes to thank Tonga, Niger, Kenya, Indonesia and Norway for the 
presentation of the notifications and commends each country on the progress made thus far.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
The E uropean Union would like to thank Tonga, Niger, Kenya, Indonesia and N orway for 
notified updates of web -links and information on their custom s procedures and legislation. The EU 
recalls the importance of such information, in particular on legislation, fees and charges, customs 
brokers and the contact points for custom s coope ration. We regret that there are still several 
Member s that are not complying with their notification obligations either Category  A or Category  B 
whose deadlines have passed.  
Regarding Article 12.2.2, approximately 15 Member s committed to providing contact points 
for customs cooperation as Category  A but have not yet done so, despite the fact that the Agreement 
is in force for more than 5 years.  
The representative of the United States  thank ed Norway for its notification.  
The Committee took note  of the notifications and the statements made.  
D. Notifications under Article 22 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the notifications under Article 22 of the TFA. 
There were three separate notif ication obligations identified under Article 22 – Article 22:1, G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  notifications by donor members on their recent capacity building activities; and Articles 22:2 and 
22:3, notifications of information  on contact points.  
There were three notification s on the agenda: from the European Union in 
G/TFA/N/EU/2/Add.3 and Add.3/Corr.1 ; the United Kingdom in G/TFA/N/GBR/3 , and Zambia in  
G/TFA/N/ZMB/2/Rev.1.   
The representative of Trinidad and Tobago  expressed thanks for the not ification s. In 
particular, Trinidad and Tobago would like to note that, as a developing country, the continued 
assistance and capacity building support provided by donor Member s remain critical to the full 
implementation of the TFA.  
The delegate of Canada  indicated the following:  
Canada is currently working on an update to Article 22 and will inform the Secretariat when 
that is completed.  
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a few words about Russia's invasion of 
Ukraine. Canada strongly condemns President Putin's unjus tifiable and unprovoked invasion of 
Ukraine. This invasion is causing widespread humanitarian consequences and resulting in the 
senseless deaths of innocent people. This is not just an attack on Ukraine. This is an attack on 
international law, including th e UN Charter, as well as democracy, freedom, and human rights. The 
international community must be seized of this issue and condemn with one voice President Putin's 
aggressive actions. What Russia has done cannot be normalized.  
The delegate of the European  Union  indicated the following:  
The E uropean Union thanks the U nited Kingdom  and Zambia for their notifications . This 
information is crucial for the success of the implementation of Category  C commitments of the 
Member concerned.  
The Committee took note of the notifications and of the statements made.  
The delegate of the Russian Federation  indicated the following:  
I would like to comment on a number of interventions that were made today. I feel pity for 
all of the participants of today's meeting who  had to listen to numerous interventions which were 
clearly outside the scope, not only of the Committee , but of the WTO itself. Unlike  WTO Member s 
that have just made their politicized interventions, I will focus my statement on the unilateral trade 
restrictive measures introduced by Member s in direct violation of WTO rules.  
Such measures are the reason for the break in global supply chains, that are still fragile after 
the pandemic. These measures lead to the increase in energy costs and natural gas that  is used to 
produce fertilizers , and a spike in food prices. Widescale  consequences could have been avoided if 
the WTO Member s that just took the floor had not breached basic WTO rules. In particular , the 
following measures are clearly inconsistent with th e relevant provisions of the WTO: implementation 
of import tariffs above MFN rates; import ban on Russian oil and other fuel products as well as other 
energy resources such as natural gas  and coal; restriction of exports to Russia of various goods like 
oil refining equipment and technologies, food stuff and other goods ; blocking of Russian financial 
institutions, transportation companies, and export support agencies ; ban on the use of EU seaports, 
not to mention freezing a substantial part of Russia's curre ncy reserves. On top of this, there is a 
wide array of unilateral measures with an extraterritorial effect against producers and top 
management of producers  that undermine shipments of energy, fertilizers and agricultural products. 
Unilateral measures against Russian oil and gas industry as well as financial sector led to the 
increased global energy costs and global prices for fertilizers that are produced fr om gas. Unilateral 
measures  are another reason for the increase in the cost of insurance for export of Russian products 
including agricultural ones. No wonder that all additional costs due to unilateral measures are passed 
on to consumers which is resultin g in growing global food prices. Moreover, non-compliance of 
international commodity traders as well as international bank s transferring money for the supply of 
products resulted in reduced shipments of products, including agricultural ones , to the global market.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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All these unilateral measures with the extraterritorial effect puts real pressure on global 
supply chains, in particular , the global food market. Additionally, an UNCTAD report issued on 
16 March 2022 clearly shows that contributin g factors to the  current level of agricultural and 
commodity prices are ultra -loose monetary policies conducted by the biggest central banks, fiscal 
stimulus  in some nations coupled with export restrictions. Finally, as long as some Member s are 
repeating the same politica l statements at every  meeting and we have nothing new from them, I 
suggest that in order to save time they present their views collectively and in written form.  
1.2 Status of Ratification and Notification Process  
i. Update by the WTO Secretariat  
The representative of the WTO Secretariat  presented an update since the Committee 
meeting held on 19 -21 October 2021. The presentation and all the information used had been 
sourced from the TFA Database website and it is available at  https://tfadatabase.org . 
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
The United States thanks the Secretariat for the report and for hig hlighting, in particular, 
the upcoming definitive date deadline of 22 August 2022 for Category C notifications for LDCs . I 
think this date is approaching faster than we may realize, so we just wanted to flag that this is 
coming up.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
The E uropean Union thanks the Secretariat for the comprehensive and updated report. Given 
that our last meeting was five months ago, this is particularly useful to help us monitor the 
implementation of the Agreement , the difficulties encountered, and gaps that are to be filled. This 
is also useful for our preparation of the anniversary even t in June, as we should not be complacent 
about the challenges that remain.  
The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
The LDC gr oup sincerely appreciates the Secretariat for updating and reminding us o f the 
deadline for notifying definitive dates of Category C measures implementation for the LDC Member s. 
We also appreciate the Secretariat for extending all LDC Member s support and t ime to discuss about 
the upcoming notification deadlines. All of the LDC Member s that have to notify are vigorously 
working on notifying the definitive dates of Category  C measures. Notifying definitive dates is linked  
with many other factors. For example,  how we can receive technical assistance from developing 
partners also matters and affects  the notifications . In this context, we appreciate support from the 
develop ment partners, specifically the donor country Member s, and we expect to work together so 
that our definitive date would be more impact ful. All LDC Member s are committed to timely 
notifications of definitive dates of the Category  C measures and we are working o n them. We thank 
you all for your cooperation and support.  
The Committee took note  of the information and the statements made.  
ii. Trade Facilitation Agreement's definitive implementation dates covering the period 
1 May 2021 to 31 December 2022 (G/TFA/INF/1)  – Updates by Members  
The Chair recalled that that this item is the result of a decision of the TFA Review to have as 
a standing item on the agenda updates by Member s on overdue Section I and Section II notifications 
(G/TFA/2, para 9.3(ii)). The definitive  implementation dates covering the period 1  May 2021 to 
31 December 2022 are contained in document G/TFA/INF/1.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
Transparency is critical to all traders for understanding what customs formalities are required 
and providing certainty at the border. TFA Articles 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2 include the 
information necessary for traders in interested parties to find the  regulations and requirements for 
import, export, and transit, custom brokers, and contact information. The United States reiterates G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  that the timelines in the TFA are part of the core commitments of Section II that make up this unique 
Agreement. Thirty -six Member s self-identified a definitive implementation deadline prior to this 
meeting, for one of the TFA transparency provisions, yet have not submitted the necessary 
notification to the WTO Secretariat. Each of these Member s identified one or more of TFA A rticles  1.4, 
10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2 as Category  A or B.  
Developing Member s include Armenia Article 1.4 with a due date of 13 December 2020. 
Bolivia had notified Articles 1.4, 10.6.2, and 12.2 with an implementation date of 22 February 2017. 
Brunei Daruss alam notified Articles 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2, and 12.2 with a date of 22 February 2017. 
Cabo Verde notified Article 10.6.2 with a deadline 1 January 2022. Cameroon notified Article 10.6.2, 
with a date of 22 February 2017. Congo notified Article 10.6.2 with a  deadline of 22 February 2017. 
Cuba notified Articles 1.4 and 12.2 with a deadline of 22 February 2022, and Article 10.6.2 with a 
deadline of 22 February 2017. Fiji notified Article 1.4 with a deadline of 30 June 2017 and 
Articles  10.6.2 and 12.2 with a de adline of 31 December 2018. Ghana notified Articles 10.4.3 and 
10.6.2 with a deadline 22 July 2021. Grenada notified Article 10.6.2 with a deadline of 
22 February  2022. Jamaica notified Article 1.4 with a deadline of 31 March 2020, Article 10.6.2 with 
a deadline of 22 February 2017, and Article 12.2 with a deadline of 22 February 2022. Jordan notified 
Articles 1.4, 10.6.2 and 12.2 with a deadline of 22 February 2017. Kuwait notified Articles 1.4 and 
10.6.2 with a deadline of 22 February 2017. Nigeria notifi ed Article 1.4 with a deadline of 
22 February  2022 and Article 10.6.2 with a deadline of 22 February 2020. Papua New Guinea notified 
Article 1.4 with a deadline of 31 December 2020 and Article 10.6.2 with a deadline of 
22 February  2017. Qatar notified Arti cles 1.4, 10.6.2 and 12.2 with a deadline of 22 February 2017. 
Seychelles notified Article 1.4 implementing 1 October 2019 and Articles 10.6.2 and 12.2 
implementing 22 February 2017. South Africa notified Articles 1.4, 10.6.2, and 12.2 implementing 
22 Febr uary 2017. Tunisia notified Articles 1.4 and 12.2 implementing 22 February 2017. The 
United  Arab Emirates notified Article s 1.4, 10.6.2, and 12.2 implementing 22 February 2017 and 
Article 10.4.3 implementing 31 December 2021. Vanuatu notified Articles 10.6 .2 and 12.2 
implementing 22 February 2017. Zimbabwe notified Article 1.4 implementing of 31 December 2020 
and Articles 10.6.2 and 12.2 implementing of 22 February 2017.  
With respect to the least developed countries, Afghanistan notified Article 1.4 impleme nting 
31 December 2021 and Article 10.6.2 implementing 22 February 2018. Angola notified Article 1.4 
implementing 30 June 2021. Benin notified Article 1.4 implementing 30 June 2020, notified 
Article  10.4.3 implementing 31 December 2020 and Articles 10.6.2 and 12.2 implementing 
22 February 2018. Burkina Faso notified Article 10.6.2 implementing 22 February 2018. Burundi 
notified Articles 1.4, 10.6.2 and 12.2 implementing 22 February 2018. The Central African Republic 
notified Article 10.4.3 implementing 22 F ebruary 2018. Chad notified Articles 1.4, 10.6.2 and 12.2 
implementing 22 February 2018. Djibouti notified Article 10.6.2 implementing 22 February 2018. 
Mozambique notified Articles 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2 implementing 22 February 2018. Sierra Leone 
notified Article 10.6.2 implementing 31 December 2020. Finally, Uganda notified Articles 1.4 and 
10.6.2 implementing 22 February 2018.  
Definitive date deadlines are binding, and the United States urges these Member s to submit 
the required information as soon as possible to fulfil these TFA commitments.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
The European Union would like to echo the statement made by the US and to call on all 
Member s for late notifications to respect their commitments and sub mit their overdue notifications.  
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
Japan thanks the Secretariat for the very useful and informative presentation. Japan also 
appreciates the United States for their intervention. We think it is useful and import ant to know the 
situation and reasons behind the overdue notifications.  
We encourage Member s with notification delays to explain in the coming meetings the 
reasons for the delay. We are particularly interested to hear any challenges they are facing to provide 
notifications in accordance with the Agreement, as well as their plan to submit the dela yed 
notifications  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The Chair  indicated the following:  
I would like to express appreciation to the United States for bringing together , in one place , 
all of that information for the Committee and for delegates.  
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the TFA database, 
https://tfadatabase.org , which  is a great resource . On those webpages, there is a specific webpage 
for each of you Member s here and I believe th at this is where all of the information that the 
United  States provided was sourced. I would encourage each of you as delegates of this Committee 
to look at your specific page because it is fairly clear in terms of notifications listed as to which ones 
have been provided . If you have any questions about that, or if you don't think that a notification 
has been reflected there, then please do contact the Secretariat . They are all here to help you make 
sure that the information on that webpage is reflected properly . If you need help with submitting 
that information or providing context to your capital -based contacts as to what is required, I very 
much encourage you to reach out to them. They are a very good resource to help fulfil our obligations 
here at the WTO.  
The information took note  of the statements made.  
1.3 Status of the Definitive Date Implementation (G/TFA/2,  para 9.3( vi)) 
The Chair  recalled that this item is ano ther new standing item on the agenda resulting from 
the Review of the TFA ( G/TFA/2, para 9.3(vi).  
i. Review of the effectiveness of G/TFA/INF/1/REV.1  
The Chair recall ed that document  G/TFA/INF/1 and its subsequent revisions w ere created as 
a reminder doc umen t and were intended  to be a useful tool to help Member s keep track of their 
implementation dates coming up over the next two years. T he document provide s the timetable for 
implementation dates as they appear at the beginning of each year. It is not revised during the year 
to reflect any changes that may occur to the implementation dates as a result of request for 
extension o f or acceleration of the Agreeme nt. As a result of the TFA Review last year, the Committee  
decided to review the effectiveness of this document and "as appropriate, improve the list and the 
methods for circulating it by reflecting feedback from Member s in order to promote better 
self-management by Member s of their own implementation status and allow adequate monitoring 
by the Committee".  
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following :  
Japan appreciates the Secretariat's work to compile the information on definitive 
implementation dates t hat were notified by Member s. We made a proposal to regularly review the 
effectiveness of this document during last year's four -year review process because we consider it 
important for Member s to keep track of their deadlines, and for the Committee to foll ow up on the 
implementation dates. We think the document helps Member s to manage their own implementation 
dates and reminds Member s of the deadlines but we still find that some Member s failed to submit 
timely requests for extension of the deadlines.  
We enc ourage Member s whose implementation dates are approaching, and therefore appear 
on the list, to utilize the document in their Capitals to appropriately manage their schedules, and if 
they find difficulties meeting the deadlines, to notify their request for  extension in a timely manner 
in accordance with Article 17. We would also like to hear views from the developing countries and 
the LDC Member s on how we could further improve the effectiveness of the document.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following :  
The E uropean Union would also like to thank the Secretariat for its work on this document. 
The document shows that there are many due commitments of Category  B and C. We call on 
Member s to be attentive and notify in a timely manner if they realize that it will be difficult for them 
to implement specific provisions. If there are associated deadline s for implementation, for example 
regarding Article 1.4, we would also appreciate receiving a notification to the WTO for an extension 
of implementation. Otherwise one may wonder about the real situation on the ground.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following :  
The delegation of Colombia is grateful for the good work you have done during  your 
chairmanship of this important Committee , and we welcome the proposed agenda for the 
anniversary event of the TFA, also in recognition that this Agreement is one of the greatest assets 
of this organization . We are sure that this event will meet the e xpectations of all the participants 
and stakeholders.  
Colombia has completed the internal processes to consider the commitments it reported as 
"Category  B" as fulfilled, such as Article 5.3 "Test Procedures", and Article 6.9 "Perishable Goods", 
before the reported date, thus having implemented 100% of the Agreement. For this reason, we are 
preparing the respective official notification, so that the Secretariat has an accurate report from us.  
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following :  
Trinidad and Tobago appreciates the composition of document G/TFA/INF/1/R ev.1 and views 
this as an important mechanism through which Member s can keep track of their implementation 
dates. The document also assists the Committee in monitoring the commitments of Member s. In 
this regard, we look forward to all Member s' timely implementation of their commitments.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following :  
The United States would like to thank Colombia for their update, and we look forward to 
reviewing the notifications once they are circulated.  
