RESTRICTED  
  
G/TFA/M/27  
 
18 December  2023 
(23-8650) Page: 1/128 
Committee on Trade Facilitation   
 
  
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  
3-5 OCTOBER  2023  
CHAIRPERSON: MR . CARLOS GUEVARA  (ECUADOR ) 
Contents  
 
1   MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT (TFA)  ................................ ................................ ........  2 
1.1   Notifications from Members  ................................ ................................ .........................  3 
A. Notifications under Article 16  of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................ .... 3 
B. Notifications under Article 17 of the Trade Facilitati on Agreement  ................................ .... 6 
C. Notifications under Article 19 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................ ... 10 
D. Notifications under Article 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2.2 of the Trade Facilitation  
Agreement  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  11 
E. Notifications under Article 22 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................ ... 13 
1.2   Status of Ratification and Notification Process  ................................ ...............................  16 
1.3   Voluntary Update by Members of Status of Definitive Date Implementation  
(G/TFA/2 , para . 9.2(vi))  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 17 
2   EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  ................................ .....................  17 
2.1   "Progress made by Peru's National Trade Facilitation Committee" – Presentation by Peru  .... 17 
2.2   "Trade Facilitation in Jordan – Increasing Transparency & Predictability for the Private  
Sector " – Presentation by Jordan  ................................ ................................ .......................  17 
2.3   "Trade Facilitation - The Digital Transformation" - Presentation by India  ...........................  18 
2.4   "Trade -Facilitating Agricultural Systems and Technology T -FAST" – Presentation  
by Paraguay  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  18 
2.5   "A Single Window Solution and the New Air Cargo Control" – Presentation by Brazil  ...........  18 
2.6   Regularizing the Committee's Experience Sharing/Thematic Discussions – Update by the 
Chair (JOB/TF/238)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  18 
3   PROMOTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
THROUGH DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES 
G/TFA/W/90/REV.1 – PRESENTATION BY CHINA  ................................ .........................  18 
4   THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN BUILDING RESILIENCE: TRADE 
FACILITATION – COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN GROUP (G/TFA/W/92)  ..........  24 
5   DOCUMENT CONTAINING  GOOD PRACTICES AND BUILDING BLOCKS OF  
SUCCESSFUL NTFCS (G/TFA/2, PARA 9.3(V); (G/TFA/W/96/REV.1)  ............................  31 
6   FACILITATING HUMANITARIAN RELIEF IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS – 
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, HONDURAS, THE SEPARATE 
CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN,  PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU, TÜRKIYE AND  
THE UNITED STATES (G/TFA/W/94/REV.1)  ................................ ................................ .. 35 G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  7   ENHANCING THE ROLE OF THE WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT IN 
PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY – COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES 
(G/TFA/W/95/REV.1)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 41 
8   INDONESIA'S CUSTOMS PROCEDURES FOR INTANGIBLE PRODUCTS - REQUEST  
BY THE UNITED STATES ( G/TFA/Q/IDN/1); (G/TFA/Q/IDN/2)  ................................ .... 46 
9   MC12 IMPLEMENTATION  MATTERS  ................................ ................................ ...........  49 
10   TRADE RELATED  MEASURES TAKEN BY INDIA IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID -19 
PANDEMIC AND PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS (JOB/TF /236) – 
COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA ................................ ................................ ......................  52 
11   THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT FACILITY – ITEMS RELATE D TO THE 
FRAMEWORK (G/TFA/3)  ................................ ................................ ................................  54 
12   DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT (2023) OF THE TRADE FACILITATION COMMITT EE TO  
THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS (G/TFA/W/93)  ................................ ....................  58 
13   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 58 
14   DEDICATED SESSION ON ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  ..........................  59 
14.1   Review of progress in the provision of assistance and support for capacity building to 
support implementation, including the top five provisions in category C, identified by notified 
definitive dates, to be implemented in the two-year period 2024 to 2025  ................................ . 59 
14.2   Sharing of experiences and information on ongoing assistance and support for capacity 
building and implementation programmes, including challenges and successes  .........................  82 
14.3   Report by International and Regional Organizations and other agencies supporting  
the implementation of the TFA on the activities that they have delivered in the period  
October 2022 to October  2023 (G/TFA/TFAF/W/2)  ................................ ..............................  102 
14.4   Draft Workplan of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility for 2024  
(G/TFA/3,  Para. 7); (G/TFA/TFAF/ W/3) ................................ ................................ .............  102 
14.5   Conclusion  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  103 
ANNEX 1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  104  
ANNEX 2  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  118  
 
1  MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRADE 
FACILITATION AGREEMENT (TFA)  
1.1.  The Chair welcomed delegations, giving a special welcome to capital -based officials who were 
attending the meeting.  
1.2.  The agenda for the meeting had been circulated in document  WTO/AIR/TFA/2 7/Rev. 2.  
1.3.  The Committee agreed  to hold Item 2 (Experience sharing/ thematic  discussions ) of the agenda 
in informal mode, to allow for frank and interactive exchanges. The Committee also agreed  that 
observers to the meeting could remain throughout this agenda item . 
1.4.  The Chair added three points  under the agenda item Other Business : (i) t he dates for the 
Committee's meeting s in 2024 ; (ii) an update on the Chair's participation in several events ; (iii) an 
invitation to the Annex D partners and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to the next 
Committee meeting.  
1.5.  The agenda was adopted  with the proposed changes.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.1  Notifications from Members  
A. Notifications under Article 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
1.6.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the first group of notifications, namely those under 
Article 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA, the Agreement). Since the last meeting of the 
Committee, eight notifications had be en circulated under this article.  
1.7.  The first notification was from Guatemala , circulated  in document G/TFA/N/ GTM/5. 
1.8.  The delegate of Guatemala  indicated the following:  
1.9.  For Article 1.1.1, Guatemala thanks the United States Department of Commerce, under the 
Trade Law Development Programme, which provided training and subsequently, base d on the 
experience acquired, a mapping of available trade information was prepared in compliance with the 
publication of information.  
