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G/TFA/W/ 96 
 
27 September 2023  
(23-6419) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Trade Facilitation   
 
DRAFT  
KEY PRINCIPLES OF SHARED PRACTICE OF SUCCESSFUL NATIONAL TRADE 
FACILITATION COMMITTEES ( NTFCS ) 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  In accordance with Article 23.2  of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), " each Member shall 
establish and/or maintain a national committee on trade facilitation or designate an existing 
mechanism to facilitate both domestic coordination and implementation of the provisions of this 
Agreement ". 
1.2.  As of the Trade Facilitation Committee (TF Committee) meeting of 2-3 May 2018, experience 
sharing by Members regarding the implementation of the TFA became a standing item on the agenda 
of Committee meetings. Since then, Members and international organizations have  submitted over 
25 presentations and papers on NTFCs.  
1.3.  In an e ffort to maximize the value of the information shared, t he Committee decided as part 
of its four-year review of the TFA in 2021 to draft a document that contains good practices and 
building blocks of successful NTFCs and  identifies a minimum of three concr ete elements that all 
Members agree are essential for implementing a successful NTFC: full government agency 
participation, clear leadership with political imperatives, and strong links to the private sector . 
1.4.  The experiences  contained in the presentations and papers are specific to each NTFC , and cover 
the establishment, structure, priorities, functioning and needs of specific NTFCs . At the same time, 
taking into account the concrete elements highlighted and the information shared by Me mbers, 
allowed the Committee to identify a number of key cross -cutting principles .  
2  PRINCIPLES OF  SUCCESSFUL NTFCS  
2.1  The establishment of a robust institutional framework  and securing high -level 
political support for the NCTF  
2.1.  Establishing a robust instituti onal framework that clearly defines the responsibilities, roles, and 
coordination mechanisms of the NTFC is essential. This includes ensuring representation from 
relevant government agencies, private sector representatives, and further contributors. In mos t of 
the experience shared with the Committee, successful NTFCs had clear structures established at 
high political levels , for example, created by Presidential Proclamations, legislative actions, or 
government orders . The importance of the NTFC being led b y a high -level official in an effort to 
impart  authority to the NFTC's decision -making processes  was emphasized in a number of 
presentations.  
2.2  Wide participation and representation by border authorities and other government 
ministries  
2.2.  In addition to the hig h-level political support, government representation is key for the 
operation of NTFCs . Institutional cooperation, regulation and participation serve as important factors 
to coordinat e the committee . Through Members' experience -sharing, it could be seen that some 
NTFCs identify the agencies and organizations required to participate in the committee structure, 
while others use pre -existing mechanisms. Some NTFCs are led by the department of commerce or 
the ministry of trade, while others are led by customs administrations. Some NTFCs include port 
infrastructure authorities, customs brokers, and supply chain and logistics sector personnel. G/TFA/W/96  
 
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Regardless of the particular leadership structure, most successful  NTFCs incorporate participation 
from a wide range of authorities with regulatory authority for goods crossing the border. Such 
wide-ranging participation, especially of border authorities, contributes to clear NTFC 
priority -setting, better border agency c oordination, and better outcomes.   
2.3  Private sector participation  
2.3.  All Members , in their presentations, emphasized the importance of the participation and role 
of the private sector in the creation and functioning of the NTFC. The experience -sharing showed 
that effective NTFCs are dynamic and responsive to both private -sector and public -sector needs and 
interests. For some Members, the private sector is part of the NTFC itself; for other Members, 
private -sector individuals have the role of vice-chair of the N TFC; other NTFCs have private -sector 
advisories or advisory boards; and some  Members  provide public notice about NTFC meetings and 
seek public comments. From the experiences shared,  private -sector involvement is key to NTFC 
success. Available data shows th at currently, [number ] of NTFCs (percentage) have private sector 
representatives with voice and/or vote.  
2.4.  Based on the experiences shared, the encouragement of  active involvement and meaningful 
participation of all members of NTFC s, including private sector businesses, industry associations and 
organizations is key. Regular engagement will foster collaborative decision -making and 
implementation of trade facilita tion measures among sectors. The perspectives and needs of private 
sector business the promote a valuable and dynamic approach to the country 's development of its 
NTFC agenda  topics.   
2.4  Communication flow  
2.5.  Arising from experiences shared, e nsuring effective communication and outreach strategies to 
disseminate information on trade facilitation policies, procedures, initiatives, and transparency is a 
critical aspect of the functioning of an NTFC. This includes leveraging various communication 
channels, such as local committee organizations, informative documents, websites, and workshops 
among others. Bi-directional information sharing between government officials and the private 
sector  is critical to the functioning of an NTFC. Communication an d prioritization of goals, needs, 
and experiences provide a forum for creating solutions and plans of action. The flow of information 
also needs to move  up and down among the NTFC participants. This communication flow allows 
decision -making to follow a pre dictable path; decisions to be effectively delegated; and issues to be 
effectively elevated for resolution.  
2.6.  Additionally, the implementation of an up -to-date agenda, as well as the circulation of an 
annotated agenda beforehand  is important, so that members  of the NTFC  are informed of the 
matters to be discussed in the meeting . These practices can enable the committee to act proactively, 
in an organized manner , allowing space to treat urgent matters  when  presented. An up -to-date 
agenda also supports the over all organization of the NTFC's work in order to complete its agenda . 
Additionally, t he frequency of meetings should reflect the urgency of current and upcoming work 
and avoid creating unnecessary bureaucracy  by calling meetings during lulls in the work of the NTFC.  
2.5  Clear goals and priorities   
2.7.  Many Members shared that NTFCs actually fulfil a number of different roles and ha ve multiple 
functions. Some Members use their NTFC to monitor and ensure consistency in positions and 
priorities on cross -cutting issues and projects, such as supporting bilateral, regional, plurilateral, 
and multilateral forums. Some Members use the NTFC as the basis to set up working groups to 
gather information and expertise throughout the border areas and supply chain. Others use the 
NTFC to ensure domestic coordination and implementation of trade facilitation initiatives from 
legislation to implementation, including the automation of documents and processes. Whatever the 
mandate of the NTFC, based on the experience shared, an NTFC works  better when its scope and 
objectives are clear.  
2.6  Capacity building and training programmes for NTFC Members and Secretariats  
2.8.  The pr ioritizing of capacity -building efforts to enhance the expected objectives, skills,  and 
knowledge of NTFC members and relevant government officials supports the efficient operation of G/TFA/W/96  
 