The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
ii. Voluntary update by Member s of the status  of definitive date implementation  
(G/TFA/2, para 9.2(vi)  
The Chair introduce d the first notification which was from Mongolia  and circulated in 
document G/TFA/W/76. It provided  information on Mongolia' s implementation of a number of 
provision s of the TFA under Articles 1, 7 and 10.  
The delegate of Mongolia  indicated the following :  
Mongolia attaches high importance to timely implementation of its commitments under the 
TFA. In this regard, as it was recommended by para 9.2 (sub -paragraph  vi) of the first Review of 
the operation and implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, M ongolia informs on its work 
relating to 9 Articles definitive implementation dates of which reached at the end of 2021.  
These are Articles  1.1 Publication, 1.2 Information available through internet, 7.1  Pre-arrival 
processing, 7.3 Separation of Release fr om Final Determination of Customs Duties, Taxes, Fees and 
Charges, 7.4 Risk management, 7.6 Average release times, 7.7 Authorized operators, 7.9 Perishable 
goods and 10.9.1 Temporary admission of goods and inward and outward processing . 
The document G/TFA/ W/76 explicitly contains Mongolia's work in relation to the 
implementation of these provisions. The current rate of implementation commitments by Mongolia 
stands at 79.8%. The definitive implementation dates for 2 commitments, namely Article 7.5 Post 
clearance audit and Article 7.8 Expedited shipments are expected to be reach ed at the end of this 
year. Mongolia will continue to voluntarily inform its commitments under the TFA.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following :  
The United States tha nks Mongolia for sharing their experience implementing TFA 
Articles  1.1; 1.2; 3; 7.1; 7.4; 7.6; 7.7; 7.9; and 10.6. We hope other Member s will similarly share 
experiences in the future on implementing TFA Articles. We found the Mongolian paper quite 
inform ative, and we thank Mongolia.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of Ukraine  indicated the following :  
Ukraine welcomes the inclusion of this agenda item and would like to use this opportunity 
to provide an update on the status of definitive date implementation.  February 2022 ma rks several 
important thresholds for participation of Ukraine in this Committee and the international order more 
broadly. 22 February 2022 marked five years since the entry into force of the WTO TFA. Here we 
would like to note contributions of the Member s and the WTO Secretariat to the development and 
sustenance of this very important Committee.  
28 February 2022 is formally the date of completion of Ukraine's implementation of the 
provisions of the TFA. Ukraine is sincerely grateful to the WTO Member  donors who have provided 
assistance to Ukraine in the course of the past years aimed at simplifying trade procedure s and 
ensuring smooth implementation of the TFA provisions, namely: the United States (Commercial Law 
Development Program (CLDP), USAID), the EU (EU Public Finance Management Support Program 
for Ukraine (EU4PFM), the European Union Border Assistance Missio n to Moldova and Ukraine 
(EUBAM)), Germany (GIZ), Switzerland (the SECO -WCO Global Trade Facilitation Program (GTFP) is 
a program me that Ukraine officially joined in November 202 1). 
24 February 2022 marked a point of no return as Ukraine woke up to the new  reality. Already 
for 40 days the Ukrainian Government is doing its best in keeping afloat the national economy while 
repelling constant attacks of the Russian troops. The Russian Federation's military aggression against 
Ukraine has already resulted in irr eparable losses and sufferings among the civilian population, 
horrors of which will h aunt generations. In Bucha alone, satellite city of Kyiv, hundreds of civilians 
are found raped, tortured and murdered after the Russian soldiers withdrew.  
The Russian ag gression has led to immense destruction of infrastructure, and we thank those 
Member s that have brought attention of the Committee to these grim facts and their consequences. 
In more detail, despite Russian deceptive claims , at least 4,431 residential buil dings, 378 educational 
institutions, 138 healthcare facilities, 92 factories and warehouses, 12 airports, and 7 thermal power 
plants/hydroelectric power plants have been seized, raided, damaged, or completely destroyed in 
the past 40 days.  
Russia's blockad e of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov disrupts Ukraine's 
export and jeopardi zes Ukraine's ability to trade. More than 11 million Ukrainians have been 
displaced including our experts and entrepreneurs. Nearly 30% of Ukraine's economy is already 
halted.  Undeniably, Russia's actions will have implications on Ukraine's ability to fully implement and 
comply with its WTO commitments, including as relevant for this Committee.  
However, in spite of these unprecedented challenges, the Government of Ukraine remains 
committed to the multilateral trading system. During the martial law, Ukraine has implemented and 
improved some measures to simplify trade procedures, including those provided for in the TFA, in 
order to accelerate customs clearance of g oods.  
Starting from the beginning of March during the importation of goods the declaration and 
customs clearance in accordance with the Customs regime imports can be made by submitting a 
pre-arrival customs declaration without further presentation of such goods to the customs authority 
(determined by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of 9 March 2022 No. 236). During the 
importation of medical goods and certain foodstuffs deferred payment of customs duties may be 
granted.  
In light of the disruptive actions of the Russian military on the Ukrainian territory, the 
Government of Ukraine is taking measures to set up new border and customs checkpoints, as well 
as looking for ways to redirect trade and supply routes to ensure safety and predictability.  
Ukraine will continue doing its best to minimi ze the repercussions of war on trade and 
entrepreneurial activity. However, we are convinced that a WTO Member that bluntly violates 
international law and order and undermines the ability of another WTO Member to participate and 
benefit from the multilateral trading system should bear the responsibility. Ignoring such outright 
disrespect to rules -based system buil t on a presumption of good faith is a dangerous path that would 
lead to long -term consequences and woul d further compromise trust, as well as question the 
importance of international institutions.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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We thank those WTO Member s that stand in solidarity with Ukraine, and we hope that more 
will join with necessary actions to stop Russia's military aggression aga inst Ukraine at once.  
Finally, we would like to call on a Member concerned to stick to the mandate of the 
Committee  and refrain from spreading propaganda and misleading the WTO Member s as to the root 
causes of the global instability.  
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following :  
Japan thanks Mongolia and Ukraine for providing the Committee with a very useful update 
on its implementation status through its explanations and submission of the relevant document. We 
appreciate Mongolia's efforts in the area of domestic legislations to implement the TFA provisions.  
We highly value this update from Mongolia as it enhances transparency in the terms of 
implementation status, like the notifications under Article 16 from Antigua and Barbuda, Ind ia and 
Indonesia,  that we have reviewed today.  
We would like to encourage other Member s to follow suit and also share any experiences 
that they think would be valuable for other Member s, especially for those who are on their way to 
implementing relevant pr ovisions.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated that :  
The E uropean Union would also like to thank Mongolia and Ukraine for sharing their 
experiences. We invite other Member s to do so as well.  
The C ommittee took note of the statements made.  
2  EXPERI ENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  
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 ) 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.  
Members add ressed the following issues:  
i. Compendium Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 Crisis 
(G/TFA/W/40/ Rev.2-Rev.4 ) - Communication from The European Union 
(G/TFA/W/63/Rev.1)  
Communication  W/63/Rev.1 contained additional comments by the EU on the Compendium 
(document reference: G/TFA/W/40/Rev.1 -Rev.4.) . 
Ghana's  experience with implementation of Article 10.4 Single Window . Information on Ghana's 
presentation can be found under the following link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/en/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/ghanas_implementation_of_the_
tfa_article_10.4_sw_presentation_2022.04.04.pdf . 
That concluded  agenda item 2.  
3  DOCUMENT CONTAINING GOOD PRACTICES AND BUILDING BLOCKS OF SUCCESSFUL 
NTFCS (G/TFA/2,  PARA 9.3(V))  
The Chair recalled that the drafting of a document containing good practices and building blocks 
of successful NTFCs  was another decision arising from the TFA Review (G/TFA/2, para 9.3 (v)).  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of the United States  indicated the following :  
We are working on a draft Committee Decision document in Capital and hop e to be able to 
deliver an updated document later this Spring.  
The Committee took note  of the information and the statement made.  
That concluded  agenda item 3. 
4  DEDICATED SESSION ON TRANSIT ISSUES OF LANDLOCKED COUNTRY MEMBER S  
The Chair  recall ed that under the Review of the TFA, in communication G/TFA/W/53, the Group 
of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs)  provided specific information regarding the status of 
the implementation of the Agreement in these Members . Document G/TFA/W/53 remains und er 
consideration by the Committee. Following discussions that took place as part of the review at a 
meeting on 23  November  2021, Mongolia, on behalf of LLDCs , proposed to include in the review 
report a recommendation to amend the Committee 's Spring meeting  agenda  until the next review 
of the TFA is completed in 2026, to include a dedicated session to discuss transit issues of landlocked 
country Members. The dedicated space would be used to highlight the importance of transit and 
would reserve time for the Committee  to discuss best practices as well as the constraints a nd 
challenges facing landlocked developing countries as also highlighted in the recommendations 
contained in G/TFA/W/53.  
The session was organized by the LLDC Group led by Botswana in its role as Coordinator of the 
Group.  
The Ambassador of Botswana  indica ted the following:  
Let me begin by thanking this Committee  for including in its agenda a dedicated session on 
transit issues of landlocked developing countries, LLDCs. I would also like to thank my predecessor, 
the former coordinator of the group of LLDCs  and P ermanent Representative  of Mongolia for 
facilitating the inclusion of this agenda item in the discussions of the Committee . This is a very 
pertinent issue for landlocked developing countries and it has become even more important as we 
continue to dea l with the impacts of COVID -19 and make concerted efforts to recover from its 
devastating impact.  
The issue of transit in these focused discussions  is important if we are to achieve the main 
objective of the WTO "to help WTO Members use trade as a means to  raise living standards, create 
jobs, and improve people's lives". Addressing the transit challenges faced by LLDCs will ensure that 
these countries are not left behind in using trade to achieve sustainable development. International 
trade is recognized as  a driver of economic prosperity and an important means to achieving 
sustainable development.  
LLDCs are however missing out on opportunities brought by open trade. The 32 LLDCs are 
marginalized from global trade and their share in global merchandize export s has lingered around 
1% and lower over the years, despite their efforts to grow and diversify their trade. The LLDCs 
mechanization for global trade has been attributed mainly to high trade profits. LLDCs depend on 
passage through transit countries to enga ge in international trade. Therefore , they face several 
challenges, including multiple border crossings, complex administrative transit and border 
procedures, inadequate transit transport infrastructure, as well as security challenges.  
These challenges wil l often cause  delay at a relatively high trade cost for LLDCs. The basic 
trade costs of LLDCs are nearly twice of their neighbouring countries with coastlines. These high 
trade costs erode the competitive edge of the LLDCs, as well as their trade volumes , resulting in an 
enormous negative impact on their overall sustainable development. They remain a block to LLDCs 
pursuits to achieving their trade potential. This has an impact on LLDCs ability to retain foreign direct 
investment , which is necessary to achi eve structural equality transformation in integration into 
global value chain. It also adversely affects the potential to make progress towards sustainable 
development goals.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The COVID -19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by LLDCs. Certain meas ures 
imposed by LLDCs and their transit neighbours to curb the spread of the virus has negatively 
impacted the timely delivery of goods , and so we see that this further increases the LLDCs trade 
costs.  
Achieving efficient transit regimes and addressing hi gh trade costs faced by LLDCs is important 
to ensure that they are not left behind in benefitting from increasing global trade. The Vienna 
Programme of Action  (VPOA)  for LLDCs emphasizes the need to establish a secure, reliable and 
efficient transit system s to enable LLDCs to reduce transport costs and enhance their 
competitiveness of their exports to regional and global markets.  
The VPOA also p laces trade facilitation at the core of addressing transit challenges. It 
recognizes that cooperation on fundamental transit policies, laws and regulations between LDCs and 
their transit neighbours is crucial for the effective and integrated solution to cross border trade and 
transit transport program mes.  
The full implementation of the TFA remains important.  Several measures have been identified 
as being critical in addressing transit challenges faced by LLDCs. These measures include, Article 1 
"Publication and Availability of Information", Article 7 "Release and Clearance of Goods", Article 8 
"Border Agency Cooperation", Article 10 "Formalities connected with importation, exportation and 
transit", Article 11 "Freedom of Transit" and Article 12 "Customs Cooperation". The implementation 
of these provisions, including by their transit neighbours as well as trade  partners, is necessary to 
ease the goods and services to LLDCs and reduce trade costs associated with being landlocked. The 
implementation of these measures by LLDCs and their transit neighbours still lags behind due to 
limited financial and topographic c apacity.  
According to the WTO TFA database, the current rate of TFA implementation commitments by 
LLDCs is at about 34%, Category  A. It further states that LLDCs lag behind the global rate of 
implementation of commitment s with implementation below 40% in a number of Articles : 
Article  10.4 on Single Window, Article 7.7 on Authorized Operators, Article 8 on Border Agency 
Cooperation, Article 7.4 on Risk Management, Article 1.3 on Enquiry Points, Article 7.8 on Expedited 
Shipments, Article 1.2 on Information Available through the Internet, Article 3 on Advance Ruling, 
Article 7.6 on Establishment and Publication of Average Release Times and Article 10.3 on Use of 
International Standards, amongst many Articles. This demonstrates that more remains to be done 
to achieve efficient transit for the benefit of LLDCs. We therefore call for enhanced support towards 
implementation of these measures to further facilitate transit and address LLDCs high transit costs.  
While recognizing that infrastructure development is bey ond the issues under the purview  of 
this Committee , it is also important to recognize that addressing only the soft issues is not efficient 
in achieving efficient transit. The establishment of secure, sustainable, reliable and efficient transport 
systems a re critical. All of the LLDCs and transit countries lack th e capacity to develop and maintain 
such infrastructure . We therefore call on enhanced aid for trade to enhance such infrastructure 
development and maintenance.  
The aim of this dedicated session  is to discuss transit related challenges faced by LLDCs and 
propose possible solutions to these challenges. We will also share experiences on dealing with the 
transit challenges including those brought up by the COVID -19 pandemic. We expect to get 
informatio n on opportunities relevant to technical and financial and capacity building. We also expect 
to come up with possible strategies to achieve efficient transit and integrate LLDCs into the 
multilateral trading system. Over the next four  years, we hope that t hese sessions will increase 
awareness on the transit challenges confronting LLDCs and intensify the partnerships. We hope that 
solutions that are identified in these sessions will be implemented and in particular the technical 
assistance and capacity build ing support needs to what LLDCs and transit countries will be enhanced. 
We also hope that through follow -up actions through these sessions we will be able to achieve a 
higher implementation rate of the TFA  for both LLDCs and transit countries .   G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  i. Sharing of  Best Practices and Experiences LLDC  
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan  indicated the following :  
Let me first thank Botswana and my friend, Ambassador Molokomme, as coordinator of the 
group of LLDCs in Geneva , and the WTO Secretariat for all of the effort and hard work that went into 
preparations of this dedicated session on transit issues within the Committee of Trade Facilitation. 
The geographical position is a structural defeat on economies and lack of direc t access to the sea 
makes us dependent of transit countries to effectively link to global markets. As a result, the LLDCs 
have less trade and incur up to 50% more trade costs. Therefore, efficient road, rail and air network 
and procedures are crucial to co nnect the LLDCs with global markets.  
Kazakhstan is making significant efforts to develop the transport sector and the transit 
corridors. We have implemented a number of infrastructure development program mes and have 
created the favourable business environment for providing transport, transit and logistic services. 
That is over the last 15 years, about USD 35 million have been invested into the transport sector. 
2,500 kilometres of new railways have been built, and more than 13,000 kilometres of high way have 
been reconstructed. Today, in Kazakhstan, the total lands of highways configures to be about 
100,000 kilometres and the length of railways is 21,000 kilometres. Also in Kazakhstan there are 
6 dry ports and 20 airports in civil aviation, 84% of whi ch follow the IATA safety standards.  
Despite the pandemic, the total volume of transit in 2021 constituted  23.8 million  tonnes, 
almost 5% more than in 2020. Container transit amounted to over 1 million TEU (twenty -foot 
equivalent), increasing by 21.6% com pared to the last year.  