1.10.  Regarding Article 1.2.1, Guatemala thanks the European Union, which through the Support 
Programme for the Improvement of Competitiveness and Trade Capacity of MSMEs and 
Cooperatives, supported the design and development of the IT platform and the Internet portal 
corresponding to Guatemala's single information service on foreign trade.  
1.11.  Regarding Article 7.6.1 on the establish ment and publication of average release times, 
Guatemala is grateful for the technical assistance of the World Customs Organi zation (WCO), which, 
together with our Superintendency of Tax Administration, carried out the first Study on Release 
Times (ETD) in  Guatemala, with the participation of numerous public and private entities integrated 
in the Public -Private Dialogue and Cooperation Roundtable on customs issues. The study resulted in 
the development of a national action plan to reduce clearance times for  final imports, with specific 
actions such as: implementation of the advance declaration of goods, expansion of infrastructure 
and standardi zation of schedules, among others. This study can be consulted at the following link: 
https://portal.sat.gob.gt/portal/estudio -de-tiempos -de-despacho/ . 
1.12.  With reference to Articles 10.1.1(a) and 10.1.1(b) , Guatemala has made progress in 
complying with the f ormalities and documentation requirements, through which the Law for the 
Simplification of Administrative Requirements and Procedures was approved, Decree 5 -2021 of the 
Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, which establishes the parameters for the simplif ication and 
reduction of foreign trade formalities. In this case, Guatemala reiterates its request for support in 
mapping the documentation requirements for import, export and transit, and the likely alternatives 
for reduction.  
1.13.  Particularly for Articles 10 .4.1 and 10.4.2 regarding the implementation of the Single Window, 
Guatemala would like to acknowledge the assistance received from the United  States Agency for 
International Development during the preliminary stage. A consultancy is currently underway, wi th 
the assistance of United  States Agency for International Development (USAID) , to determine the 
technological gaps in government agencies that issue import authori zations and that prevent them 
from issuing such authori zations electronically. This mapping  is the preliminary phase for the 
development of subsequent activities, for which there are no resources or capacity to carry them 
out.  
1.14.  In this sense, direct support is needed, specifically in support for the standardi zation of the 
IT developments of the agencies involved in foreign trade, such as online management, online 
payment, electronic signature, and support for the interoperability of information: development of a 
platform that allows the interoperability of information, online management and connection with the 
computer system of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT).  
1.15.  Finally, we reiterate the request for support for Article 12, customs cooperation, in which we 
seek to develop a computer system that allows for the elec tronic management of requests for 
information from other Members.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.16.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.17.  We would like to thank Guatemala for providing additional information on its technical 
assistance and capacity building needs and we look forward to continuing to work with Guatemala 
on TFA  implementation  through US AID and the US Department of Commerce  – Commercial Law 
Development programmes . We take note of progress made on development of the national single 
window and publicati on of trade -related information  as well as the areas where donors have not 
been identified .  
1.18.  The delegate of Congo , on behalf of the ACP Group , indicated the following:  
1.19.  We note the number of notifications which have been put forward by ACP members at this  
meeting  and we believe it shows how important the TFA  is for the ACP members . We  would call on 
all Members to show flexibility and to support the requests for those who have asked for an extension 
for implementation of the Agreement.  
1.20.  The next notification was from Guinea , circulated in document G/TFA/N/ GIN/1/Add.2 .  
1.21.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.22.  We thank Guinea for its efforts to fully implement the agreement by 31 December 2025, 
noting the eight measures Guinea shifted from category C to category B.  
1.23.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the foll owing:  
1.24.  We appreciate that Guinea has notified the  definitive implementation dates of category C  
provisions  within the notifying deadline. We hope that implementation efforts will continue and that 
implementation can be completed early.  
1.25.  The Committee took up the notification s from Maldives , circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/ MDV/3/Add.2 , G/TFA/N/ MDV/3/Add.3 , and G/TFA/N/ MDV/4/Rev.1 .  
1.26.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.27.  We would  like to congratulate the Maldives for the early implementation of nine TFA measures 
and its efforts to fully implement the Agreement by 31 December 2025.  
1.28.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.29.  We welcome  the fact that the Maldives has completed t he implementation of the provisions 
designated for category B and category C ahead of schedule and has notified it within an amendment 
to the previously notified implementation  definitive date . The notification of the updated definitive 
implementation date  will contribute to improving the transparency of the implementation status, 
and we would like to encourage other Members to do the same.  
1.30.  The following notification was from Myanmar , circulated  in document G/TFA/N /MMR/1/Add.4 .  
1.31.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.32.  We would like t o congratulate Myanmar on its early implementation of Article 10.8 on rejected 
goods and encouraged continued progress on full TFA implementati on. 
1.33.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:   
1.34.  We welcome the fact that Myanmar has completed the implementation of the provisions 
designated for category B ahead of schedule.  
1.35.  The next notification was from Nepal , circulated in document G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.4  and 
G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.4/Corr.1 .  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.36.  The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
1.37.  The Government of Nepal, as a part of the fulfilment of the obligations under the WTO TFA, 
has made the notification on definitive dates of category C measures in document 
G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.4 . Also, the Government of Nepal shifted two measu res from category C to B 
through the same notification and currently there are only 13 measures under category C. In this 
notification, the Government of Nepal has identified the area of technical assistance and capacity 
building requirements. My delegatio n takes this opportunity to request development partners for 
their support for the timely implementation of measures identified under category C.  
1.38.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.39.  Thank you  to Nepal for notifying its category C definitive implementation dates.  
1.40.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.41.  We also appreciate that Nepal has made the notification of definitive date s within the notifying  
deadline .  
1.42.  The next notification was from Tunisia  in document G/TFA/N/TUN/1/Add.1 .  
1.43.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.44.  We would like to thank Tunisia for providing an update on its technical assistance and capacity 
building needs, taking note of the areas where no donor is ident ified. 
1.45.  The delegate of Tunisia  indicated the following:  
1.46.  Tunisia  has been committed for a very long time to its reform process in relation to 
implementation of the TFA. For example, we have promoted the new Customs Code 2008 and the 
dematerialization of practically all foreign trade procedures  through the  TradeNet ( TTN) platform . 
