WT/GC/W/836  
 
12 November 2021  
(21-8574) Page: 1/2 
General Council  Original: English  
 
PROPOSED MINISTERIAL DEC ISION  ON STRENGTHENING RESILIENCY AND 
PREPAREDNESS THROUGH TRADE FACILITATION  
COMMUNICATION FROM COSTA RICA, JAPAN, MEXICO, NORWAY, PANAMA,  URUGUAY , 
AND THE UNITED STATES  
The following communication, dated 11 November 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of Costa Rica , Japan , Mexico , Norway , Panama , Uruguay , and the United States . 
 
_______________  
STRENGTHENING RESILIENCY AND PREPAREDNESS THROUGH TRAD E FACILITATION  
MINISTERIAL DECISION OF XX DECEMBER 2021  
The Ministerial Conference , 
 
Having regard to paragraph  1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization;  
 
Taking note  of the progress made to date in implementing  the provisions of the Agreement on Trade 
Facilitation, particularly the importance of establishing a National Trade Facilitation Committee as 
set out in Article 23.2 of the Agreement ; 
 
Acknowledging  that full and robust implementation of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation is a 
meaningful contribution to supporting the timely and efficient release of goods, particularly those 
goods essential to responding to the COVID -19 pandemic;   
 
Recognizing  that ongoing  implementation of the TFA is already resulting in greater  customs 
efficiency, more effective revenue collection, and better access for Micro, Small, and  Medium 
Enterprises (MSME) to new export opportunities , which can speed recovery and aid in resiliency for 
MSMEs . 
 
Recognizing  the important role that the Committee on Trade Facilitation plays in supporting 
multilateral cooperation and coordination efforts to mitigate the trade related impacts of the 
COVID -19 pandemic by improving trade facilitat ion; 
 
Desiring  to ensure that the lessons learned during the COVID -19 pandemic from those trade 
facilitative measures will be broadly shared with all WTO Members in order to strengthen resiliency 
among Members and support greater preparedness for future re gional or global crises;    
 
Seeking  to acknowledge and further encourage the ambitious implementation undertaken by Least 
Developed Countries;  
 
Calling  upon donor countries and Annex D partners to increase support and assistance , as 
appropriate,  in deepe ning the robust implementation of the Agreement ;   
 
Decides  as follows:  
 WT/GC/W/836  
 
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  1. We will deepen the robust implementation of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, and in 
particular focusing immediate attention on those provisions which may have the greatest 
impact on facilitating the movement of essential goods that comply with customs and other 
related laws and regulations  to those that need them.  
 
2. We have identified the following articles as particularly relevant to the expeditious movement 
of compliant essential  goods: Article 1: Publication; Article 7.1: Pre -Arrival Processing; 
Article  7.3: Separation of Release from Final Determination of Customs Duties, Taxes, Fees 
and Charges; Article 7.8: Expedited Shipments; Article 8: Border Agency Cooperation; 
Article  10.1: Formalities and Documentation Requirements; and Article 10.4: Single Window.  
 
3. We instruct the Committee on Trade Facilitation to initiate a focused  discussion to assist 
Members in organizing work related to supporting the deep and robust implementation of the 
Agreement on Trade Facilitation and to consider what further disciplines and flexibilities might 
contribute to building resiliency and ensuring preparedness for future crises.  
 
4. We encourage Members to engage in the focused discussion to share infor mation, experiences 
and lessons learned from the trade facilitative measures relevant to their individual or regional 
COVID -19 pandemic responses, ongoing implementation experiences and challenges, and 
ongoing collaboration with development assistance part ners, so as to lead to 
recommendations on best practices for Committee approval.  
 
5. We encourage the Committee on Trade Facilitation to increase its engagement with National 
Trade Facilitation Committees and to promote an exchange of experiences that will c ontribute 
to efforts to strengthen and institutionalize domestic coordination among all border agencies 
and stakeholders.  
 
6. We encourage all Members, with input from relevant stakeholders , to identify and discuss 
emerging issues that will aid border agenci es in responding to and weathering future crisis -
related stress, including eliminating requirements and formalities that serve no legitimate 
trade enforcement purpose and hinder efficient and automated border processing for imports, 
exports, and goods in t ransit.   Topics should include, but not be limited to: perishable good s; 
vaccines; e xploring humanitarian exemptions in customs ; provisions on temporary admission 
and treatment of containers ; expand ed collaboration with international donors;  and 
accelerating adoption of digitized certificates  and documents such as ePhyto.   
 
7. We instruct the Chair of the Committee on Trade Facilitation to provide an update on the 
progress of this work to the General Council at its final meeting in 2022.  
 
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