As you may be aware, Kazakhstan is located at the center of the Eurasian continent, at the 
crossroads of many transport corridors. It plays an important role in the development of the 
transport and logistics infrastructure between Asia and Europe. Today, 11 international corridors 
pass through the territory of Kazakhstan. Including five rail and six road corridors. 1,738 roadside 
service facilities are located along the country's highways. We have already established transport 
corridors from east to west and from north to south. New roads have emerged through Kazakhstan 
from China to Europe and from the Caspian Sea to Caucasus and  Türkiye . They reduce the delivery 
time twice in comparison to the traditional sea route s. We revived the New Silk Way by establishing 
the main International Road Corridor linking western Europe to western China, w ith a total length of 
2,787 kilometres through the territory of Kazakhstan.  
Much attention is also paid to the trans -Caspian international transpor t route. Regular 
mountain model transport service has been established in the direction from China to the ports of 
Kuryk/ Aktau, Baku, Batumi /Poti and further to third countries , as well as through the new 
Baku-Tbilisi -Kars line. The cargo transportation capacity of seaports is about 27 million tonnes per 
year. Currently, efforts are being made to create a "container hub " based on the A ktau seaport. 
Most recent data shows that the railway transportation became an important logistic s channel for 
ensuring an uninterrupted trade, particularly in delivering in anti -COVID medicines and other 
essential food products.  
In Kazakhstan, more than 60% of freight  is transported by rail. Despite the COVID -19 
pandemic, the railway sector has achi eved positive traffic volume s and provided transportation of 
416 million ton nes of cargo last year. Kazakhstan, in close cooperation with its neighbours has been 
actively striving to facilitate railway transit and strengthen  its position as a Eurasian land  bridge. 
One such example is the Khorgos Gateway d ry port, near the border with China, w hich has been 
operational since 2015. Khorgos  Gateway is the largest transit hub in central Asia and connects the 
markets of China and Europe with routes continuing thr ough Central Asia and Türkiye  in the west 
and the Persian Gulf in the south. In recent years, container traffic within the China – Europe route 
increased  100 times. The distance between China and Europe decreased by 1,200 kilometres. We 
opened access to th e countries of the Gulf and the Middle East. Moreover, it is planned to build 
four more cross -border trade hubs , particularly with the neighbouring countries in central Asia, 
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz  Republic . This will reduce transaction costs, increase the efficiency of 
transport logistics and as a result, allow the full utilization of  Kazakhstan's transit potential.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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As a result of implementation of the above -mentioned transport and transit infrastructure 
development program mes, the timing of delivery of go ods using the Western Europe – Western 
China transit corridor has been reduced by road to ten days. These numbers speak for themselves.  
To date, Kazakhstan has fulfilled more than 90% of its commitments under Article 11 of the 
TFA. An important role in ful filling this commitment has been undertaken through the successful 
implementation of the project based on ASYCUDA1 software program me which has been developed 
by UNCTAD. As a result of this preparation with UNCTAD, Kazakhstan has fully digitalized customs  
procedures by establishing a single window for export/import and transit operations and significantly 
reduced costs, documentation requirements and time required for business transactions. For 
instance, e -borders program me, thanks to integrated controls a t the borders and automatic 
conversion of pre -arrival declarations to transit declarations , allows the reduction of  processing of 
transit declarations and documentations from 1 hour to 16 minutes.  
It is also important for transit countries to accelerate t he adoption of the new legal framework  
eTIR International S ystem administered by UNEC, which entered into force last year. The TIR system 
used by over 34,000 transport and logistics companies, already reduce s cross-border transport time 
by up to 92% and co sts by 50%. Therefore, full digitalization of the  only global transit system is a 
milestone in increasing the effectiveness of customs formalities for international transportation.  
Kazakhstan is also engaged in activating the eTIR International System , and working to 
connect the national customs systems of the neighbouring countries with the international electronic 
system. It  is also important to mention the ongoing negotiations at the WTO on the development of 
the global regulatory framework for e -commer ce, particularly on paperless trading. The TFA 
demonstrates that it can play a vital role in boosting output and facilitating global trade by 
simplifying, modernizing and harmonizing the transit, movement, release and clearance of goods. 
In this context, t aking this opportunity, I am also happy to share that Kazakhstan has decided to 
join the WTO initiative on supporting the timely and efficient release of global goods through 
accelerated implementation of the WTO TFA. We acknowledge that the full and robus t 
implementation of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation is a meaningful contribution to supporting 
the efficient release and transit of goods , particularly those that are essential for our response to 
the COVID -19 pandemic and for ensuring food security. I encourage our LLDC G roup Members to 
give thi s initiative a favourable consideration, we still have some time before MC12.  
Finally, we reiterat e our call to accelerate adoption of the tools that have been developed by 
international organizations to reduce transit time and costs, simplify procedures, enhance 
transparency and provide greater certainty in cross -border trade. We also believe that LLD Cs, 
neighbouring transit countries and international organizations will undertake measures to reduce 
bottlenecks, to keep trade flowing smoothly and make trade more inclusive.  
The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following :  
The LDC group extends sincere a ppreciation to all Members of the Committee on Trade 
Facilitation for organizing this dedicated session . I thank H.E. Ambassador Dr. Molokomme  of 
Botswana for leading the process and I also would like to thank the delegates of Mongolia for their 
very impor tant role in bringing  this agenda item at this stage. As we all know , landlocked LDCs are 
double disadvantaged  as they suffer much more and they face unique challenges while participating 
and benefiting from the global trading system. In this context, this dedicated session will be very 
helpful for all landlocked LDCs to learn from each other. My delegation thanks the  Ambassador of 
Kazakhstan for sharing their experience. The way that Kazakhstan has developed passport 
infrastructures and railway infrastructures is an example of how we can also learn from this.  
The Ambassador of Bolivia  indicated the following :  
Thank you Chair and thank you Ambassadors of Mongolia and Botswana for the work that you 
do for our group. We welcome the holding of this session devoted to transit issues of landlocked 
Members of this organization.  
 
1 The UNCTAD Automated System for Customs Data . G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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Allow me to give the perspective of the Pluri national State of Bolivia of the challenges facing 
LLDCs relating to effective and efficient transport , also in the context of the pandemic. For LLDCs 
like Bolivia, the insulation caused by lack of connectivity and access to the seas and oceans is not 
only an aspect that complicates trading goods, but it also makes us highly dependent on transport 
and transit from other countries , impacting on the development of our countries. Prior to the 
appearance of COVID -19 and the declaration of the pandemic, Bolivia was paying 33% more than 
the average paid by other countries in the region in insurance and transport. Our total revenue from 
exports was far lower than other countries in the region. During the health crisis, this situation was 
further aggravated because of closing of borders and other measures frustrating international 
movements, goods, services and persons imposed during the pandemic , further exacerbating 
vulnerabilities geographically imposed on our countries  and c omplicating our access to international  
maritime ports and increasing costs alarmingly.  
In our own example, freight to Latin American countries saw an increase of 40% of costs 
because of COVID -19 measures. We had to pay double what we usually had to pay for freight . This 
is not only because of  measures of coastal countries but also because of measures at points of transit 
in LLDCs. We had to take stock of the fact that these measures led to losses in terms of value chains 
linked to increased cost in transit. We had closures of border positions because of COVID -19 cases, 
reduction in revenue from labour, reduction in exports of goods as well as a reduction of the revenue 
generally for people in our country. The economic backdrop has not been encouraging and it 's clear 
that the impact globally is severe, and the economic recovery will be slow and costly. However, we 
have to focus on the opportunities that can arise for our countries  such as an increase in trade in 
services, which has allowed us to improve the connectivity for economy recovery. Spac es like this 
allow us to generate actions that are coordinated to incorporate elements of telecommunications 
and information services.  
Bolivia is aware that we require greater infrastructure and connectivity in order to reduce 
logistics and transport cost s to achieve greater trade benefit f or our vulnerable groups, such as, 
women entrepreneurs, young persons and  Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises  (MSMEs ). We are 
investing time, resources and efforts in digitalization of MSMEs to promote trade and we have 
integrated our fibre optic network with a connection to the Pacific Ocean cables. This has allowed us 
to reduce the digital divide and internet costs  to support ecommerce  which is an alternative for 
LLDCs. We consider the two in order to pursue a more inclusive global economy in the post pandemic 
recovery era and to consider countries that are still confronting the pandemic.  
Trade facilitation is a key area that we must prioritize to ensure full link ages of maritime 
supply chains. We also have to strengthen our national authorities, training and technical assistance 
to work in areas such as management of transit corridors, trade facilitation, trade logistics, 
automization of customs procedures and oth er aspects that we can work on in order to improve 
efficiency at transit po rts and reduce barriers that inhibit the transport of goods. On its road to 
economic recovery , Bolivia  has worked on increasing exports, achieving a 60% increase in 2020  of 
more tha n USD  10 billion. We have certain products like grains, soja, almond, meat and many others 
that achieved record figures thanks to trade facilitation measures.  
In 2021, Bolivia started its process to implement the single window system to moderniz e our 
Customs working on import and export processes. This is a technological step forward, which was 
important for modernizing our national customs, seeking to simplify processes to standardize and 
harmonize procedures nationally and to work on regulatory restructu ring.  
Our modernized and integrated automatized customs system is an extra tool for the 
Plurinational State of Bolivia, offering benefits such as less use of paper, digitalization, online risk 
management, electronic notifications and others. It is the onl y system for the registration of 
customs, operations of exports and imports to the benefit of trade operators. In October 2021, we 
created the National Trade Facilitation Committee  under Supreme Decree 46 -00, as a body 
comprising public institutions allowi ng the management and supervision of the implementation and 
application of the provisions of the TFA. Specifically, if we look at the last two  years, Bolivia has 
focused its efforts on reconciliation among Bolivians, economic recovery and overcoming the 
financial impacts of the coup d'état  as well as the health impact caused by the pandemic. We are 
convinced that trade facilitation is a key tool for our economic recovery. In 2017 , we ratified the TFA 
and have implemented many measures in order to facilitate  different procedures for international 
trade.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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Finally, on behalf of Bolivia we would like to reiterate our thanks to Mongolia and Botswana 
for their commitment to coordinate our group. We reiterate our readiness to work on facing the 
challenges facings L LDCs, allowing us to carry out joint action in order to achieve efficient and 
inclusive transit.  
The delegate of Nepal  extend ed Nepal's  sincere appreciation to Bolivia for sharing their 
experience in transit matters.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following :  
The E uropean Union welcomes this dedicated session and we appreciate the updates provided 
by the landlocked Members on the transit challenges  and on the measures that they are taking to 
address them. We recognize that landlocked Members often experience higher costs and add itional 
delays compared to other Members. While trade facilitation cannot solve problems, implementing 
the TF A in full, not only by the landlocked  countries  but also by neighbours and all other trade 
partners would be beneficial to everyone. Besides, we ag ree that starting this discussion in the 
framework of the Committee  is helpful for everyone to understand these challenges faced and we 
look forward to a controlled continuation of this session.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following :  
The United States was pleased to support this proposal for this dedicated working session 
when it came out of the four -year review. What we are seeing this morning  is really the importance 
of the issue of transit to all Members. So we look forward to furthe r discussions on that. This morning, 
the speakers seemed to acknowledge that when talking to their traders that the TFA was important 
to addressing the various geographical challenges and I think that speaks to the success of the 
Agreement and the work we are doing here .   
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan  indicated the following:  
Based on our experience, not only investment  in hardware infrastructure development, but 
also the efforts of the Government on the soft side, particularly on the simplification of procedures, 
digitalization, development of e -commerce and also the reduction of all types of bureaucratic 
bottlenecks of cross border trade  are highly important for development and for enhancing the transit 
potential of the LLDC countries . I would like to encourage fellow Members, particularly from LLDCs 
with a lack of access to the seaport infrastructure, to participate actively in the ongoing negotiations 
at the WTO. I understand that there are some issues with institutional capacity and  human 
resources, but I believe that by  passing this need for capacity building here in the WTO, as well as 
in UNCTAD, we can work on very tailored, specific capacity -building programmes from the 
institutions . I would also like to encourage Members to work  actively with UNCTAD on 
implementation of the ASYCUDA programme. For LLDCs, particularly for least developed countries, 
UNCTAD could provide this assistance free of charge.  
In Kazakhstan's case, we have shared the costs of implementation of the project a s a 
government. I believe that this type of work is very necessary for learning from each other's 
experiences and for integra tion of these program mes and capacity building, technical digitalization 
projects into our national procedures and policies. Theref ore, I would like us to be more 
straightforward in terms of defining our needs, building capacity and learning from each other. We 
will be very happy to share our experience and I also would like to mention that we have had a lot 
of challenges in the cours e of the implementation . We have a vested interest in some procedures 
which not only depends on our government side, but also on our closest trading partners. We would 
be very happy to share our experience and I would like to encourage our fellow LLDC member States 
to be more proactive and also to openly share the challenges which we face.  
The Ambassador of Botswana  indicated the following :  
Thank you for that input and I am in full agreement with you that we need the LLDCs to be 
more proactive if we are t o receive the support and encouragement of other WTO Members, 
especially those in this Committee  that are attending and listening. So, I would like to repeat that 
call.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  ii. Presentation on WTO Publication on LLDC Bottlenecks  
A representative of the WTO Secretariat  indicated the following , based on the presentation 
Easing Trade Bottlenecks on LLDCs :  
The publication "Easing Trade Bottlenecks on LLDCs"  was launch ed in December  2021. I think 
many of you attended that launch with our DG and the coordinators and representatives of the 
LLDCs, Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Ambassador of Mongolia, and the Ambassador of Botswana. The 
genesis of this publication, the WTO is v ery much involved in the implementation of the Vienna 
Programme of Action on the LLDCs and as such we report annually on the UN OHRLLS. We basically 
used some of this reporting to make the publication. And that publication also came out of other 
activities  that we have done on LLDCs, for example, during the Stocktaking event on the impact of 
COVID -19, the LLDCs made a presentation dedicated to the impact on LLDCs. That was a very 
eye-opening presentation that really gave us some good elements and some very concerning trends 
about how the trade of LLDCs was being affected by COVID. After this presentation, the LLDC Group 
had a meeting with the DG and the DG was very much affected by the plight of the LLDCs and asked 
the Secretariat to conduct a study on the c onstraints that they face, but also to try to make some 
recommendations on how to improve the trade situation of the LLDCs.  
The publication does exactly that, and it focuses on various areas and I have to say it is a 
collaborative effort where several divi sions in the Secretariat made contributions and provided inputs 
including colleagues in the Trade Facilitation Unit, in the Market Access Division, those working on 
Rules of Origin, colleagues in the Agriculture Division working on SPS, as well as the coll eagues 
working the Standards and Trade Development Facility, colleagues working in the TBT on issues of 
standards, colleagues working from the Development Division in the Aid for Trade Unit and our 
colleagues working in ERSD doing a lot of the analysis abo ut the market access opportunities of the 
LLDCs and the trends they have experienced under trade lately. Lastly, we also had contributions 
from colleagues in house at the EIF, ITTC on the activities that they have to build trade capacity in 
LLDCs. Those is sues are all covered in the publication . 
We discovered  over the course of the publication that a lot of the bottlenecks were related to 
LLDCs facing multiple clearances and declarations at Customs, to inefficient border infrastructure to 
a lack of digitali zation to transloading between different loads of freight, and finally to COVID health 
and safety measures. As you can see, a lot of this is the bread and butter of the TFA, so going from 
there, we were able to identify several articles that would have the  most effects on easing trade 
bottlenecks of LLDCs. Those would be Article 7 –8, Article 10, 11 and 12. Here I want to give you a 
bit of information on the functioning on the notifications of these most relevant Articles. In terms of 
Article 7, what we have  is measures that ease trade bottlenecks by freeing up customs resources 
and expediting the release of goods. We can see here that the implementation commitments for 
three of these trade facilitating measures, pre -arrival processing, risk management and po st 
clearance audits are below 50%. For two of these provisions, at least 50% will be implemented at a 
future date and upon receipt of technical assistance.  