We have also adopt ed Customs  modernization process , which focuses  in particular,  on combat ting 
informal trade and reducing  risks. Following the adoption of the  TFA, Tunisia committed to 
two regulatory reforms in favour of an effective implementation of trade facilitation measures . 
Tunisia was one  of the first countries that notified measure s under  category A in September 2014 
and at a national level, we ratified the TFA in 20 17 and submitted our instrument acceptance in 
2020.  
1.47.  In December 2019 , Tunisia submitted a notification  under Article 10.6 .2 in relation to its 
Custom Code and in 2013, we submitted the transparency notification under Article 1.4. I n relation  
to technical assistance and capacity building support , Tunisia's  rate of implementation of the TFA is 
59.7%, (WTO TFA database). Tunisia  is trying to achieve 100% implementation of the Agreement  
with the aid of donors . Following the approval of the National Trade Facilitation Committee  (NTFC) , 
in 2023 Tunisia notified its technical assistance needs for implementation of its category C provisions .  
1.48.  Six technical subcommittee s were established to assist the NTFC in carrying  out its mission 
and with the preparation of projects for submission  to donors : a subcommittee on Customs ; a 
subcommittee on transport  and logistics ; a subcommittee on the single window  and 
dematerialization  of foreign trade procedures ; a subcommittee  on question s related to the control 
of products ; a subcommittee on f acilitation of procedures and transparency ; and finally, a 
subcommittee for compliance of national regulations with the provisions of the TFA.  
1.49.  Our technical assistance priorities comprise  establishing  connectivity between transport 
infrastructure points through  the building or moderni zation of transport infrastructure s such as  ports, 
airports and roads;  information technology and communication technology  to finance the acquisition 
of a TIC system , the upgrading  of the existing single window which has not dematerialized at 100 %; 
putting in place of a system of trade information and training for officers and public servants .  
1.50.  To guarantee the rapid clearance of goods, Tunisia  seeks support for the implementation of a 
risk management system and a suitable system for authorized economic operators . We would like 
to thank those donors who have indicated their commitment to helping Tunisia to strengthen its G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  implementation capacity . Firstly , the European Commission , which is in the process of financing  the 
implementation of Article 3, advance rulings . We would  also like to thank COMESA  Secretariat for 
its support of a regional approach to the implementation of the T FA as expressed in the regional 
consultative meeting held on the 27  to 29 September 20 23, on the examination of regional  methods 
for the  joint mobilization of resources for implementation of category C  provisions .  
1.51.  Trade facilitation is a 100%  essential component of Tunisia's na tional strategy which is aimed 
at providing predictability and accelerating operations linked to foreign trade and the reduction of  
costs. This approach will strengthen the competitiveness of  Tunisia's  exports in global markets . 
Tunisia is committed to imp roving its performance indicators by reducing the delays and costs 
associated with  trade, and this will contribute to attracting investment , stimulate economic growth , 
and create jobs . With this  in mind , we would like to invite the donors, and development partners, 
whether they be international organi zations or developed countries, to provide their support to 
Tunisia to fully implement the TFA .  
1.52.  The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
1.53.  The European Union welcomes the notifications submitted  by Guatemala, Guinea, the 
Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Tunisia on progress in the provision of technical assistance and 
capacity building support. We particularly appreciate the additional information that was provided 
by Guatemala and Tunisia.  
1.54.  The Committee took note of the notifications and of the statements  made .  
B. Notifications under Article 17 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
1.55.  The Chair drew the Committee's attention to notifications under Article 17 of the TFA which 
cover the Early Warning  Mechanism and the extension of implementation dates for provisions in 
categories B and C. There were ten  notification s under this item.  
1.56.  The first notification was from Cabo Verde , circulated  in document G/TFA/N/ CPV/1/Add.1 . 
1.57.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the following:  
1.58.  We would like to thank Cabo Verde for its timely notification and we support an 18 -month 
extension provided for under Article 17.2. If Cabo Ver de finds it cannot complete its implementation 
work within the time frame of the automatic  extension , we welcome a second extension request in 
the timely manner with updated implementation progress information.  
1.59.  The delegate of Cabo Verde  indicated the follow ing:  
1.60.  My delegation would like to inform the Committee that the extensions requested in the context 
of the implementation of the provisions contained in Articles 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12 of the TFA 
derive mai nly from technical, legislative and institution al reasons . Measures required to create the 
conditions for trade facilitation and compliance with the above provisions include the revision of the 
Customs Code and a system of economic operators and a project for a single window for foreign  
trade.  
1.61.  The Com merce trade portal is under development  and this is the focal point of the future 
single window  platform. In addition to these challenges, the country needs to prepare the process 
of requesting assistance with regard to A rticle 10 .4 so that its implementat ion complies with 
international good practi ces. Cabo Verde  remains committed to its obligations regarding  trade 
facilitation.  
1.62.  The next notification was from Costa Rica , circulated in document G/TFA/N/CRI/4 . 
1.63.  The delegate of Costa Rica  indicated the following:  
1.64.  Costa Rica has been , and continues to be,  a Member committed to multilateralism  and 
compliance with  WTO agreements . The TFA  has been of t remendous value  to our country and its 
correct  implementation is a top priority . In the interest of transparency and in line with Article 17, G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  we have notified our request to extend  the implementation dates of Article 10.1 .1 and Article  10.2.2. 
Despite efforts made towards implementation of these measures, there have been several external 
factors impeding the achievement of this go al. We will continue working  to reach full implementation  
of these provisions and reiterate our commitment to compreh ensive  implementation of the T FA. 
1.65.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.66.  We would like to thank Costa Rica for providing an update on implementation of 
Articles  10.1.1 and 10 .2.2. However, we note Costa Rica did not make a timely reque st and therefore 
we do not support the extension request.  
1.67.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.68.  Japan finds it difficult to recogni ze this notification as a notification under  Article 17 because 
it already exceeds the notified definitive date for implementation. But at the same time, we welcome 
the fact that the notification was made  from the perspective of transparency. This notification shows 
that Costa Rica is committed to i mplementation by extending the implementation deadline and Japan 
appreciate s that . We look forward to Costa Rica's continu ing ef forts to implement the provisions.  