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the NTFC. To assist in achieving these aims, it is important that the NTFC Chairs and Secretariats 
have the necessary support and tools available to them , including periodic effective training 
programmes for NTFC members, given the rotation of personnel in the different public institutions . 
Technical assistance and knowledge -sharing platfor ms to strengthen their understanding of trade 
facilitation concepts and best practices  are also required .  
2.7  Performance measurement and monitoring  
2.9.  The experience sharing highlighted that some Members have a mechanism and methodology 
to track and monitor the  progress of NTFC decision -making, the implementation status of NTFC 
decisions, and the effectiveness of those decisions. The resulting over-arching principle regarding 
performance measurement and monitoring is  that setting out clear lines of responsibilit y and 
identifying a lead for the implementation of decisions can be very effective in helping to coordinate 
NTFC members, maintain motivation, and encourage feedback to the NTFC as a whole. Such 
feedback is necessary to be able to quantify the results of N TFC decisions and report to the wider 
public on NTFC accomplishments.  
2.10.  As a result, e stablishing a robust framework for measuring and monitoring the performance 
of trade facilitation initiatives is highly important  with such a framework including (i) settin g relevant 
indicators ; (ii) collecting data ; (iii) regularly assessing progress to identify areas for improvement , 
and (iv) measure the impact of implemented measures. The implementation of an NTFC  agenda with 
identified priority topics is a key element in  this approach.   
3  ENCOURAGEMENT OF C OOPERATION AND COLLABORATION  
3.1.  The encouragement of c ooperation and collaboration among NTFCs at the regional and 
international levels, includ ing sharing experiences, best practices, and lessons learned would support  
the foster ing of mutual learning and ensur ing coherence in trade facilitation efforts.  
4  CONCLUSION  
4.1.  NTFC practices and function should be dynamic and responsive to both the public -sector  and 
private -sector. The NTFC should be seen as a place for collaboration and coordination leading to 
decision -making that results in concrete results. There should be clear structure, hierarchy, and an 
understanding of roles and responsibilities. Informat ion should be shared in all directions and 
decision -making supported and delegated as appropriate. There should be accountability, 
monitoring, and evaluations of decisions, as they are implemented and afterwards. The NTFC can 
fulfil a number of requirement s and roles and should be viewed and used as a multi -faceted tool for 
Members.  
4.2.  Reflecting on inputs provided by Members on this topic either by presentations, papers, 
interventions and specific comments, this  document  identifies the following key principle s as shared 
practices  of successful NTFCs : 
1. High-level political support for the NTFC, with a clear committee structure . 
2. Wide participation and representation by border authorities and other government 
ministries . 
3. Private -sector participation . 
4. Communication  flow. 
5. Clear goals and priorities . 
6. Capacity building and training programmes for NTFC Members and Secretariats . 
7. Performance measurement and monitoring . 
 
4.3.  Embracing the se principles will contribute to streamlining trade procedures, reducing costs, 
enhancing transparency, and fostering economic growth both domestically and globally. Actively 
implementing them and collaborating with other nations to share experiences will co ntribute to the 
continuous improvement of trade facilitation practices  worldwide.  
4.4.  This document which contains identified good practices and building blocks that could be of 
benefit to Members  is a non -binding , consensual and iterative document. It may evo lve based on G/TFA/W/96  
 
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continuous experience -sharing on NTFCs by Members, including  least-developed countries, as well 
as on  the discussions in the TF Committee and Member 's suggestions and inputs.   
4.5.  The document [should ][will]  be reviewed again during the next Commi ttee review of the TFA  
which  would ensure that the document  evolves alongside the experiences and reflections of the 
membership of the TF Committee.  
4.6.  Accordingly, t he Committee [adopts][endorses][takes note of] the key principles  numer ated in 
paragraph 4.2 of shared practice of successful NTFCs.  
 
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