Here we also have the notification data for Articles 8 and 11 on Border Agency Cooperation 
and Free dom of Transit, both of which particularly in the case of LLDCs Border Agency Cooperation 
has the potential to free up massive amounts of resources in both cases. Currently the notification 
data for the rate of implementation commitments for border coopera tion, however, show that over 
70% are placed in Category  C and are in need of technical assistance support. In LDCs , it is similar, 
but there is not as significant a trend of that in Article 11. Now what is noticeable with Article 1 1 is 
that it spans over 60% and transit countries have a higher level of provisions in Category  C at 29%. 
Which also shows the importance of the role of implementation of the TFA across all of the 
Membership in order to accrue benefits, especially for LLDCs.  
On the next slide we  can see what measures have the highest rate of implementation 
commitments. These are pre -shipment inspection, movement of goods, detention, use of customs 
brokers and temporary admissions of goods and pre-arrival  processing. These are all implementation 
commitments above 70% . Other measures with high implementation commitments include those on 
common border procedures  and those on rejected goods.  
The bottom five measures with the lowest rates of TFA implementation commitments by 
LLDCs  are really an opportu nity to see where attention and resources can be focused. The  bottom G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  five measures comprise risk management, border agency cooperation, test procedures, authorized 
operators and single window. In addition, other commitments that have very low rates of 
implementation commitments include those on inquiry points, expedited shipments, information 
available online, advance ruling average release time and the use of international standards.  
What we can see from these is that measures with lower rates of implementation 
commitments are those that often require the most investment in technical assistance  to implement. 
This just gives us a window into looking at where to apply attention because a s we can see some 
LLDCs and LDCs have indicated that they are having difficulties notifying their technical assistance 
requirements in order to implement their Category  C measures. This can often result from a lack of 
capacity to do so as well as difficult y in transposing identified needs in to relevant projects that 
technical assistance can address. I guess the logical conclusion is that there is a delay in 
demand -driven technical assistance made available to WTO Members.  
This plays out in the type of tech nical assistance that has been flagged as being required : 
human resources and training, legislative and regulatory framework and ICT amongst others.  
The paper contains a number of recommendations  and it was very encouraging to hear the 
presentations by Ka zakhstan and Bolivia, and those who shared their experiences today because I 
see that these recommendations have already been implemented by several of the LLDCs. One of 
the recommendations is that the publication insists on is the importance of transparen cy. Here, of 
course, the LLDCs need to show by example that it is important for them that there will be 
transparency of the measures, the increase s impose d on their transit but also for them to lead by 
example and also become notifiers of how they are impl ementin g the TFA.  
One of the main recommendations is also to enhance the implementation of the TFA . We 
know that implementation of Trade Facilitation measures, particularly those that are contemplated 
in the TFA, is crucial to help LDCs with the flow of t heir trade. What would then be the priorities for 
this enhanced implementation or what should be the priorities where the LLDCs should concentrate 
their efforts and also where donors focus in their assistance to the LLDCs ? The two big elements 
here that wo uld provide great benefits and great returns on investment would be to improve the 
import -export documentation in a country, also to reduce it as we will see later, digitalize it. As well 
as improve border cooperation, I think that we have seen that the re al test of the flow of goods is 
how fluid the borders are or how viscous they may be if goods have to spend a long time waiting to 
be cleared or whether the trucks are stuck by having to do paperwork, etc, as well as coordinating 
things as simple as the op ening times of the border posts is an important element that significantly 
helps, fluidify the flow of goods through borders. This was already alluded to by the presenters in 
the first session, the Digitalization of Border Process and as such, I think we s ee that there are 
already available solutions to assist with this digitalization. One very good example is alluded to by 
the Ambassador of Kazakhstan, is the ASYCUDA program me that we made reference to in the 
publication, we mention how it functions, we wi ll have a presentation on it as well, but there are, off 
the rack, I would say solutions. Like for example, the e -pierce system that is being 
implemented/developed by UNEC to help the flow of trucks and containers in transit. One important 
aspect of it is that when digitalizing customs processes, it is important that they cover the whole 
supply chain or supply route for the goods that are being moved across borders, so that is why it is 
very important for these digital systems to be interconnected as much a s possible to cover the whole 
movement of the goods from the LLDCs or from the exporting country into the LLDC or the LLDC to 
the country of import.  
Another very important measure or policy intervention that really helped with the flow of 
goods from LDCs is the development of transit corridors. We have seen that several of these transit 
corridors are very effective in improving the transit times and trade costs for LLDCs, I think that this 
type of joint projects of partnership between LLDCs and the transit  countries should be incentivi zed 
and the lessons learned from some of the best performing transit corridors has spread to other 
LLDCs. Another recommendation is to provide aid for trade, we have given some ideas here as to 
what would be the priority areas  of intervention and of course one priority area would be also to 
improve trade -related infrastructure. There are provisions on this of course in the TFA, as well as 
something that provides a big return on investment for donors and for the LLDCs and transi t 
countries.  
Another recommendation that we make is for the Trade Policy Reviews of transit countries 
and LLDCs is to have a section to focus on the issue of transit and transport. I think that it would be G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 25 - 
 
  important to review what are the measures and what  are the policies being put in place by these 
countries to improve the flow of goods through the transit countries and through the LLDCs as well. 
Here there is another very important issue that is connected to all of these elements and there is an 
interdep endency between LLDCs and transit countries. Transit countries need to realize that in a 
way, to have trade of the landlocked countries flowing through their ports, it is very important to 
them as well. Why specifically? We have seen it very much lately wi th this situation with the problems 
that we have on supply chains and the high costs of shipping. Having a greater volume of trade in 
ports helps to increase the calls by ships into these ports and therefore also drives the overall costs 
down for these tra nsit countries. As such, the transit countries need to be very transparent with the 
governments that are needed for the goods from the LLDCs to flow through their countries. I think 
that this is one of the main areas where we say the traders said they need ed more effective 
implementation of the TFA.  
We also looked at the issue of SPS measures and how they apply to goods in transit. This is 
a measure that hasn 't gotten much attention and I think that the recommendation is to work to 
develop those SPS standa rds and measures that take into account the particular situation of LLDCs 
and where these measures and controls would apply to goods in transit only when they present a 
risk. For example, if we have a measure that affects the protection human health and th e particular 
product is not going to be consumed in that transit country and there is no risk of spillage, then it 
makes sense probably that the measure wouldn't apply, nor that the controls would be made to the 
goods in transit in that case. Related to th is, it is important to provide the LLDCs to developed and 
quality infrastructure to meet those SPS measures and TBT measures that would apply to their trade.  
One element that we also found is that the interplay between the Rules of Origin and utilization 
of the preference and the trade of LLDCs, in this sense one recommendation is to examine the Rules 
of Origin to facilitate the trade of LLDCs by not asking that the goods from the LLDCs be directly 
consigned or be transported directly from the LLDC to the importing country to meet the origin rules. 
That would greatly increase the utilization of the preference that are granted to LLDCs.  
One issue that is very much at everyone's mind at the moment is the issue of the increase in 
shipping costs, I think that we all heard from the previous presenters that when shipping costs 
increase, they increase for everyone, but they increase a lot for LLDCs. In this sense, the WTO has 
already begun working on this issue and we recently had a high level forum to discuss thi s question 
and the DG is getting involved in this issue herself and also she has been meeting with CEOs of the 
supply chain actors to see what can be done in the WTO to correct the situation. Then we heard also 
from the previous presenters about the import ance of connectivity and digital technologies and how 
these provide an alternative for LLDC's trade and in this sense it is also important for the LLDCs to 
engage in the e -commerce discussions that are taking place in the WTO. That would provide an 
alterna tive and also develop industries and services to be less affected by lack of sea access. Finally, 
one recommendation is to enhance partnerships that we already have in place between the 
international organizations, NGOs, donors and the aid recipient countr ies, both LLDCs and transit 
countries, really make the interventions more effective and really gain an understand of how the 
trade of LLDCs function. The publication can be downloaded from the W TO website.  
The delegate of Mongolia  indicated the following :  
My delegation wishes to thank you Madame Ambassador, the Mission of Botswana as well as 
the WTO Secretariat for organizing today 's session . This is a very important session addressing 
transit issue s of LLDCs. We also th ank the Me mbers of the CTF for their support and the inclusion of 
this item on the agenda of this meeting. I would like to thank the WTO Secretariat  for the introduction 
of the publication E asing Trade Bottlenecks of Developing Countries publication. It was a very 
informative and important presentation.  
The LLDC group had a very substantive meeting with the D irector -General of the WTO on 
7 June 2021, where we discussed in detail the complex challenges faced by LLDCs due to the 
specificity of the geographical location. As a result of that meeting, the publication was prepared in 
just three months, and it was launched in December with the part icipation of the Director -General . 
The aim of this publication is to raise awareness of the challenges that LLDCs face, especially at this 
time during the global pandemic when many LLDCs have confronted many additional obstacles 
related to problems at bord ers, lockdowns, trade restrictions, disruptions in global supply chains and 
commodity price shocks. Just to give an example, container freight trades result ing in closures of 
international borders increased up to ten times in LLDCs.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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Unfortunately , the unp recedented impacts of COVID -19 will have far -reaching consequences 
on socio-economic life in LLDCs. Given the fact that participation of LLDCs in global trade is below 
1%, inclusive trade must continue to be a priority . That means that in the context of global trade 
the most vulnerable countrie s including LLDCs, which are almost 20% of the WTO Members hip, 
should not be left behind. Now more than ever the international community, including the WTO, 
should attach high importance to LLDCs to f ully integrate them into the multilateral trading system. 
There is no doubt that this publication will make an invaluable contribution to the challenges faced 
by LLDCs and the analysis and recommendations contained in the report will be instrumental in 
easing trade bottlenecks in LLDCs. In conclusion, I would like to thank all of the WTO Secretariat 
staff who have contributed to this publication.  
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan  indicated the following :  
Many thanks for the presentation and to colleagues. Indee d, the report that the WTO prepared 
is much appreciated. A lot of invaluable information inside and I believe that our group will be able 
to follow all of the recommendations indicated in the report. I believe that in the long term that this 
report will of fer significant benefits to us.  
The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following :  
The LDC group extends sincere appreciation to the Secretariat for its presentation and for 
preparing the report. The LDC group also thanks Mongolia, the former LLDC Coordinator , for its 
active and important role to bring this report at this stage, and I also thank all LLDC Members who 
participated in the process of preparing the report. The report definitely gives a fair picture of 
challenges and obstacles that we LLDCs are faci ng which is very helpful for figuring out what 
challenges we addressed and how we can overcome them in collaboration with all development 
partners and international organizations. Again, the LDC group thanks all involved in this process.  
The delegate of Paraguay  indicated the following :  
My delegation would like to thank you for organizing this dedicated session . We would also 
like to thank the Secretariat for the presentation of their report . In the case of Paraguay, the 
pandemic has brought special chall enges when it comes to trade. One of the big issues we have to 
face is the high cost of transport and the costs of the containers, for example, to trade with the 
world. In this line we would like to thank the Secretariat for their preparation of this repor t in record 
time and for all of the support from the D irector -General of the WTO to the LLDC group within the 
WTO. She has been pushing, listening and organizing conversations with these countries, like 
Paraguay, Nepal and other LLDCs, she has been listeni ng and taking notes and making the 
Secretariat provide the assistance that we all need to continue to trade.  
In the case of Paraguay, I just wanted to share one of the experiences that is mentioned in 
the report on the trade bottleneck s. We have problems with a container that is required for  trade 
from Asunción, the capital city, to China. The costs of the container used to be around USD  3,000 
before the pandemic, and now during the pandemic and all of the issues connected with the 
pandemic, t he approximate cost of these containers has risen to  between USD  12,000  and 
USD 14,000 per container, which has had quite a big impact on the costs f or trading in our situation. 
We take note of the recommendations of the report, and we look forward to continuing to discuss 
these issues within the Trade Facilitation Committee.  
iii. ASYCUDA Solutions for Transit  
A representative of the United Nations Confere nce on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  
indicated the following :  
Transit, I believe it has been established already, is very important for LLDCs and transit 
countries. In fact, many LLDCs are also transit countries themselves and that I think where we have 
also seen the concept developing of so -called "land -link countries" that both have a role as LLDC, a 
role as transit countries and are faced with both of the challenges and maybe advantages of both 
sides of the coin. Therefore, I would like to suggest the focus of transit should be on collaboration. 
Raul mentioned in his intervention interdependency between LLDCs and transit countries, I think 
this is certainly something that is a given and transit countries certainly benefit also from transit G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  traffic in th e sense of having for instance further volumes to their ports and this is an issue certainly 
an issue that has to be considered. I will try to provide a brief presentation on a few general remarks, 
as it was mentioned on Article 11.16 and 11.17 of the Agre ement and focus a bit on ASYCUDA . 
Overarching what is also being included in Article 11 on transit of the WTO TFA and other 
international instruments, is from our point of view and other UN context, the Vienna Programme of 
Action which was already mentione d, that provides some guiding policy principles on the role of 
LLDCs and for transit it is closely linked to the WTO Agreement. Now if we look at Article 11 it 
includes a number of issues on transit, the concept of freedom of transit, treatment of transit,  in 
particular the customs treatment and a few other issues. These are based on both GATT Article 5, 
but also other international transit conventions that are a little bit older. But the TFA also has a 
number of other Articles where transit is relevant and  it has already been mentioned and I think 
IFPF tried to list a few of them, and others are certainly relevant as well. Transit and transit rules 
must also be published, and this is important in order for operators to understand what transit is 
about. Tran sit rules, there must be an opportunity to comment on these in relation to the release in 
clearance issues such as pre -arrival, authorized operators are important if we look at the TIR 
Convention .2 This is based on an authorized operator principle. Border  agency cooperation is 
obviously important, and formalities such as use of international standards, is extremely important. 
And here I cannot encourage enough that both LLDCs and transit countries are making use of 
existing international standards, such as  the Revised Kyoto Convention Annex E, and also for 
instance the TIR Convention for the countries where this is relevant. Issues like single window are 
important and obviously also national trade facilitation Committee s. Bringing issues of transit into 
national trade facilitation Committee s and discussing these issues amongst all of the relevant 
stakeholders.  
It is quite complicated  for transit. I have worked on this issue for around 40 years, it is 
something that you continuously learn about and you learn new issues with every visit to countries . 
Not all transit -related issues are actually covered by the WTO TFA, and that is one of the 
complications about this. So, their infrastructure issues, some of these are mentioned in the TFA, 
but the hard infrastructure issues are of course not at rest. There are issues about means of 
transport, weight and dimensions, which are quite often what one of the contentious issues in 
relationship between LLDCs and transit countries. The use of the infrastructure, and for instance if 
you have too much weight on trucks continuously, then you will destroy the infrastructure in transit 
countries. There are issues like operations, driver qualifications and visas which some of them also 
not addressed in the TFA, then obl igatory rules, service rules, customs brokers, guaranteed schemes 
for the customs treatment of transit. So many different rules, and many different agencies are 
involved in the transit operation and that is what complicates matters. Then of course there ar e the 
two sides of the border, and in many cases, more than one transit country. I believe that 
cross-border exchange of data is one of the real game changers in transit, in order for the data to 
not continuously to be registered whereby we have continuous  delays at the costs, but creating 
systems whereby these data can be exchanged. This is something for the time being, is not clearly 
addressed in the TFA, but maybe something and without complicating life for the Committee, but 
maybe something in the futur e where there could be some more clarification on these issues.  
If we turn to Articles 11.16 and 11.17, why are these Articles in the Agreement? It is probably 
because there is a need for collaboration and there is a lot of complexity in the area of transi t. So 
Article 11.16 encourages the cooperation and coordination between countries and Article 11.17 then 
encourages each Member to appoint a national transit coordinator. Now, what are national transit 
coordinators doing as this is not clearly defined. Tha t is why we at UNCTAD have established a 
work-shop for trying to work with national coordinators and provide them with some tools on how 
they can fulfil their roles. These workshops are organized at regional levels, with LLDCs and with 
transit countries. I t is based on training and capacity building and experience sharing on best 
practices on transit. We train on general transit concepts, rules and regulations, also in the regional 
context because many of the transit rules are actually outlined in regional cooperation agreements. 