1.69.  The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
1.70.  The EU takes note of Costa Rica 's notification, which missed the deadline . The EU  would like 
to encourage Costa Rica to respect these deadlines. That being said, we appreciate the explanation 
provided. It  is also positive that Costa Rica made the notification in the interest of transpar ency, and 
we anticipate that further efforts will be made to implement the Agreement.  
1.71.  The delegate of Canada  indicated the following:  
1.72.  Canada thanks Costa Rica for this notification , noting like others, the delay in submitting the 
notification . Canada enc ourages all Members to notify within the deadlines set out in the Agreement  
in the interest of transparency.  
1.73.  The delegate of Costa Rica  indicated the following:  
1.74.  Costa Rica would like to thank the United States, Japan, the European Union, and Canada for 
your statements . We regret the circumstances surrounding the notification timeframe. Despite this 
setback, we want to reassure all Members that we are actively and expeditiously working towards 
fulfilling our commitments and will promptly notify once all as pects have been successfully 
implemented.  
1.75.  The following notification w as from Cuba, circulated in document G/TFA/N/CUB/1/Add.2 .  
1.76.  The delegate of Cuba indicated the following:  
1.77.  As this is the first time that my delegation has taken the floor , we would like to express our 
support and tell you , Chair,  that we are very pleased to see a representative of this region leading 
this Committee .  
1.78.  As a complement to  the notification dated 3 October 2019, the Government of the Republic 
of Cuba notified with sufficient time, through  the addendum under consideration,  a request for the 
extension of the definitive implementation date of Article 10. 4 on single window  for foreign trade , in 
accordance with Article s 17.1 and 17.2 of the T FA. For the  definitive  implementation, we require 
technical assistance and additional capacity building. To this end , our authorities are involved in 
conversations with donors,  and we  would like to encourage the Committee, to favourably consider  
to this request for additional t ime submitted by our country  as a developing country. The extension 
will not exceed 18 months. We will continue all our efforts to  meet the new deadline of 
end-August  2025, and we maintain our commitment to trade facilitation , this organi zation and 
multila teralism.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.79.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.80.  We would like to thank Cuba for your intervention and for your timely notification. The 
United  States supports this 18 -month extension request.  
1.81.  The next notification was from Ecuador , circulated in document G/TFA/N/ECU/1/Add.6 . 
1.82.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.83.  We would like to thank Ecuador for its timely notification and we support the 18 -month 
extension request.  
1.84.  The delegate of Ecuador  indicated the following:  
1.85.  Thank you to the United States.  Ecuador  would  like to  repeat its commitment to the ful l 
implementation of the TFA.  
1.86.  The next notification was from Guatemala , circulated in document G/TFA/N/GTM/1/Add.3 . 
1.87.  The delegate of Guatemala  indicated the following:  
1.88.  Guatemala has  notified its request within the required  timeframe. I would  like to refer to our 
previous statement regarding the implementation of Article 10.4 and repeat our request  to Members  
for support  to be able to fully implement the single window. We would also like to indicate our 
willingness to have bilateral dialogue s if any delegation requests further infor mation regarding  the 
arrangements and progress made.  
1.89.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the foll owing:  
1.90.  We would like to thank Guatemala for its timely notification and we support the extension 
request.  
1.91.  The following notification w as from Maldives , circulated in document G/TFA/N/MDV/3/Add.4 .  
1.92.  The delegate of the United States  indicate d the following:  
1.93.  We would like to thank the Maldives  for its timely notification and we support the extension 
request for the 10 provisions.  
1.94.  The next notification was from Namibia , circulated in document G/TFA/N/NAM/1/Add.4 . 
1.95.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the following:  
1.96.  We would equally like to thank Namibia for its timely notification and we also support the 
18-month extension request.  
1.97.  The next notification was from Saint Lucia , circulated in document G/TFA/N/LCA/1/Add.4 . 
1.98.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.99.  We would like to also thank St. Lucia for its timely notification and we support the 18 -month 
extension request.  
1.100.   The following notification s were from Togo, circulated in document s G/TFA/N/TGO/1/Add.3  
and G/TFA/N/TGO/1/Add.4 .  
1.101.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.102.   We would also like to thank Togo for its timely notification and we support the 18 -month 
extension request.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.103.   The delegate of Togo indicated the following:  
1.104.   In the context of the implementation of the TFA, Togo has classified 12 measures in category 
B, initially setting the definitive  date for implementation of these  measures  as 31 Decemb er 2022. 
However, because of the negative impact of the COVID -19 pandemic, Togo was obliged to request 
for one year's extension to be able to readjust the road map for the work on trade facilitation . So 
the new deadline for implementation of these measures  is 31 December  2023. Finding that we are 
not in a position to meet this deadline, our country felt it was useful to have rec ourse  to Article  17 
to ask for an additional period  of 18 months to be able to successfully implement the measures 
classified under  category B.  
1.105.   Despite the constraints and the challenges faced by my country in implementing the 
measures mentioned, I would like to emphasi ze the efforts that are being made by Togo to 
implement two other measures by their implementation date of 31 December 2023: A rticle 7.3, the 
separation of release from the final determination of customs duties, tax and fees ; and Article  7.8, 
expedited shipments . My country is pleased with t his progress .  
1.106.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.107.   We apprecia te the efforts made by Togo and also Cabo Verde, Guatemala  and Maldives  
toward implementation. We welcome the fact that the notifications on the extension of the definitive 
date was implemented on time from the perspective of transparency.  
1.108.   The delegate of  the European Union  indicated the following:  
1.109.   The European Union welcomes the timely notifications by Cabo Verde, Cuba, Ecuador, 
Guatemala, the Maldives, Namibia, St. Lucia, Togo and Trinidad and Tobago for the extension of the 
deadline to implement commit ments under category C and we take note of the specific 
circumstances  explained by the Members . We support these extension requests.  
1.110.   The next notification was from Trinidad and Tobago , circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/TTO/2/Add.1 . 
1.111.   The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following:  
1.112.   It may be recalled that Trinidad and Tobago submitted its instruments of acceptance of the 
TFA to the WTO on 9 June 2015 and in so doing we became the 9th WTO Member and the 
first CARICOM State to accept the Agreement. Since then, we have clearly demonstrated 
commitment in respect of obligations outlined in the Agreement and we have made strides in 
implementing various aspects of the TFA in accordance with the i mplementation dates that were 
previously notified.  
