G/TFA/W/46 /Rev.2  
 
3 November  2021 
(21-8332) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade Facilitation  Original: English  
 
 
PROPOSAL TO FOLLOW UP ACTUAL STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO 
AGREEMENT ON TRADE FACILITATION AS PART OF ITS FOUR -YEAR REVIEW  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION AND JAPAN  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 2 November  2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation s of the European Union and Japan . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is expected to reduce trade costs in terms o f 
either money or time for border procedures. According to the 2015 World Trade Report, developing 
countries where trade costs remained relatively high were considered to best benefit from swift and 
full implementation of the TFA. In this regard, we h ave actively provided technical assistance 
especially on customs matters for developing and least developed country Members to help them to 
gain such benefits. The information on our assistance and support for capacity building conducted 
in 2019 can be found in  the relevant notification s (G/TFA/N/ EU/2/Add.2 and G/TFA/N/JPN/6).  
1.2.  We believe that this year's Review of the TFA is providing a good opportunity to further facilitate 
its implementation. In regard to the progress towards full implementation of th e TFA to date, we 
appreciate  the efforts made by Members to notify the WTO Committee on  Trade Facilitation of 
categories and indicative/definitive dates regarding provisions in Sect ion I of the TFA.  We welcome  
the fact that the factual report prepared by the WTO Secretariat (G/TFA/W/41) indicates that most 
Members submitted their notificatio ns by the respective deadlines, most of which fall within the 
period of four years after entry into force of the TFA.  
1.3.  Based on the notified definitive dates, many Members now seem to be at the stage of 
implementation of the provisions in Secti on I. Thus, we consider  it of great importance to establish 
a mechanism to follow -up on how the provisions are actually implemented by Members so that the 
Committee can properly address any problems that may arise during the implementation of the TFA. 
We hope that the following proposal could contribute to the discussion on follow -up methods.  
2  PROPOSAL  
2.1.  We would like to propose the following two ideas for consideration in the Committee during the 
Review.  
2.2.  First, in order to provide support for Members to better manage their impl ementation plans, 
we propose  that the Committee review the effectiveness of the list of definitive dates prepared by 
the WTO secretariat (G/TFA/INF/1) on a regular basis. The list aims to remind Members of their own 
definitive dates for ca tegory B and C so that those Members who face difficulties in implementing 
category B or C provisions can take appropriate actions as stipulated in Articles 17, 18 and 19 of the 
TFA. It is expected that the Committee could improve the list and the methods for circulating the 
list by reflecting feedback from Members in order for the list to further contribute  to this purpose. G/TFA/W/46  
 
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  We believe  this would promote better self -management by Members of their own implementation 
status  and allow adequate monitoring by th e TFC . 
2.3.  Second, we propose that the Committee recommend  the following practice for Members who se 
implemen tation dates have passed for their  category B or C provisions. That is, on a voluntary basis  
and for informational purposes only , to: (i) confirm the passing of implementation dates in any form 
or reporting (orally or in writing); and /or (ii) share their implementation experiences with the 
Committee while explicitly mentioning the provision they have implemented. Category B and 
Category C provisions  shall be implemented on the definitive dates as notified by Members  as per 
Article 16.5 of the Agreement . The Committee could  encourage those Members who have 
implemented category B provisions in particular to take the actions above.  It should be noted th at 
this proposal never intends to modify the Members’ obligations under the TFA.  
2.4.  In order to make these two proposals above effective and practical, we propose  to set a new 
standing agenda item “Status of Definitive Date Implementation” after the existing agenda item 
“Status of Notifications and Ratifications”. Under the new standing agenda  item, Members can review 
the effectiveness of the list of definitive dates based on the report by the Secretariat and voluntary 
interventions by Members, if any, highlig hting implementation of provisions.  
2.5.  We expect  that these can be effective ways to enhance transparency and contribute to better 
follow -up on the implementation status of the TFA.  
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