Then, with the participants with the transit coordinators we developed with them terms of reference 
that they can use at national levels, we started drafting work plans with them and we have 
established a network, by having them tog ether, in a regional context. From developing the terms 
of reference, this hopefully will lead to, at the end, notifying WTO about the contacts of the national 
transit coordinators. I would very much like to encourage all LLDCs and all transit countries to  notify 
 
2 Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR C arnets ( TIR: Transports 
Internationaux Routiers, International Road Transport) . G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  to WTO their transit coordinators. In order for the WTO level can have a network created of such 
persons that actually can start corresponding on some of the difficulties on transit.  
The issue of corridors was mentioned already and at UNCTAD we ha ve worked on corridors 
for a quite a few years. Building a long corridor institutional capacity and collaboration in order that 
some of the transit issues are dealt with in an institutional context and can be dealt with between 
the partners along a corrido r. When we talk about partners along a corridor, it is not only the 
governmental side, but also all of the other partners that are involved in transit: customs brokers, 
transport operators and so on and so on. These are then included in a corridor manageme nt 
approach. There are several good examples of corridors around the world. East Africa has a couple 
of corridors, the northern corridors from Kenya up to Rwanda and the central corridor from Tanzania 
up to Burundi and Rwanda functions very well and there are many other examples. This is one way 
of facilitating transit and I would also encourage LLDCs and transit countries together, where these 
corridors are not existing, to explore if this is a possibility to enhance transit opportunities.  
ASYCUDA is UNCT AD's customs management programme that is now implemented in more 
than 90 countries around the world. It has a number of modules on customs management, collection 
of revenues and other issues. It also has a transit module, and ASYCUDA is right now operatio nal in 
21 LLDCs and about 20 transit countries. I will not go into all of the details here, but you will have 
it on this slide.  
The structure of the ASYCUDA Transit Module that is built into the ASYCUDA system  starts 
with a transit operation at a national level at either the office of the departure of the office of entry, 
going through an electronic submission of the transit declaration and transit data, hopefully having 
that linked with the trader or the customs broker that is requesting the transit operat ion and in the 
green box then, the goods are ready for clearance at either the office of destination or the office of 
exit. This is then all managed electronically and not with a lot of paper. There are a number of 
elements in this that could be national t ransit, regional transit and you can manage the rooting and 
other issues in transit.  
It is also important to understand that transit systems and transit at national level can be 
composed of different options or opportunities for the trader that these syst ems being managed by 
customs authorities and other authorities. You can have pure national transit scheme s; you can be 
part of a regional transit scheme, such as COMERCA, this is managed slightly different ; you can be 
part of an international transit schem e, such as T IR Convention and this is managed slightly different. 
For example,  Georgia uses ASYCUDA  and has a national transit module, but they are integrating in 
the so -called Common Transit Convention that is between the EU and a number of associated 
countries. For this, the transit module for Georgia has been adapted and enlarged to  also manage 
this connection.  
The TIR Convention is the only international transit convention that is managed by 
UN Economic Commission for Europe, in collaboration with the international road transport, that is 
guarantor behind the system. This system can also be fully computerized between the transit 
operators and the national transit modules in ASYCUDA in order that at national level you receive 
data from the international TIR database and you can use this data to undertake the national transit 
operation, thereby again not recapturing data, not wasting time and not having additional costs.  
Another example is Turkmenistan, where ASYCUDA has also been implemented and where 
the system can be used for TIR operations for the national transit and for a corridor at the regional 
transit level, the so -called Lapis Lazuli Corridor, which is another good example of how corridors can 
function and how they can actually benefit in improvi ng transit operations.  
You can of course include a number of features in the ASYCUDA transit module, whether that 
is engaging and sharing data images of non -intrusion control systems or whether that is linking it to 
tracking and tracing at national levels,  these elements can all be added and included in the transit 
modules of ASYCUDA.  
For the regional transit component, I think this is extremely important. One example of how 
we at UNCTAD have worked at the regional transit context is in the so -called ECOWAS  region in 
Western Africa. Initially, we had tried to collect a number of transit corridors, which you can see on 
the extract of the map. In order for you to send data from the country of departure and to the G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  country of destination or the exit point in the  port of departure, such as Abidjan, Lomé and Cotonou. 
Again, before this was existing, a transit declaration had to be done in each country, so you left from 
Burkina Faso with one transit declaration, there was no sharing of data, you came to the border a nd 
going into the next country you had to do a new transit declaration, capturing the data and having 
costs again. What we are trying to do in this application here is to share the data, once the data is 
captured once, it is then shared with all of the sub sequent operators in the transit chain. Therefore, 
the data capture does not need to be done again, you save time and costs. The system in ECOWAS 
is called SIGMAT, it has been developed together with the WCO and it is a system that is or could 
be applicabl e in many other regional contexts. Another example of this is in the Eurasian Economic 
Union where also we have connected the different countries that are part of this in order to share 
data.  
As a concluding point , the Ambassador of Kazakhstan mentioned that the ASYCUDA system 
is free of charge, and this is partly correct because we put IT and the software at the disposal of 
countries free of charge, but of course there is no such thing as a free lunch, so the impl ementation 
will of course be something that will be somehow charged and this implementation is something we 
then assist countries in doing. Another element that I would like to mention in this respect, it is 
something that is quite often overlooked, implem enting automated customs and transit systems has 
an upfront implementation cost but it also has an ongoing cost. Having an automated customs 
system generates additional revenue for countries , quite often between five  and ten times as much 
revenue as before the automated systems . The more advanced the systems are with risk 
management and other elements, the more revenue can be generated. Like with our cars, we have 
to refill oil, also with such systems you have to invest in upgrading the systems, keepi ng them up 
to date and that is sometimes something that is overlooked and something that I would encourage 
countries to have on their national budgets and also to consider when they work with possible 
donors. We at UNCTAD are very ready to work with any co untry, LLDC and transit country and note 
that transit collaboration is the name of the game, without collaboration between LLDCs and transit 
countries, transit will not function efficiently.  
The Ambassador of Botswana  indicated the following:  
Thank you to the representative of UNCTAD, an organization of which many of us here in 
Geneva and in the LLDC group work. The ASYCUDA solution that was presented is another example 
of something very practical that we will find as L LDCs to be a good resource . and thank  you for the 
warning for the notice, I think that explanation is important, especially since we are handicapped by 
resources, but we do have national budgets and we can try our best to make provisions for this, 
even as we request for technical assistance f rom other partners and countries.  
The delegate of Mongolia  indicated the following :  
Indeed, one of the important provisions on transit is Article 11.17 and having a national transit 
coordinator will contribute to smooth transit operations. In this regard , Mongolia appointed its 
national transit coordinator and notified said coordinator to the CTF. We would like to encourage 
other Members of the Committee  to do the same. Mongolia places high importance on the timely 
implementation of its commitments under the TFA. In this regard, we had contacts with all of its 
donors and international organizations, including the EU, WTO, TFAF and UNCTAD. A number of 
important activities have been undertaken since 2021, when the framework of UNCTAD's 
Empowerment Programme from Mongolia's National Trade Facilitation Committee. I would like to 
take this opportunity from my delegation to express my sincere appreciation to UNCTAD and my 
delegation is looking forward to continuing its cooperation with donors and partners, includ ing TFAF 
and UNCTAD.  
The delegate of Nigeria  indicated the following :  
I would like to commend the presentation made by UNCTAD on this particular issue and the 
elaborate explanation on ASYCUDA. I wish to also emphasize the importance of the implementation 
of the TFA by Members because it is quite important and , of course , the obligations by Members on 
the TFA also need to be complied with. Most of our countries, for a long time, have used to ASYCUDA 
and at a time graduated to the use of what we call ASYCUDA+. Most Members have been encouraged 
to use the single window. Can the presenter shed some more light on these issues : is ASYCUDA+ 
under the single window? Which of the two systems, ASYCUDA or single window, will be more G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  facilitat ive, becaus e most developing countries until now are using ASYCUDA ? Nigeria also migrated 
somewhat to ASYCUDA  and has also been working towards the implementation of the single window, 
since the start of the concept. Could the presenter highlight which system Members  should 
emphasi ze. 
The delegate of Malawi  indicated the following :  
As beneficiaries of the ASYCUDA + system, I found the presentation  very informative . Malawi 
is working on a number of areas in this same line. I would like to comment on the work that is done 
by Global Alliance on Trade Facilitation, this is part of the compliance to the WTO TFA, Malawi actually 
did point to the various articles and areas where the y can be able to implement immediately, but 
there are a number of areas that may need support. So that is where the Global Alliance came in, 
to give the support to Malawi to implement the Agreement.  
Initially what happened is that we had a scoping mission  where we visited all of the 
stakeholders, all the donors, to get the issues relating to trade facilitation and a number of challenges 
were raised. After the scoping mission, we had a workshop where we presented a summary of the 
findings so that a decision  could be made on what should be implemented first. I think that during 
the workshop there were a number of issues that were listed, but the largest of worries was from 
the border clearing agents. According to them, there were a lot of issues that required  training  on 
custom issues in a number of areas.  
Before the COVID -19, I think some of the problems caused disrupt ion because after that there 
was a need for a study tour to do some of the things, but the study tour did other things as COVID -19 
was at its climax. When the study was done, we also had to draft some of it to comply with our 
regulations  and to prepare the  act for it to be submitted to Parliament . I am glad to report that they 
did pass and approval was given and we made some strides. Also, an ef fort was made to identify a 
training institution  and the various topics. This was also in collaboration with the various stakeholders 
because we also established a working group, which is composed of all the stakeholders, including 
the key government minis tries. The working group w as working hand in hand . We have regular 
meetings for training, and there are various procedures for the training  and the training should be 
starting soon . We are expecting the experts to come on the ground to help us in the other  areas 
that may need clarification by the training institution . The initial training would be funded by Global 
Alliance . Going forward, there has to be sustainability of the training. We are discussing the way 
forward, and like the presenter on ASYCUDA transit explained, data exchange is  the gamechanger. 
That is key for us in terms of connectivity and the sharing of a lot of information to help to make a 
lot of progress.  
There was also an assessment done in terms of the connectivity infrastructure, to make sure 
that th ey do not have roadblocks, the ICT to see how we can be helped financially. We have actually 
already converge d some names of people who need to be trained . We have an international training 
association and an indigenous one, which is from one of the local customs  agents associations . Each 
of the memberships has already chosen the names of the people that are supp osed to be trained. 
So that is where we are and the district is actually having another meeting . It is an initiative that 
has been welcomed by the working group. All of the ministries and stakeholders are very supportive 
of this initiative because  transit has been a challenge including because there are  stakeholders who 
lack expert  skills, so even when you have the connectivity there is still a  lot of real work to be carried 
out. We already connected to the clear ing agents so they are connected already to t he ASYCUDA. 
We are doing some initiatives on the border posts and we are also working with the national single 
window.  
We are really positive that this training , which will start soon,  will allow us to make good 
strides .   
The challenges are there and som e of them are also related to border management and the 
collaboration . We just opted for the training as a starting point so it would be easier to accelerate 
on the other things. We also made strides that our Government approved to say that we need to 
reduce the number of agents at the border because there are so many of them, so that increases 
the delays  at the border and it entails so many other things. We really appreciate the support that 
the Global Alliance has given to us to actually bring all of the stakeholders on board. It has been a 
challenge because of funding the training .   G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following :  
The LDC Group thanks UNCT AD for their continued support in trade and transit facilitation 
of landlocked countries and for sharing its continued support at this meeting today. It seems that 
transit corridors would continue facilitating transit, especially at regional or sub -regiona l levels. In 
this context, the LDC Group would like to know about challenges that we face and possible ways of 
collaboration to overcome obstacles while developing transit corridors.  
The representative of UNCTAD  indicated the following :  
First, I should p robably be fair to also mention ASYCUDA is not the only customs 
management and transit system that exists. There are many other off the shelf systems that can be 
implemented. That leads to a challenge of connecting different systems, but this is really an IT 
challenge, it is not a major challenge in order that transit cannot be connected, so it is a technical 
issue and there shouldn 't be any problems of connecting technical systems.  
The examples I showed from ECOWAS are actually showcasing this that you ca n easily 
connect different systems, whether they are ASYCUDA or others. In relation to the question from 
Nigeria, yes, ASYCUDA  has different versions, which again to use the car analogy, car models are 
upgraded ever so often, and there is a newer model tha t is more attractive to drive and it is the 
same with ASYCUDA. ASYCUDA has gone through a number of regenerations, we started with the 
plain and simple model ASYCUDA, ASYCUDA+, ASYCUDA++  and right now we are at the level of 
the so -called ASYCUDA World whic h also can be used as a backbone for an ASYCUDA single window.  
That means that when implementing a customs management system, on the one hand there 
is a generation of additional revenue and what we strongly encourage countries to do, is to use part 
of thi s increased revenue to the upkeep and upgrades of their customs management systems, in 
order that countries can implement the latest version of the system, the most advanced version, 
additional modules, be it risk management or single window system because  obviously everything 
is not included from day one, there are developments ongoing, like car models get better and better. 
That is why, at present, with ASYCUDA World being the latest development of ASYCUDA that could 
be connected to an ASYCUDA based singl e window system, it can obviously also be connected to 
other single window systems from other, independent contractors. If you have ASYCUDA+ or ++, 
you will want to have a single window system, you will need to upgrade. Just for information, we 
are working  in UNCTAD on launching a next generation of ASYCUDA namely ASYCUDA Millennial, 
this is just a working title, which will be entirely cloud based and which will have further facilities.  
In relation to the question by Nepal on transit corridors, certainly t here are also challenges 
from transit corridors. I think there are a number of clear issues and clear benefits of corridors. 
When you try to establish a corridor, it is along a certain route, it is involving all of the stakeholders 
on that route, but it is  not only government to government that are working together, it is all of the 
operators, representatives and associations. It is service contractors along the route and by getting 
all of these together the corridor management group, you will see that ther e is a natural convergence 
on a number of issues, sometimes in a bilateral relationship it is very difficult to either negotiate or 
discuss when you are in a corridor, when you have the port in the transit country, when you have 
all of the elements in the transit country and then also the transit operators being involved.  
Sometimes, or quite often what we see with a robust management structure, the interest 
converges and you can suddenly make things that you could not make if you for instance had fewer 
bilateral government to government negotiations. These are some of the advantages, of course, 
there are also challenges and obstacles if you try to facilitate and make the crossings easier, 
sometimes it is not in the interest of everybody to make the border c rossing easier, some people 
that will benefit from having difficult cross border procedures. Therefore, you have to scope the 
landscape, the real issues on the table and then calculate the benefits of these countries involved 
and the corridor involved.  
If I can just at the very end, also I would like to thank Malawi. I th ink Malawi is a very good 
example of how we as international organizations actually complement each other . World Bank has 
worked in Malawi, we have worked in Malawi, Global Alliance is wor king in Malawi in complementary 
ways and on compl ementary issues. I think this is really what the international support is also about 
in the sense of providing assistance and capacity building.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  iv. The Impact of C OVID -19 on Global Supply chains and what the WCO is doing to 
Support the Economies and Sustain Supply Chain Continuity and current Status on 
Containerization  
The representative of the World Customs Organization  (WCO)  indicated the following :  
Thank you all for inviting the WCO to this dedicated session on transit issues faced by LLDCs. 
All of us here are aware of the impact COVID -19 had on borders and hence on the movement of 
goods and people. The closures of borders and travel restrictions we witnessed in the early response 
to the pandemic had a magnified impact for LLDCs who rely on transit  in order to be part of 
international trade and global supply chains. A particular challenge was related to the restrictions on 
truck drivers in terms of requirements for testing, quarantine, bans from entry in the country, 
requirements for convoys, etc. T he lockdowns, closures of non -essential businesses and social 
distancing requirements resulted in an enhanced uptake of digitalization and use of advanced 
technologies, as well as in an exponential growth of e -commerce.  