1.113.   However, upon review of progress achieved in relation to the notified implementation dates 
and as our notification  contained in G/TFA/N/ TTO/2/Add.1  has outlined , Trinidad and Tobago would 
unavoidably be unable to meet the deadlines in respect of some of the provisions that were expected 
to be implemented by 31 December 2023. In these circumstances, we have requested an extension 
of our definitive implementation date for five provisions from  31 December 2023 to 30 June 2025. 
The five measures are Article 7.6 on average release time, Article 8 on border agency cooperation , 
Article 10.2 on acceptance of copies , Article 10.3 on use of international standards, and Article  12 
on Customs Cooperatio n.  
1.114.   The reasons for the requests for extensions are as follows : on Article 7.6 relating to average 
release times, the technical assistance notified as a requirement for implementation support has not 
been secured. The membership has heard from this delegation on previous occasions, both in this 
Committee and in other com mittees , on challenges experienced relating to access to technical 
assistance and capacity building . Additionally , the restructuring of the Customs and Excise Division, 
which is the pertinent regulatory authority, has not yet been completed. Therefore, add itional time 
is required to obtain the necessary assistance to enable the completion of this project to implement 
obligations related to average release times.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.115.   On Article 8 relating to Border Agency cooperation, the Committee is asked to note that 
Trinidad and Tobago is currently pursuing amendments to the relevant policy framework to comply 
with this article. However, it is anticipated that the remaining period in respect of this initially 
identif ied deadline would not suffice for the completion of this particular  process . These are the 
circumstances in which we are requesting additional time to implement this measure.  
1.116.   On Article 10.2 relating to acceptance of c opies, we are currently pursuing amendments to 
the pertinent policy framework to allow for compliance with this article. However, it is also 
anticipated that the requisite reform would not be completed by the initial deadline and hence our 
requests  for additional time.  
1.117.   Regarding Article 10.3 on use of international standards, Trinidad  and Tobago is currently 
pursuing amendments to the policy framework to comply with this article.  
1.118.   Finally,  regarding Article 12 on Customs Cooperation, we are currently pursu ing 
amendments o n legislative framework  and it is anticipated that the additional time requested should 
allow us to meet this obligation.  
1.119.   We note that Article 17 of the TFA states that in the case of a developing country Member, 
if the requested additiona l time does not exceed 18 months the requesting Member is entitled to 
such additional time without any further action by this Committee. In this regard, it would be 
observed  that Trinidad and Tobago has requested the maximum possible time to allow for 
implementation of these provisions. We wish to highlight the possibility, nevertheless, that 
implementation of these provisions could be achieved before the new definitive implementation date 
of 30 June 2025 . 
1.120.   In closing,  Trinidad and Tobago wishes to reiterate  firm commitment to implementation of 
the TF A and in so doing  and in the context of the submission of this notification, we take this 
opportunity to highlight the challenges such as capacity and resource constraints faced by small and 
vulnerable economies,  including CIS ( Commonwealth of Independent States) , as we pursue 
implementation of all commitments in respect of the TFA . 
1.121.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.122.   We would like to thank Trinidad and Tobago for its intervention and for the timely notification 
and we support the 18 -month extension request for these seven provisions.  
1.123.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.124.   For the notification by Trinidad and  Tobago, Cuba, Ecuador, Namibia and St. Lucia, we 
appreciate the efforts towards implementation and we expect that the effort s will continue.  
1.125.   The Committee took note  of the notification under Article  17 and the statements made.  
C. Notifications under Article 19 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
1.126.   The Chair turned to  two notifications under Article 19 of the TFA . 
1.127.   The first notification was from Myanmar , circulated in document, G/TFA/N/MMR/1/Add.3 .  
1.128.   The delegate of Myanmar  indicated the following:  
1.129.   Firstly, I would like to express my heartful thanks to the WTO for inviting me to participate 
in the trade facilitation workshop and this meeting, I'm glad to speak as the capital officer who is 
working for Myanmar's NTFC  and the TF Committee .  
1.130.   This statem ent covers both notifications submitted by Myanmar. In accordance with 
Article  23.2, the Myanmar established its NTFC in 2017 and it  meets at least twice a year. 
Four working groups were organized by the NTFC, led by the Customs Department and the 
Departme nt of Trade which  are working closely together on implementation  of the TFA .  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.131.   Since 2017, Myanmar has been implementing TFA measures  in a timely manner , including 
notifying our category designation at the specified date  in 2018 . We categori zed three  measur es in 
category A, six in category B and 31 in category C. We submitted all notifications – transparency 
and technical assistance and capacity building – in accordance with the LDC notification  timeframe. 
We categorized  some measures in B which could be imp lemented through our domestic resource s 
and the NTFC, and as a result we shifted 12 measures from category  C into category B and certain 
measures were implemented in advance of their definitive date. In 2022 and early 2023, we have 
classified three  measure s in category A, 31 measures in category B and only 9 measures now remain 
in category  C.  
1.132.   In addition, in accordance with decisions taken by  the NTFC at its meeting in July  2023, 
Myanmar planned to shift 10 more measures from category C into category B and  advance the 
implementation of nine measures under categor ies B & C ahead of  the notified implementation  dates . 
This shows that Myanmar is trying its best and making efforts using  national resources to implement  
TFA measures.  
1.133.   However, as all you know, as a LDC we require certain kinds of technical assistan ce which 
are identified in Myanmar's notifications. However, I would like to state again that we need necessary 
support and assistance, including financial assistance, awareness training, and technical ex pertise 
in separation  of release, transit, border agency corporation and single window.  
1.134.   In particular, the rate of implementation of the single window system is very limited due to  
a scarcity of techni cal and financial assistance. At the current situation,  Myanmar is  in short supply 
of technical assistance for TFA category C measure s. Donors have not yet been identified. I  would 
like to request the Committee and development partners to support Myanmar and provide  the 
required assistance to implement  the TFA. With your kind support, I believe that Myanmar will 
manage the implementation process of TFA and we will meet the targeted implementation dates . 