Another trend we observed is the co ngestions of ports, shortage of empty containers and 
the big increase in shipping costs, where again the impact on LLDCs is even bigger compared to the 
impact on other Members. The reasons for port congestions and the shortage of empty containers 
are very complex and they do not lie with Customs. Part of the reasons include the measures from 
the early response to the pandemic, such as the closure of factories, which we are again witnessing 
in China now. Another reason was the increased demand in the recover y phase, and the lack of 
capacity on the shore side to process the volume of ships and containers resulting from the increased 
demand. These reasons and possible solutions have been discussed at a number of forums, and here 
I would like to mention the two forums organized by the WTO DG in November 2021 and in 
March  this year, as well the session organized by the Permanent Mission of Mongolia during the WTO 
Public Forum in September last year.  
There have been two main take -aways from these discussions on wha t Customs can do to 
mitigate the effects of the supply chain bottlenecks. These two take -aways are related to the role of 
Customs in facilitating trade and automating the Customs processes, as well as using advanced 
technologies. Here I would like to point  out that all 32 LLDCs are Members of the WCO and 72% of 
the LLDCs have acceded to our flagship convention – the International Convention on the 
simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures, better known as the Revised Kyoto 
Convention.  
Moving to  trade facilitation, it is commendable that the 4 -year Review of the TFA places 
special focus on the implementation of the TFA by LLDCs, specifically through the Communication 
from the group of LLDCs. The moderator, Her Excellency, very aptly introduced us  to the TFA 
measures that are of particular relevance, the concept note for this thematic session already outlines 
the articles of the TFA that are of relevance, but I would like to highlight the importance of 
transparency and predictability, border agency  cooperation, to which we, at the WCO, refer as 
Coordinated Border Management and this concept covers also the provisions on single window; the 
importance of efficient coordination through the National Committees on Trade Facilitation for 
example for condu cting a Time Release Studies, and last but not least the provisions relating to 
transit.  
I will show the relevant WCO tools in the area of transit on my next slide, but here I have 
listed what we can offer to our Members in the broader area of trade facili tation and mitigating the 
impact of the COVID -19 pandemic. At the end of the of slides, I have included a couple of slides with 
links to most of the instruments and tools I will be referring to.  
First on the slide is the WCO Mercator Programme which is ai med at assisting Governments 
worldwide to implement the TFA expeditiously and in a harmonized manner. During the pandemic , 
we provided guidance to our Members and stakeholders on existing international standards that can 
facilitate the cross -border movemen t of relief and essential supplies and sustain supply chain 
continuity. We also issued new guidance materials to help our Members mitigate the effects of the 
crisis and sustain the supply chain continuity. If we need to single out the measures of highest 
importance these would be in the areas of CBM, transparency, predictability and digitalization of 
customs processes. In addition to being a major trade facilitation measure, the digitalization of 
customs procedures contributes to enforcing the social distan cing requirements in outbreaks of G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  epidemic diseases such as COVID -19. Modern customs administrations should all move towards 
electronic clearance of goods, single window environment, non -intrusive inspections, and risk 
management based on data analysis, am ong others. Coordination with the neighbo uring countries 
is also very important especially coordination between LLDCs and transit countries, as well as 
coordination at the regional level.  
Moving to transit, what is absolutely key are measures and actions i n three areas: exchange 
of information, guarantee systems and security measures.  
I have listed on the slides some good practices in these three areas. Cross-border exchange 
of information is indeed a game changer. If you have an efficient exchange of infor mation and a 
guarantee system then you do need to really apply escorts, convoys, electronic seals and other 
costly measures. Here I would like to stress is that electronic cargo tracking systems are of benefit 
only when they are regional, like the RECTS of  Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and DRC. If operators need 
to change the electronic seal at each border and pay for multiple seals this will not lead to reducing 
time and costs and ultimately will not be a trade facilitation measure. So the use of technology 
should  be considered very carefully in this regard.  
What the WCO can offer to support its Members are the Revised Kyoto Convention, the 
Transit Guidelines, the Transit Compendium, the Railway Guidance and the capacity building 
assistance we offer in the area of transit by road and rail. In October 2018, the TFAF organized a 
transit workshop in the margins of the TFC and there I already made a pretty detailed presentation 
of the Transit Guidelines, so I will not delve into much detail here, but will only say that this tool 
answers the question: how to implement efficient and effective transit regimes.  
The Compendium of best practices in the area of transit illustrates in practical terms how 
individual Members have implemented the guiding principles described in the  Transit Guidelines. It 
contains a total number of 34 good practices grouped per WCO region. Twelve  of the submissions 
deal with transit policy issues in LLDCs. In June this year we will launch a new tool – the WCO 
Railway Guidance, which is aimed at the h armonizing Customs procedures in railway transportation.  
In terms of automation and use of technologies, what is key is the interoperability of 
solutions and the use of global standards. The WCO offers some relevant international standards, 
such as the WCO  Data Model, which is a set of data requirements that meet the procedural and legal 
needs of cross -border regulatory agencies controlling export, import and transit transactions. 
Another WCO standard is the Unified File Format which is a global standard fo r NII data.  
I have listed some of our papers exploring the deployment of advanced technologies by 
Members and other border agencies and here I would like to highlight a joint paper by the WCO and 
the WTO that was officially launched in a webinar held on 29  March. The title of the paper is "The 
role of advanced technologies in cross -border trade: A customs perspective " and it is available on 
the web -sites of both organizations. I have also listed the working bodies and fora, through which 
we maintain our standards and discuss, together with the private sector, the use of advanced 
technologies by Customs.  
Lastly, I would  like to touch upon e -commerce, as one of the impacts of the pandemic was 
an accelerated growth of e -commerce resulting from the lockdowns and social distancing 
requirements.  
For the purposes of the WCO work, we have defined e -commerce as possessing the fo llowing 
characteristics: online ordering, sale, communication and, if applicable, payment, cross -border 
transactions/shipments, physical (tangible) goods and which are destined to the consumer or buyer 
(commercial and non -commercial). In other words, our w ork is aimed at assisting our Members to 
deal with the tsunami of small and low -value packages crossing their borders.  
The WCO E -Commerce Framework of Standards  (FoS) and associated package of tools to 
support its implementation are based on eight key prin ciples and among them I would like to 
highlight the areas of Advanced Electronic Data for RM, fair and efficient revenue collection, safety, 
security and cooperation with e -commerce stakeholders, where of particular importance is the 
cooperation with the e -commerce platforms and marketplaces that possess all necessary data on 
the e-commerce shipments and cater for the new business model.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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In addition to the E -Commerce FoS and the associated Package, what we have developed to 
support our Members are the Immed iate Release Guidelines that can support the implementation of 
Article 7.8 of the TFA on expedited shipments, and the tools developed jointly with the Universal 
Postal Union. We hold regular conferences and offer capacity building support to our Members in  the 
area of cross -border e -commerce.  
This was in brief what the WCO and its Members can do to mitigate the current bottlenecks 
in the global supply chains with a special focus on LLDCs. And once again the key messages for 
customs in LLDCs and TDCs are fac ilitate trade, automate customs processes and deploy advanced 
technologies for sustainable supply chains.  
The delegate of Nigeria  indicated the following :  
There  is no doubt that COVID -19 has affected virtually most of the transactions, even within 
the bor der corridors. I would propose that this is a good signal to most Members to always consider 
other alternatives in case this kind of problem were to repeat itself , particularly the use of 
e-commerce transactions . In developing countries, we always consider  the deployment of 
technologies because that is what is having a positive impact in other developing countries. 
Therefore, in the developing world it is important that we emphasize the need to continue to use 
these kinds of technologies to accelerate  the trade facilitation in our countries. With regard to the 
cross-border transaction, over the years we have conducted examinations in our border corridors, 
particularly in Africa,  and we have noticed for us to deal with the challenges of cross -border it has 
to be dealt with in three perspectives: before the border, at the border and after the border. These 
are the particular points where challenges happen, therefore , if there should be a holistic approach 
to address some of the challenges affecting the cross -border transactions, then these three aspects 
would need to be tackled.  
LDCs need to be considered, especially the automation of the customs process in the border 
corridors . The essence of trade facilitation is to fast -track and to address challenges and bo ttlenecks 
affecting the trade facilitation  so the easiest way to do that is through technology, e -commerce and 
other required  facilities . Most developing countries are seeking support from the developed world to 
assist developing countries to overcome these challenges and to ensure the full implementation of 
the TFA.  
The delegate of Mongolia  indicated the following:  
Due to the global pandemic , countries imposed bord er restrictions in their efforts to combat 
the spread of the virus . As a result , merchandized trade fell and global supply chains were faced 
with significant challenges. Moreover, transit shipments and transport operations have been delayed 
and the contain er freight trade has significantly increased in many parts of the world, especially in 
LLDCs.  
The representative of the WCO indicated the following :  
Very briefly I would like to thank Nigeria and Mongolia for their comments, and I agree with 
all of the comments that Nigeria has made. What is important  when automating processes is the 
interoperability . This can be achieved when our Members use international standards. WCO offers 
capacity building to our Members through customs administration  in all of  those areas that I talked 
about .  
The delegate of Nepal  indicated that :  
The LDC Group would like to give sincere thanks to the WCO for their continued support, 
and for this presentation today  on the supply chain in transit matters.  
v. Transit Facilitation and E -Commerce: Bridging the Digital Divide  
The representative of the  International Telecommunication Union  (ITU) indicated the 
following:  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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For those of you who are not familiar with the work of ITU, we a re a rather unique specialized 
agency. For starters, we were founded more than 155 years ago, so we are actually much older than 
the UN. We have an unusual membership structure, with not just 193 member States, but also 
900 member s from the private sector to a cademia. Our membership reads like a "who 's who" of the 
technology sector and includes virtually all of the big names as well as smaller companies.  
Our slogan perfectly encapsulates our mission, "committed to connecting the world". We do 
this through thre e organizational sectors, radio communication sector which deals with technical 
sides of all things wireless (from mobile phones to satellites and intelligent work), standardization 
sector which creates globally agreed technical norms that ensure that many  complex components 
of today's network seamlessly operate and that is some of the aspects that some of your speakers 
made before in terms of interoperability, and of course the development sector which my director 
leads, the Director of the Bureau of Telec ommunications Development, and she is the first female 
elected official at ITU. So on that side we have a lot of work to do.  
Our work is highly geared to helping countries promote digital inclusion, through progress 
and initiatives that help countries opt imize regulatory frameworks, to attract investment, develop 
digital skills to empower their populations, connecting young people through projects like our Giga 
School Connectivity initiative and Generations Connect , and also reach out to communities in 
hard-to-connect areas with technical resources. ITU has maintained a dedicated programme for 
LLDCs since 2003 and adopted special resolutions for LLDCs to support their IT development and 
address their specific challenges. The LLDCs represent 32 countries acr oss the world and include 
some of the least advanced countries in the world, which represent 17 countries. Lack of territory 
and access to the sea, remoteness and isolation from world markets and high transit costs influence 
constraints on the overall soci al economic development of LLDCs.  
Their seaboard trade wholly depends on transit through other countries. In terms of 
telecommunications infrastructure, LLDCs depend upon neighbouring countries for access to 
undersea cables and international intranet bene fits. Often, costs for LLDCs are relatively high. ITU 
has demonstrated the needs of LLDCs in its activities, programmes and projects. To achieve this 
commitment under the DMS Programme of Action, which was agreed on by the UN General Council 
at the second UN Conference on LLDCs in November 2014. The main objective of this 10 -year 
2014-2024 action plan, is a fast forward programme in achieving sustainable development in the 
LLDCs, and these will play a critical role to achieve this objective. I think you wil l all agree with me 
that the pandemic has only served to further underline  the importance of getting unconnected people 
in communities online.  
For those involved that are already lucky enough to enjoy a fast and affordable connection, 
the internet has bee n a lifeline to continue employment, online learning, digital financial services 
and essential government services including, healthcare. Over these past 18 months, we have also 
seen that countries equipped with robust digital networks have been better abl e to endure the 
ongoing crisis . For ITU , the urgent need to connect to build national resilience against further and 
future crisis, ha s meant doubling our input to help countries rapidly expand connectivity, to reach 
the millions  still offline and the mill ions of communities around the world where connectivity is still 
too poor to offer any meaningful benefit to local people. Now, the LLDCs are a key focus . Our data 
shows that on average, only 27% of the population of LLDCs is using the Internet .  
Together , we need to find more ways to overcome chronic connectivity problems to 
dramatically level up affordable access to technology and empower local people with the skills to use 
that technology, so that everyone everywhere has access to life -changing, enabling digital platforms 
and services. We believe that ICT can play a role in helping everyone with the goals and aspirations 
of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs for the decade  2014-2024. I think a lot of our speakers 
today have alluded to those aspects of recognizing that a number of LLDCs are also LDCs . We remain 
available to the Membership here at the WTO and ITU because everything that we do is interlinked 
and the interoperability needs to continue for the benefit of global e -commerce and also  our 
population.  
The delegate of Nepal  thank ed the ITU for th e presentation and its continued support in 
e-commerce and erasing the digital gap across the globe.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The Ambassador of Botswana  indicated the following:  
We are all very grateful for the support we get from ITU, one of the organizations in Geneva 
that truly supports LLDCs , including LDCs. I would like to thank ITU for its factual presentation. I 
would also like to thank all presenters for their interventions .  
The Chair  indicated the following :  
Thank you , Ambassador for joining us during this dedicated session on transit issues. I would 
also like to thank the speakers for taking the time for some very detailed and very in -depth 
presentations on a number of different top ics related to transit issues and LLDCs . There is a lot to 
digest but I think it gives the Committee  some ideas on  which to build further discussions in the 
future and to continue this dedicated session again in another year 's time.  
Two take aways I did w ant to share with you, at least from my perspective  - and more than 
a couple of speakers mentioned or alluded to these sentiments ; the first is interdependence , and 
the second is collaboration. I think these are general lessons that we, as Members, should keep in 
mind, as we consider how to help and to keep the interest and challenges of others in mind.  
The one thing that struck me while listening to the discussions is  if there was a LLDC or 
landlocked country for that matter, that was 100% implement ing the TFA, it had done everything it 
was supposed to do, and even accelerated , if its neighbouring and transit countries were nowhere 
near that level of implementation, there is nothing that they can do about that. The challenges would 
continue for them no mat ter what, so I think that is something where this collaboration aspect needs 
to continue to be thought through and exchanged because a landlocked country's priorities might 
not be the priorities of a transit country and so the priorities of a transit count ry may not be the 
priorities of a landlocked country. So, the more exchanges we can have, and the more focus and 
thought going into working together to coordinate and to collaborate would be a very good thing 
going forward.  
With that , I would like to clos e this session and again thank the Ambassador  Dr. Molokomme  
of Botswana  for your participation here this morning . It is very much appreciated and I look forward 
to next year to the second dedicated session.  
The Committee took note  of the information and the statements made.  
That concluded  agenda item 4. 
5  FOLLOW -UP TO THE 2021 FOUR -YEAR REVIEW OF THE OPERATION AND 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 23.1.6 OF THE 
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT (G/TFA/2,  PARA 9.3(VIII))  
The Chair indicated the following :  
As part of the Review, a total of 13 proposals were circulated/submitted by Member s for 
consideration by the Committee. At the time of the conclusion of the Review, four of the proposals 
remained under consideration. The purpose of this item is to provide a space to continue discussions, 
at the request of proponents, on the proposals tha t remain under consideration by the Committee 
from the Review.  
The delegate of Egypt  indicated the following :  
I refer to the communication, G/TFA/W/38/R ev.3, calling WTO Member s to review  their trade 
requirements and reduce costly and unnecessary formalit ies, including consularization requirements 
in line with Article 10.1 of the TFA. Egypt has fulfilled the requirement to ratify certificates of origin 
contained in Article 14 of Import Regulation No. 770 of 2005. Furthermore, new  Customs Law 
No. 207 of 202 0 and its executive regulations  abolish the requirement to approve commercial 
invoices from Chambers of Commerce and their legalization at Egyptian embassies and consulates 
abroad. The only requirement is the registration in the Customs authority electroni c system.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 37 - 
 
  
The Chair indicated the following:  
At this point, I would like to seek the Committee's guidance on how to deal with this item for 
future meetings. Unlike some of the other new agenda items, "follow -up to the Review" has not been 
identified as a standing item agenda. Therefore, would the Committee consider that in the future 
this agenda items will only be included at the request of a Member in relation to a specific proposal 
filed under the Review process.  
The Secretariat would  include on the initial draft Airgram that is circulated to Member s in 
advance, but if no requests are received from Member s who wish to follow up on their proposal 
pending from the Review, it will be removed from the final Airgram.  
The delegate of the United  States  indicated the following :  
Thank you Chair, what you propose is acceptable to the United States. I also wanted to take 
this opportunity to acknowledge the statement in the prior agenda item from Egypt in respect to 
consularization, policy changes, w e welcome this development.  
The Chair  indicated the following :  
I do not hear any objections to proceeding in this manner and so it is agreed to include this 
agenda item only at the request of a Member in relation to a specific proposal.  
We will include this agenda item on the final agenda for the next meetings of the Trade 
Facilitation Committee only if a Member requests to follow up on one of their proposals from the last 
Review that were still pending.  
This concludes  agenda item 5.  
6  PROCESS TO AGREE RE GULARI ZED AGENDA TOPICS FOR THE DEDICATED SESSION ON 
ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING, WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF ARTICLE 21.4 
(G/TFA/2,  PARA 9.2(III)) – REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
The Chair indicated the following :  
Once again, we have another Review decision - that the Secretariat will lead a process with 
Member s to agree regulari zed agenda topics for the dedicated session on assistance and capacity 
building, within the parameters of Article 21.4. Reference to this d ecision is contained in G/TFA/2, 
para 9.2 sub -paragraph (iii) . 
As part of this process, it was further agreed that the following items would be discussed at 
every dedicated session henceforth:  
In accordance with the decision, international and regional org anizations and other agencies 
supporting the implementation of the TFA are to be invited to provide a report on the activities that 
they have delivered in the preceding twelve months. This report should provide details on which 
Member s they are supporting,  the TFA articles they are helping to implement, and reflections on 
challenges and successes to enable improved future capacity building support.  
Member s and organi zations are also to be invited to share experiences on where synergies 
between capacity buil ding programmes have benefited implementation of the TFA and consider 
where further collaboration and cooperation (including on a regional level) might best support a 
future implementation of specific articles.  
The Committee will recall that I recently co nvened two informal meetings – on 3 March and 
29 March. My purpose in calling these meetings was to allow for some follow -up on certain items 
resulting from the 2021 TFA Review, as well as the Committee's work in 2021.  
Accordingly, the topic of the regular ized agenda was raised at both meetings. Following an 
exchange of views at the 3 March meeting, I went ahead and circulated on 23 March a first draft of 
a potential regularized agenda. The draft was based on the TFA review decision, the views expressed G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 38 - 
 
  by a number of delegations at previous meetings, and on the understanding of the objective of the 
dedicated session.  
At the follow -up meeting of 29 March, a number of Member s provided views on the draft. I 
invited Member s to provide their comments in writing  so that they can be properly captured in a 
second iteration of the draft agenda. Some Member s have reverted to us and I encourage other 
interest Member s to also get in touch with their written comments or suggestions.  
So, with that update, I would now like to open the floor for any additional comments or 
reactions.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following :  
We thank the Chair and the Secretariat for leading the Member -driven process to determine 
agenda topics for the dedicated session on assistance and capacity building. We are supportive of 
the discussion topics and the process that you have set forward.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following :  
We would like to reiterate the thanks as given by US counterpart for the work carried out by 
yourself and the Secretariat. We would like to inform the Committee that following our intervention 
at the informal Committee  last week, that we have since submitted some comments on the structure 
of the dedicated session. The UK will continue to offer our support and assistance.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
I too would like to echo the comments from the previous speakers . Thank you for the proposed 
approach.  
The Chair  invited any Member wishing to do so  in writing within two weeks .  
That conclude d agenda item 6.  
7  INFORMATION ON ONGOING ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY BUILDING – 
THE UNITED KINGDOM (G/TFA/W/68)   
The Chair  drew the Commi ttee's attention to a communication from the United Kingdom, 
document G/TFA/W/68 , which was circulated in October 2021 . 
The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following :  
The purpose of this notification was to provide further details of the UK's capacity building 
support with the purpose of encouraging coordination and collaboration. We remain open to 
discussing in more details with donors and implementing organization. We are also pleased to 
announce that in March 2022, over GBP  4 million of  additional funding to renew our long -standing 
partnership with UNCTAD and the WTO, accelerate trade facilitation to support Member s implement 
the TFA, as well as, enabling important organizational development reform and customs 
administrations.  
The delega te of the United States  indicated the following : 
We thank the United Kingdom for providing a more detailed understanding of the trade 
facilitation activities the UK is supporting with delivery partners and the UK's efforts to improve 
coordination between t rade facilitation capacity building offers, while avoiding duplication.  
The United States is  working on updating its Article 22 notification in Capital, and hope to have 
that ready later this Spring.  
The delegate of the European Union  thank ed the UK for t he document, which was particularly 
useful for colleagues dealing with aid.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 39 - 
 
  
The Committee took note  of the document and of the statements made.  
This concluded  agenda item 7 .  
8  COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA; BRAZIL; CANADA; COLOMBIA; ECUADOR; 
EUROPEAN UNION ; ICELAND; JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; MEXICO; MONTENEGRO; 
NEW  ZEALAND; NORTH MACEDONIA; NORWAY; THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA; 
SINGAPORE; SWITZERLAND; THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, 
KINMEN AND MATSU; THAILAND; TÜRKIYE ; THE UNITED KINGDOM; THE UNITED STATES 
AND URUGUAY (G/TFA/W/25/REV.8)  
The Chair drew the Committee's attention to communication G/TFA/W/25/Rev.8 which was 
circulated in December 2021.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following : 
Now more than ever, implementation of the TFA is key to ensuring the continuation of 
cross-borde r trade, especially critical goods, and it is critical to capitalize on the proven benefits of 
the TFA including predictability, simplicity, and uniformity in customs and border procedures.  
We thank the co -sponsors, including Saudi Arabia who joined in December 2021 and encourage 
other Member s to consider joining to accelerate, or deepen our implementation of the TFA.  
The delegate of Australia  indicated the following :  
Australia echoes  the comments just made by the US . As a co -sponsor , we remain fully 
supportive of this initiative. The TFA provides the framework, predictability, simplicity and uniformity 
in global customs and border processes. Accelerated implementation will enhance the strength of 
the global trading system. A critical issue for the globa l economic recovery from the current 
pandemic.  
The delegate of Chinese Taipei  indicated the following : 
We would like to thank the US and the other co -sponsors for the communication regarding 
supporting the timely and efficient release of global goods throu gh an accelerated implementation 
of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. We are glad to be a co -sponsor of the communication. We 
would like to join the US in welcoming other Member s to join the co -sponsorship.  
We would also like to take the opportunity to raise our serious concerns about the war, which 
has led to a large number of civilians, including women and children, losing their lives. Homes, 
schools and hospitals are destroyed. This is not acceptable from any perspective. Ending the war is 
important for the WTO to move forward and to help conduct MC12 in a smooth and successful 
manner which is long -expected by WTO Members. We call on the unjustified attack to be stopped 
immediately.  
The delegate pf Japan  indicated the following :  
Japan thanks the United States for the update. This communication seeks to accelerate the 
implementation of the TFA. As a co -sponsor ourselves, we welcome all the new co -sponsors and 
hope to garner wider support for this communicati on, given the increased importance of the TFA 
under the pandemic.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
The U nited Kingdom  thanks the U nited States for the update , and would like to welcome the 
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a co -sponsor of this proposal. We would also like to encourage other 
Member s to consider the benefits of this initiative in realizing the full implementation of the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 40 - 
 
  
The delegate of South Africa  indicated the following :  
We thank the U nited States for the update on this. The bulk of the Articles listed in the 
proposal are notified as Category  A for South Africa, so generally we support the overall proposal. 
However, with respect to the issue of the single window , we wish to remind member States that this 
is a best endeavour a rticle in the Agreement and implementation of a single window takes place at 
a deep level of integration . It cannot really be speeded up and I think this is generally due to the 
nature of the commitment and how difficult it can be to have a single electronic platform where all 
border agencies are connected. It has not really been proven to be easy to implement, so we just 
wanted to raise that as a cautionary note.  
The delegate of St. Vincent a nd the Grenadines  indicated the following :  
I am making this intervention on behalf of the WTO Member s of the Organization of Easter n 
Caribbean States (OECS). Let me also thank the co -sponsors of document G/TFA/W/25/Rev.8 for 
their submission.  
The OECS WT O Member s are fully committed to the timely implementation of their 
commitments under the TFA in accordance with the principle of self -designation, also mindful of the 
flexibilities provided for Member s to implement in a manner consistent with their needs and 
capacities.  
Having said this, it is also reasonable to assume that having a critical mass of WTO Member s 
implementing their commitments in an accelerated manner could be systemically impactful, 
especially at a time when global supply chains are under immense stress. However, we do have 
some suggestions to enhance the proposal before us.  
Several of the trade facilitation measures cited in document G/TFA/W/25/Rev.8 have been 
notified by OECS countries as Category  C measures, for which we require time and  technical 
assistance and capacity building (TACB) support to implement.  
Notably absent in the document from the co -sponsors is any reference to accelerated TACB 
support to complement accelerated implementation by developing and least -developed country 
(LDC) Member s.  
We believe that this proposal merits further discussion. We urge the co -sponsors to intensify 
their outreach to developing and LDC Member s, including through their regional configurations, to 
have further discussions on this proposal and to b etter understand the needs and priorities of 
developing and LDC Member s.  
The delegate of the Philippines  indicated the following :  
We thank the United States and the co -sponsors for their update and comments on this 
initiative. Our delegation is pleased to express our support for this proposal as we continue our 
efforts to accelerate the implementation of the TFA to promote the timely and efficient release of 
goods in spi te of the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic. The TFA provides predictability, simplicity and 
uniformity in cross border trade procedures. Thus, we believe that by accelerating this 
implementation we can realize the benefits of this agreement, in pursuit of our sha red global 
response to the pandemic.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following :  
The E uropean Union would like to thank the US for the update and we welcome Saudi Arabia 
as a new co -sponsor. The TFA has a crucial role in helping Customs a djust to new challenges and it 
is important to keep the momentum of implementation. We therefore invite other Member s to 
accelerate their implementation as well, and their communication.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following : 
I would li ke to thank all of the delegations who took the floor today in support of this proposal, 
we welcome the statement from the Philippines in their support for this document. I would state that G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 41 - 
 
  this proposal is a non -binding document and best endeavour. I also  plan and look forward to reaching 
out to my colleagues from South Africa and OECS to learn more about their concerns, comments 
and questions and hopefully we can find a space where we can bring new co -sponsors by the time 
the Committee meets once again at  the end of June. I would welcome any Member who have any 
questions to reach out to me and I will certainly be reaching out to you.  
The Committee took note of the communication and of the statements made.   
That concluded  agenda item 8.  
9  PLANNING FOR THE FIVE -YEAR TFA ANNIVERSARY EVENT – UPDATE BY THE 
CHAIRPERSON  
The Chair indicated the following :  
In follow -up since first raising the idea last October last year, I asked Member s in December 
for ideas, suggestions and comments on possible topics, format and structure for such a celebration.  
I received some suggestions in response to this call which I circulated in a communication 
dated 2 February 2022.  
I subsequently convened an o pen-ended consultation on 11 February to advance the 
Committee's work on putting together a program me for the anniversary event, including suggestions 
for specific topics, and to the extent possible, identification of speakers.  
Building on the initial sugg estions that I circulated on 2 February and the views that I heard 
during the meeting of 11 February, I went ahead and drew up a draft programme which I circulated 
on 25 February. The LDC Group put forward a proposal for the inclusion of an LDC -specific se ssion 
in the programme. The proposal was circulated on 3 March.  
I convened follow -up open -ended consultations on 3 March to invite Member s' feedback on the 
draft programme, as well as any additional suggestions that Member s may wish to put forward.  
Buildi ng on what I had heard at the meeting on 3 March, as well as subsequent feedback from 
delegations, I revised the draft programme and circulated it on 23 March. This second draft had 
more details regarding the specific topics for each session and it also id entified Member s that had 
expressed interest in participating in specific sessions.  
I convened a further open -ended consultation on 29 March in order to hear comments on the 
revised draft and to have another opportunity to further refine the programme and to make progress 
on identifying speakers.  
What I heard at that meeting was that work remains to be carried out on further adjusting the 
programme to take account of the interests expressed.  
One Member raised the suggestion that the real value of the annive rsary event is in exchanges 
and discussions among Member s. They saw the format of a panel discussions under each thematic 
session as being a possible way to extract maximum benefit from the celebration.  
At the session last week, I promised to gather toget her some Member s for a specific discussion 
around session three, to which the UK has proposed this type of  discussion. What I would like to do, 
with at least the Member s that I have on my list who indicated an interest who are Hong Kong,  China;  
Türkiye ; Guatemala ; EU; Korea ; Australia ; and Switzerland. That is without prejudice to any of your 
actual interests .  
What I would propose to do is to have a further discussion as to what that informal discussion 
around the presenters. If that is acceptable to Membe rs, we will continue to do that. I will also reach 
out to other Member s who have indicated their interest in speaking in sessions 1, 2 and 4 and will 
try to gather together a revised draft to incorporate any more feedback that we have heard since 
29 March and circulate it before the end of April.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 42 - 
 
  
The delegate of El Salvador  indicated the following :  
Would there be a possibility of including participation from the Latin American Association for 
Integration (ALADI) to provide information on regional trade facilitation strategies and recent 
progress that has been achieved, particularly regarding the implementation of the digital platform 
in this regard. Will p resentat ions be delivered in person or virtually ? If delivered in person , would 
there be any funding possible to bring presenters to Geneva ?  
The Chair  indicated the following :  
The event will be held in hybrid format. Regarding presenters, it has been in the hand s of 
Member s to nominate people  to speak on the topics under discussion . I believe there are a number 
of Member s who have asked about private sector participation, and again, it is for the Member s to 
decide who they would think most useful to participate i n the discussions. In terms of the last one 
around funding, I am not sure.  
The issue of funding is still to be discussed. O ne of the goals of the session  is to not turn this 
into simply an experience sharing, it  is really about trying to have a discussion  amongst the 
presenters as to how things look going into the future.  
This concluded  agenda item 9.  
10  TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT FACILITY CONSULTATIONS – REPORT BY THE 
CHAIRPERSON  
The Chair  indicated the following :  
I have held consultations regarding the communication from the United States entitled "Role 
of the Trade Facilitation Committee in the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility" which was circulated 
in document G/TFA/W/36.  
You will r ecall that several informal and formal discussions were held in June and July last 
year on this topic, as well as a separate discussion and presentation on trust funds in May.  
Since my last report to the Committee at its October meeting, I have continued consultations 
in the two informal meetin gs held on 3 and 29 March.  
Following the meeting of 3 March, I circulated a draft Framework which is based on a number 
of elements - (i) what I heard in my consultations on the matter, (ii) my understanding of what 
Member s are looking for in the Framework, based in part on the draft outline I circulated last year, 
(iii) as well as my view of what is workable within the context of the Committee and TFAF's work.  
The Committee had an initial exchange of views on the draft fram ework at the meeting of 
29 March during which I did not hear any objections to the draft. The draft was circulated last Friday 
as document G/TFA/W/77.  
The delegate of Japan  indicated the following :  
We really appreciate your efforts, as well as the Secreta riat's, to facilitate the discussion 
among Member s to increase the transparency of TFAF activities, to create a dedicated Webpage, 
and to prepare a document to supplement the existing guidelines. We support the draft framework 
circulated by the Chair.  
The delegate of St. Vincent and the Grenadines  indicated the following :  
I deliver this statement on behalf of the WTO Member s of the OECS.  