Finally, I thank all Members who expressed  support , encourage ment and welcome remarks in this 
meeting.  
1.135.   The s econd notification was from Nepal , circulated in documents G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.4  and 
G/TFA/N/NPL/1/Add.4/Corr.1 .  
1.136.   The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
1.137.   The Government of Nepal shifted two measures from category C to B through the same 
notification and currently there are only 13 measures under category C.  
1.138.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
1.139.   The EU welcomes the timely notification s of Myanmar and Nepal to shift provisions from 
category B to category C and their subsequent requests for assistance and support.  
1.140.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.141.   We would like to thank both Myanmar and Nepal for their notifica tions for shifting certain 
provisions from category C to category B.  
1.142.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.143.   We welcome the commitment made by Nepal and Myanmar to implement some articles on 
their own without obtaining technical assistance. We appr eciate Myanmar and Nepal's efforts 
towards implementation.  
1.144.   The Committee took note  of the notifications and of statements made.  
D. Notifications under Article 1 .4, 10 .4.3, 10 .6.2 and 12.2.2 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement  
1.145.   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 transparency, either in G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  a broader context – providing information on publication sources – or providing information on th e 
specific items, such as a single window operation, the use of customs brokers, and customs 
cooperation.  
1.146.   The first notification was from Cambodia  in document G/TFA/N/ KHM/5/Rev.1 . 
1.147.   The delegate of Cambodia  indicated the following:  
1.148.   Cambodia is  please d to inform the Committee  that in our notification in August  2022, 
Cambodia identified the definitive  implementation  date for Article 1.4 and Article 7. 7, both category 
C measures,  as 31 December  2023. In this connection, I would like to inform the Committee  that 
Article 1.4 has been implemented since  August  2023, as notified in G/TFA/N/KHM/5/Rev.1 . In 
particular, the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia has updated on its website 
11 laws, regulations and procedures on import, export , transit required under the provision of 
Article  1.4 on its websit e.   
1.149.   In addition, o ther ministries  and agencies have been established and updated . The Ministry 
of Economic and Finance issue d Prakas 209 MEF dated 19 April 2023 on the authorized  economic 
operator programme . Accordingly, Article 7.7  on trade facilitation measures for authorized  operators 
has been implemented sin ce May 2023  as the General Department of Custom and Excise notified 
the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)  Secretariat on implementing the authorized  
economic operator programme on 1 May 2023 .  
1.150.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the fo llowing:  
1.151.   We would like to thank Cambodia for updating its online trade -related information and points 
of contact, which we believe will be beneficial to traders.  
1.152.   The next notification was from Guatemala , circulated in document G/TFA/N/ GTM/2/Add.1 .  
1.153.   The delegate of Guatemala  indicated the following:  
1.154.   It is important for us to keep our information up to date  and we have updated the information 
on our enquiry point . 
1.155.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the foll owing:  
1.156.   We would once again like to thank Guatemala this time for providing its enquiry point 
information, which again we do believe will be beneficial to  traders.  
1.157.   The next notification was from India, circulated in document G/TFA/N/IND/2/Rev.1 .  
1.158.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.159.   We would like to thank India for updating its trade -related information, especially the 
information related to improvements made to its national single window.  
1.160.   The following notification w as from Myanmar , circulated in document 
G/TFA/N/MMR/2/Rev.1 .  
1.161.   The next notification s were from the Philippines , circulated in document s 
G/TFA/N/PHL/2/Rev.1  and G/TFA/N/PHL/2/Rev.2 .  
1.162.   The following notification w as from Seychelles , circulated in document G/TFA/N/SYC/2 .  
1.163.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the foll owing:  
1.164.   We would like to thank the Seychelles for notifying its overdue transparency information, 
including information on import, export and transit procedures, use of customs brokers , contact 
points for inquiries and customs cooperation and argue this in formation will be extremely useful to 
traders.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.165.   The next notification w as from Switzerland , circulated in document G/TFA/N/CHE/2/Rev.2 .  
1.166.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.167.   We would like to thank Switzerland for providing updated information on import, export and 
transit procedures, use of customs brokers, operations of the single window and contact points for 
inquiries and customs cooperation. This information will be useful  to traders, especially the updated 
information on measures adopted in response to COVID -19, which remain in place.  
1.168.   The next notification w as from Uruguay , circulated in document G/TFA/N/URY/2/Rev.3 .  
1.169.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.170.   We would like to thank Uruguay for providing updated information on import, export and 
transit procedures, use of customs brokers and contact points for enquiries and customs cooperation. 
So once again, we do find this information to be extremely useful to traders.  
1.171.   The next notification w as from Zimbabwe , circulated in document G/TFA/N/ZWE/3 .  
1.172.   The delegate of Zimbabwe  indicated the following:  
1.173.   This transparency  notification under Ar ticle 1, provides information on  the procedures  that 
are required for importation and exportation, as well as goods in transit : the documentations that 
are required, the fees and duties that are payable, the websites and the contact points. We feel that 
this information  would assist our traders and foreign trade partners . The TFA is very good for us , in 
terms of Article 10.4 on single window . We appreciate  the work that we are doing together with the 
donor partners . We are currently  in our fifth year of implementation , and we are seeking  assistance 
in capacity building of stakeholders . We hope that the work that we are doing with our donors will 
continue. The notification included information on customs brokers, contact points and he 
appointment of a National Transit Coor dinator.  
1.174.   We also thank the Secretariat for all the work that has gone into the implementation and 
ratification of the TFA. We acknowledge the notification submitted by ACP members and fully support 
their efforts to implement the Agreement. We also recogni ze that there are challenges and limitations 
associated with the implementation of the  Agreement, especially with the crisis we face today. We 
urge all Members to support request for an extension of the implementation period of the Agreement.  
1.175.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
1.176.   The European Union would like to thank the Members who notified their transparency 
updates, notably Cambodia, Guatemala, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Seychelles, Switzerland, 
Uruguay and Zimbabwe.  
1.177.   The de legate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.178.   We would like to thank Zimbabwe for providing its trade -related information, particularly 
under Article 1.4 and the points of contact. Once again, we do believe this will be extremely beneficial  
to traders.  
1.179.   The Committee took note  of the notifications and the statements made.  
E. Notifications under Article 22 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
1.180.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the last cluster of notifications which had been 
made under Articl e 22.  
1.181.   The first notification was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo  and circulated in 
document s G/TFA/N/ COD/2/Rev.2 . 
1.182.   The next notification w as from The Gambia , circulated in document G/TFA/N/GMB/3 .  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.183.   The next notification w as from Guatemala , circulated in document G/TFA/N/GTM/4 .  
1.184.   The following  notification w as from Japan , circulated in document G/TFA/N/JPN/8 .  
1.185.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.186.   Japan's custom technical cooperation aims to contribute to ensuring the sound development 
of trade , and a safe and secure society. To this end , our technical cooperation aims to achieve the 
state in which the customs officers in target countries are able to work independently and in 
accordance with international standards on the following three measures : first, realizing a safe and 
secure society ; second , promoting trade facilitation ; and third, collecting appropriate and fair 
customs and other duties in the target countries.  
1.187.   In reali zing this, we are focusing on providing the knowledge and know -how of our  Customs  
and supporting human resource development aimed at improving policy formulation and 
implementation capacity , and so on. We work with the WCO  and JI CA (Japan International 
Cooperation Agency ) to provide effective support by making effective use of each other's resources, 
knowledge and experience.  
1.188.   Regarding the cooperation with WCO, Japan has financially supported the technical 
assistance activities of the WCO by making annual voluntary  contributions to the CCF (Customs 
Cooperation Funds) establishe d by the WCO to provide assistance to developing countries in the 
customs  sector. Also, we have made a human resource contribution by sending staff to the W CO 
workshops. Japan's contribution to the CCF in fiscal year 2021 was approximately EUR 5 million, 
which is the second largest after the United States. T he fund is utili zed for regional and 
country -specific workshops organi zed by the WCO. In addition, Japan has continued to provide  
technical assistance to developing countries, including acceptance of tra ining and long-term dispatch 
of experts through its own budget , and technical cooperation projects and provide  specific training 
jointly with J ICA. These efforts continued during  the COVID -19 pandemic using online training and  
then face-to-face support that we resumed last year . Japan will continue to support the 
implementation  of the TFA in developing countries through such activities.  
1.189.   The representative of the World Customs Orga nization ( WCO)  indicated the following:  
1.190.   We would like to thank Japan for their continued support in the technical assistance and 
capacity building activities of the WCO  regarding the implementation of the TFA through WCO J ICA 
joint project s in Africa and the Pacific  islands, t he CCF  Japan , as well as accredited experts in different 
areas. We would like to extend a special thanks to CCF Japan for their financial support o f the new 
round of regional workshops on the TFA implementation that we conducted in the last two  years.  
1.191.   The next notification w as from the Kyrgyz Republic , circulated in document G/TFA/N/KGZ/3 .  
1.192.   The next notification w as from Tajikistan , circulated in document G/TFA/N/TJK/3 .  
1.193.   The following notification w as from Tunisia , circulated in document G/TFA/N/TUN/4 .  
1.194.   The next notification w as from Zimbabwe , circulated in document G/TFA/N/ZWE/2/Rev.1 .  
1.195.   The delegate of Zimbabwe  indicated the following:  
1.196.   In this notification we are giving the contact points of the offices responsible for coordinating 
and prioriti zing the implementation of the TFA, and we will continue to update the information as 
and when necessary.  
1.197.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
1.198.   The European Union  would like to thank the donor Members providing assistance as well as 
the developing Members  for their notifications in line with Article 22.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.199.   The delegate of Australia  indicated the following:  
1.200.   Australia would like to thank all of the Members who have supplied notifications being 
discussed this morning. We really appreciate the commitment to trans parency.  
1.201.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.202.   The US  thank s Members for the notifications and the updated information which we find 
extremely useful.  
1.203.   The delegate of China  indicated the following:   
1.204.   Thank you all  for the notificatio ns in the morning and China would like to share the Chinese 
experience on the assistance and support to W CO capacity building initiative. I would like to share 
China's experience in supporting W CO efforts to provide capacity building for W CO developing and  
the least developed Members, which contributes to promote China's modernization, Customs 
enforcement and global trade facilitation .  
1.205.   First, in 2014, China established the China Custom s Cooperation Fund (CCF China)  at WCO , 
and increase d the contributions t o USD 1,000,000 per year in 2019. Since its inception, C CF China 
has funded more than 140 WCO capacity building activities benefiting  more than 3 ,400 customs 
officials globally. Currently there are 37 ongoing activities funded by C CF China, including 
three  global activities, 11  regional or sub -regional activities and 23 national activities. They cover 
all six W CO regions  around the world and a wide range of topics such as customs valuation , region 
e-commerce, environmental protection, etc. Am ong them, customs modernization and 
implementation of the WTO's T FA have always been given priorit y. For example, with the support of 
the CCF China , WCO organi zed a WTO TFA Regional Workshop for its members in the Middle  East 
and North Africa ( MENA ) region  to promote the accelerated implementation of the TFA. At the same 
time, considering the importance of technology application to maintain the security, stability and 
smooth flow of the global supply chain in recent years , CCF China has also taken customs t echnology, 
innovation and application as our funding priority. For example, China Customs will launch the Smart 
Customs project in cooperation with the WCO by the end of this year  to provide a platform for WCO 
members, exchange and cooperation on technolog y code application and innovative solutions.  
1.206.   Second, to establish WCO regional training entities in supporting the WCO 's regional 
approach towards building customs ' capacities. So far, China has established the WCO Asia -Pacific 
Training Center in Shanghai  and Xiamen, the Asia -Pacific Dog Training Center in Beijing and Ruili, 
the Asia -Pacific Customs Laboratory in Nanjing, contributing to WCO 's efforts of providing tools  and 
international standards, as well as best practices , to its members.  
1.207.   Third, to activ ely participate in the WCO Capacity Building Committee , China fully supports 
WCO to set standards for capacity building and to promote improvements in the effectiveness of 
Customs through capacity -building -related tools, instruments and initiatives. Since 2021, Ms.  Li Yan 
from China Customs has been elected as  the vice chairperson of the WCO Capacity Building 
Committee for two consecutive terms.  