First, we want to thank you for your comprehensive report. As we all know, the OECS WTO 
Member s gave full support to the establishment of the TFAF. The Facility is a tangible expression of G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  the commitment of the WTO to support the efforts of developing and least developed countries to 
undertake full and effective implementation of the TFA.  
The TFAF has provided valuable support for regional and national capacity building initiatives 
in our member States. The TFAF's advice and capacity building activities have helped our Member s 
to better understand TFA requirements and meet notification deadlines. Th e TFAF has also facilitated 
important contacts and dialogue with international donors and Annex D Organizations.  
Let us also state for the record that we support the need to ensure accountability and full 
transparency of TFAF operations. We are also keen to ensure that the Facility continues to operate 
in the interest of all Member s.  
However, while we are supportive of the framework for the management and operation of 
the TFAF, it would be remiss of us not to offer some specific comments for the record.  
Regarding the objectives which have been set out for the TFAF, these generally reflect the 
expressed goal of all WTO Member s to enhance operational transparency of the TFAF. However, TFC 
oversight should not result in micro -management of the Facility's ope rations and should not impede 
the agility with which the Facility can respond to requests for technical assistance, which are time 
sensitive. The TFC ordinarily meets four times per year. Responses to technical assistance requests 
need to be timely and sho uld not have to await scheduled meetings of the TFC to be actioned.  
Furthermore, the consensus rule which guides decision -making in the TFC should be 
respected. This is important to avoid a repetition of the de facto 'veto' by one Member which blocked 
approval of the TFAF work programme in the past.  
Under the operational guidelines, at Paragraph 3, we should perhaps also reference the 
principles in Article 21 (3 a -f) of the TFA which set out the principles for providing assistance and 
support for capacity  building with regard to the implementation of this Agreement.  
Regarding modes of delivery, we attach great importance to the set of activities listed there. 
The inclusion of regional groupings is also strongly supported by our Member s.  
Under "Management  and Transparency," rather than simply review, the work plan should 
also be agreed/approved by the Committee.  
Additionally, under paragraph 5 where it states that "The Facility working jointly with a 
representative group composed of interested Member s shall prepare a work plan for the upcoming 
calendar year," allow us to indicate that it is extremely important that any outcome from this process 
be in the form of recommendations to the TFC. This small group should not have the right to adopt 
any decision re lating to the work plan of the TFAF. It has to revert to the TFC. This is to ensure full 
ownership by the Committee.  
The delegate of the United States  indicated the following :  
We would like to thank you for your leadership. We could not have resolved this  issue without 
your guidance. We truly appreciate your work, the work of the Trade Facilitation Committee Members 
and TFAF. We are very pleased with the outcome and the document that you circulated.  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the followi ng:  
The European Union appreciates all of your efforts to improve the transparency of TFAF and 
we would like to thank you for the circulated document.  
The Chair  indicated the following :  
From what I have heard based on my consultations last week during the informal meeting , 
in many of the interventions during the meeting , and a follow -up meeting with the delegate of 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines and TFAF, there are no objections to the framew ork as it was drafted  
and circulated  in document G/TFA/W /77. G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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The Committee adopt ed the framework as circulated in document G/TFA/W/77 .3 
This conclude d agenda item 10.  
The delegate of the Russian Federation  took the floor to make a statement as follows:  
It is a shame that Ukraine continues to misuse the WTO bodies as a stage for their deceitful, 
political propaganda. The Kyiv regime has no limits in cynicism , inventing and staging fake news 
about military crimes of the Russian army just to cover the deeds  of their own outlaws to whom they 
are callously handing out firearms. That fact that the U nited Kingdom  today blocked the Security 
Council meeting as requested by the Russian Federation  to discuss these provocative actions by Kyiv 
demonstrates that Ukrainian crimes are fully blessed by their western supporters. We hope that the 
independent investigation will find out those who are responsible for the events mentioned by 
Ukraine and invit e the WTO Members not to let Ukraine distract them again from the agenda of the 
WTO meetings.  
Also, I would like to stress that Russian military forces are under strict orders to exclusively 
attack military installations while avoiding civilian casualties and damage to civil infrastructure. 
Russian forces do not restrict the freedom of civil navigation and maintain efforts to facilitate the 
movement of foreign vessels from the Ukraine ports.  
11  RECENT AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES  
i. Update by the Trade Faci litation Agreement Facility  (TFAF)  
A representative of TFAF deliver ed an update on the progress of the TFAF since the last 
Committee Meeting in October 2021 as follows:  
The report is divided into four sections  – the grant programme, the website, TFAF activ ities 
and the upcoming external evaluation of the Facility.  
On the grant programme, since the last meeting, we have received three expressions of 
interest (EoI) on behalf of LDC Members and one preliminary request that did not need to be 
circulated. We fou nd a potential implementation partner for the preliminary request, even before we 
needed to circulate an EoI. Of the three EoIs received, one is awaiting sign off from capital and the 
other two have been circulated to donors and development partners. One h as received a partial 
positive response, that two of the five articles covered could potentially be supported. Discussions 
are ongoing and an application for a project proposal grant is being drafted to cover the remaining 
three articles.  
The remaining two  EoIs are ongoing and as an action point, we would ask donors and 
development partners to follow up with their colleagues in capital to explore any potential support 
available.  If none is forthcoming, we will draft applications for TFAF project proposal gr ants. 
One project proposal grant (PPG) is ongoing and soon to be concluded. As always, we will 
circulate the report to potential development partners to seek their support for the needs expressed.  
Two PPGs were concluded since the Committee's October 2021  meeting. We are seeking 
development partners to step forward to assist and have circulated the reports. One applicant has 
requested to start the application process for a TFAF implementation grant. One application has been 
considered for a pro ject implementation grant and was refused by the selection Committee who did 
not agree that the proposed intervention would result in the implementation of the Category  C 
articles identified as needing support. Real -time updates on expressions of interest that identified 
partners and grants awarded can be consulted on our website under the grant tracker tab.  
Turning to the  TFAF website , the updated site was launched in November last year on an 
updated software platform allowing for new tools and providing a  more secure environment. The 
French language pages were migrated successfully in March and the same process for the Spanish 
 
3 The adopted Framework was issued in document G/TFA /3. G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  language pages is under  way to be completed shortly. The new transparency tools that were agreed 
in October – more of which to come  in the next section – are an important part of this update.  
On TFAF activities , since October last year  we have been following the new transparency 
procedures as agreed. Activity requests have been submitted and circulated to those Members who 
have asked to receive them . The request and summary information are added to our online activity 
tracker which is accessible with a username and password.  
There are t wo action points: developing and LDC Members that would like to request a TFAF 
activity should either  contact the team or fill in a request directly. The system is working and unlocks 
our ability to support you.  
All interested Members should request a username and password for the activity tracker. 
Even if you do not intend to consult it frequently, you w ill receive a summary of all requests received 
and can follow the activities of TFAF in real time.   
Following this approach, TFAF has organi zed or participated in two large -scale activities: 
With the Latin American Association for Integration – ALADI – an online regional workshop from 
1-4 February with more than 150 participants from NTF Cs across 17 countries. The objective was to 
strengthen the NTFCs and build upon an earlier workshop in 2019.  
Participants exchanged experiences on trade facilitation post -COVID -19, including on 
monitoring reforms, and explored possible areas of collaboration. The workshop was evaluated very 
positively, and a detailed evaluation report is available on the online activity tracker – an additional 
reason to request access.  
TFAF participated in the UNCTAD Global Forum for National Trade Facilitation Committee s. 
200 global participants took part in this online forum from 1 -4 February  2022. 
An ongoing activity request has been circulated to support an LDC in the context of 
identif ying their definitive dates for Category  C designations. Especially donors and development 
partners are best placed to assist since they have the best understanding of the timeline necessary 
to agree and deliver implementation projects covering these needs . If no bilateral proposals to assist 
are received, TFAF will organi ze an activity and ask such partners to participate and share their 
expertise in order to identify realistic dates.  
On the topic of the upcoming deadline for definitive dates for Category  C, TFAF team 
members also participated in sessions with six LDCs. These sessions were organi zed in follow -up to 
the Chair's letter to LDCs of early February. During these meetings the WTO Secretariat reviewed 
the status of all notifications for the Member and provided templates where necessary. The TFAF 
activity request form, activity tracker, and grant program me were also presented an explained.  
We invite other LDC Members to request a meeting at their convenience – there is still good 
time to disc uss this issue ahead of the upcoming deadline. Two expressions of interest for a TFAF 
grant and an activity request, all described earlier, were outcomes of these meetings – so they are 
delivering concrete results.  
All TFAF activities will be covered in de tail, with evaluation on their impacts in the annual 
report. The 2021 annual report will be presented by the deadline of end -June 2022.  
In conclusion, t he upcoming external evaluation of the TFAF  was mandated in the operational 
guidelines to be organi zed 5 years after entry into force of the TFA. The TFAF team organi zed the 
procurement of the evaluation including with the participation of a Member of this Committee  and a 
representative of the STDF on the technical evaluation Committee . The procurement proce ss was 
concluded successfully a consulting firm has been engaged, and the evaluation was launched this 
week. The Terms of Reference anticipate contact with Members during the evaluation and we will be 
in contact on the practicalities.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
- 46 - 
 
  
The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following :  
The E uropean Union would like to thank TFAF for the update . We appreciate the various 
activities of TFAF and are pleased to hear that work is continuing to support Members in their 
implementation of the agreement. As already mentioned, we are particularly satisfied with the 
enhanced transparency, with a specific sup port to LDCs seem to be the most important and useful 
activity.  
The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  said that Trinidad and Tobago t ook note of the action 
items for developing countries regarding the online activity tracker under transparency procedures.  
The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following :  
The LDC group sincerely appreciates TFAF for their update. We extend appreciation for 
TFAF's continued support in LDCS and for enhancing their capacity in the implementation of the 
Trade Facilitation Agreement . Recently, TFAF held discussions with a view to ensure timely 
notifications of Category  C measures, we also are thankful for this and support all activities and 
thank TFAF for their continued support.  
The Committee  took note of the information and  of the statements made.  
12  OTHER BUSINESS  
The dates of the next  formal meetings in 2022 were confirmed as  29 June to 1 July, and 4 to 
6 October. The fifth anniversary event will take place on 29 June. The Dedicated Session on Technica l 
Assistance and Capacity Building Support will take place on 6 October.  
The Committee  agreed  to invite the  Annex D organizations as well as the Global Alliance on 
Trade Facilitation  to the next meeting of the Committee . 
That conclude d agenda Item 12.  
13  ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON FOR 2022 TO 2023  
The Chair  indicated the following :  
The Rules of Procedure for meetings of the Trade Facilitation Committee  establishes that the 
Committee  on Trade Facilitation shall elect a Chairperson from among the representatives of 
Members. The election shall take place at the first meeting of the year and shall take effect at the 
end of the meeting.  
However, as the Chairperson of the Council for Trad e in Goods is still holding consultations 
with Members on the slate of names to chair the CTG's subsidiary bodies, the nomination of a 
chairperson for this Committee  for the coming year has not yet taken place.   
I therefore propose to proceed as follows: as soon as there is consensus on a slate of names, 
the Secretariat will send an email with the name of the proposed Chairperson for our Committee . If 
no objection is received within the time -frame indicated in the email, the candidate will be deemed 
to hav e been elected by the Committee  by acclamation.  
The Committee  agreed  to proceed accordingly.  
This conclude d Agenda Item 13.  
Before concluding the meeting, the outgoing Chair made the following remarks:  
First, of course, I would like to thank the interpret ers. They always do a great job of making 
sure that we understand what each of us are saying.  G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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As this may be the last chance for me in a formal meeting to speak to you as Chair of this 
Committee , I would like to share a few personal reflections.  
May I fi rst say this, as all other delegates who are here today and who have had the privilege 
of chairing a WTO Committee , it involves a lot of work, the time that you need goes way beyond the 
time spent in the meeting room. Over the last 15 months, I have to adm it that it has been difficult 
to strike that balance between chairing the Committee , on one hand , which involves helping meet 
the goals that Members have set out, and on the other hand my own responsibilities, in other words 
representing Canada i n other committee s and councils at the WTO as well as making a substantive 
contribution to their work . I therefore pay tribute to all of those who come after me, particularly 
those who are from small delegations, who of course have their normal responsibilities, and  which 
are perhaps much broader than mine.  
It is through a love of this organization and the multilateral system and through a willingness  
to work tirelessly to improve it, that any of us will accept such a role. Equally important , and as I 
said at the end of the four-year Review, every result that we achieve as a Committee , every small 
improvement in our ways of working, cannot be done with out the initiative  and responsiveness of 
the Secretariat and I think that this is something that came up during the last informal meeting last 
week, that when you thank the chairperson for some thing, I understand that you are taking in the 
entire Secretari at team as well.  
Secondly, I know that Members are fully understanding the advantages of the TFA and that 
they will do everything they can to fully implement its provisions. During my time as Chair, I have 
seen this and indeed as my time as a delegate. Al so, as you will briefly recall a comment made 
recently by a Member, they said they did not see the new WTO commitments being undertaken and 
concessions towards their trade partners. To the contrary indeed, these commitments were the 
measures in their best interest, and they were taking them in their own interests.  
So I am wondering how best to portray the meaning of the WTO commitments , especially 
to those who do not work in trade policy . While I have read that some describe them as mutually 
agreed constra ints on protectionism, which in some ways rings true for me, I do not believe the TFA 
falls in that category. Rather, I see the provisions of this agreement as representing in part a 
mutually agreed recognition that we often need an outside force to give o ur leaders permission to 
make difficult decisions that may be counter to narrow protectionism's demands, but in the end, our 
citizens, our economies broaden our economic interests.  
There have been several examples of the real, fact -based benefits of the T FA over the course 
of the experience -sharing sessions held in this Committee  since 2017 , most recently yesterday by 
our colleagues from Ghana. The statistics presented and the answers provided to the questions from 
you attest to what I just said. There is often opposition at first to the required changes, and there 
will be difficult challenges along the way. But you all report that there are tangible benefits to be 
had from fulfilling the TFA provisions. I encourage Members to continue to share these storie s with 
us and to support other Members in their efforts as well as we all continue our collective work to 
reach the 100% implementation rate for all Members.  
Lastly, I cannot leave this chair without reflecting on the world around us today. The 
COVID -19 pa ndemic has tested us all, in so many different ways. There are s o many continuing 
challenges, personal and professional .  
We have also all learned the power of virtual tools to keep us to keep moving forward , 
including to bring together delegates who might  never have had the chance to participate in a 
Geneva meeting. "Our need will be the real creator"  – Plato, a long, long time ago. The WTO 
committees and its councils are richer for the access that has been accelerated by the pandemic. 
The benefits of the response to that need should also be a regular spark for our TFA implementation 
efforts.  
There is also another quote from another theorist that has recently, silently entered my 
thoughts. "There are decades when nothing happens, and then there are weeks w hen decades 
happen". The impact of the tragic and incomprehensible events of the last few weeks, will continue 
to play out for even more decades to come. You may have heard a lot recently that the GATT was 
founded on the belief that economic interdependenc y would encourage partnership and reduce the G/TFA/M/ 21 
 
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  risk of conflict. Indeed, the certainty it brought to the commercial relations between contracting 
parties and Members have largely done that until now. The recent events are also a reminder that 
even assumed  norms must never be taken for granted. The multilateral system is as fragile as I 
have ever known it and it requires constant attention. I assure you that I will continue my efforts to 
support it and will prove it in the years to come. Let me close by sta ting that which  we all may wish 
was not but do recognize is true  – there is an end to everything, good things as well.  
I greatly appreciate the confidence you first instilled in me to carry out these duties, and I 
also thank you for your cooperation, willingness to participate in the work of the Committee  and 
your flexibility to build bridges over our divides. Your efforts  continue to make this Committee , and 
I do not hesitate when I say this, the most productive, the most purposeful and the most impactful 
of the WTO today. Thank you and see you all soon.  
The meeting was adjourned . 
__________