1.208.   Fourth, China has developed a network of 27 qualified experts who can be called upon to 
assist the WCO in the delivery of capacity building activities in various fields , such as Customs 
modernization, the implementation of the TFA, customs valuation, Authorized Economic Operators 
(AEO), risk management, single window , and so on. For example, one of the MERCATOR Programme 
Advisors from China Customs assisted WCO in a miss ion to Lao  PDR in July 2022, which aimed to 
promote Lao  PDR's implementation of the TFA. Another example is the ASEAN Sub -Regional AEO 
Workshop which was held in Indonesia in June 2023  to which China s ent our AEO expert, on behalf 
of WCO, to assist ASEAN m ember countries to better implement AEO as well as promote regional 
cooperation on this topic.  
1.209.   The delegate of Moldova  indicated the following:  
1.210.   I would like to thank Japan and China, for all support to Moldovan Customs , through WCO 
programmes,  in the context of modernization  and the implementation of the trade facilitation  
agenda.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.211.   The representative of the World Customs Organization  (WCO) indicate d the following:  
1.212.   WCO would also like to thank China for their continuous support in the technical assistance 
and capacity building activities of the WCO  regarding the implementation of the TFA through the 
CCF China , as well as regional training centres an d accredited experts in different areas. We would 
like to extend a special thanks  to CCF China for their financial support o f the regional workshops on 
the TFA that we conducted last year.  
1.213.   The Committee took note  of the notifications and of the statements  made.  
1.2  Status of Ratification and Notification Process  
i.  Update by the WTO Secretariat  
1.214.   The representative of the WTO Secretariat  presented an update since the Committee 
meeting held on 15-16 June  2023. The presentation is attached as Annex 1  to this document  and is 
also available at https://www.tfadatabase.org .  
1.215.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following :  
1.216.   The European Union would like to thank the Secretariat for this comprehensive, updated 
report of the situation, which is always interesting and useful at the same time. We also appreciate 
all the work of the Secretariat that has gone into updating and i mproving the database.  
1.217.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.218.   We appreciate the presentation and we certainly appreciate  all the work that goes into the 
TFA database.  
1.219.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.220.   We would a lso thank the Secretariat for the explication and update of the TFA database.  
1.221.   The Committee took note  of the information and the statements made.   
ii. Updates by Members on Overdue Section I and Section II notifications  
(G/TFA/2 , para. 9.3( ii)) 
1.222.   The Chair recalled that according to the update provided by the Secretariat, there were  
66 overdue transparency notifications and approximately 19  overdue implementation notifications.  
The Secretariat was always available to provide informat ion and assistance regarding  the notification 
process.  
1.223.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
1.224.   Transparency is critical to all traders for understanding what customs formalities are required 
and providing certainty at the border. Curren tly, 30 Members 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 Members identified 
one or more of TFA articles, 1.4 , 10.4.3 , 10.6.2 , and 12.2 as category A, category B, or category  C 
with a definitive date  that has already passed.  
1.225.   Definitive date deadlines are binding, and the United States urges the following Members to 
submit the required information as soon as possible to fulfil these TFA commitments : Afghanistan, 
Armenia, Bahrain, Ben in, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde,  Cameroon, Central African 
Republic, Chad, Dominica, Djibouti, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Jordan, Kuwait, Liberia, 
Mozambique, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Solomon Island s, Uganda, 
and Vanuatu.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  1.3  Voluntary Update by Members of Status of Definitive Date Implementation 
(G/TFA/2 , para. 9.2(vi))  
i.  Review of the effectiveness of G/TFA/INF/1/R ev.2 (G/TFA/2 , para. 9.2( iv)) 
1.226.   The Chair recalled that document G/TFA/INF/1  had been  created as a useful tool to help 
Members keep track of their implementation dates falling due over the following two years. It was 
revised on a rolling basis at th e start of every year.  The current version of the document which 
covers 2023 and 2024 is G/TFA/INF/1/Rev.2 . 
1.227.   The Committee had agreed to review the effectiveness of the document G/TFA/I NF/1, and 
"as appropriate, improve the list and the methods for circulating it by reflecting feedback from 
Members, in order to promote better self -management by Members of their own implementation 
status and allow adequate monitoring by the Committee ". 
1.228.   There were no interventions under this agenda item.  
ii. Voluntary update by Members of the status of their definitive date implementation 
(G/TFA/2 , para. 9.2(vi))  
1.229.   The second issue under this item regards voluntary updates by Members of the status of 
their definitiv e date implementation.  
1.230.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
1.231.   Japan considers it important that developing Members themselves properly manage the 
implementation of the  TFA and that the CTF is able to properly follow up on the implementation of 
TF measures in each Member. In this regard  we believe that the list of definitive dates of 
implementation distributed by the Secretariat is useful as a reminder to each Member, and we would 
like to thank the Secretariat for its efforts. And we would like to encourage the continued use of  the 
list. Also, we believe that the automatic reminder of implementation dates in the TFA database 
introduced by the  Secretariat is also an effective tool.  
1.232.   We would like to encourage Members that have  not completed implementa tion of TFA t o 
register for automatic reminders. Then we would expect that Members that face a deadline within 
the next two years, w ill also check the situation and implement TFA by the definitive implementation 
date they have set for themselves. If it is difficult to implement by the definitive date, we would also 
like to request that the notification of  extension is made within the time limit set out in Article  17.  
1.233.   This concluded  agenda item 1.  
2  EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  
2.1.  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://www.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.  
2.2.  Members addressed the fo llowing issues:  
2.1  "Progress made by Peru's National Trade Facilitation Committee " – Presentation by 
Peru  
2.3.  Information on Peru's presentation can be found here (in Spanish) . 
2.2  "Trade Facilitation in Jordan – Increasing Transparency & Predictability for the 
Private Sector " – Presentation by Jordan  
2.4.  Information on Jordan 's presentation can be found here  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  2.3  "Trade Facilitation - The Digital Transformation " - Presentation by India  
2.5.  Information on India's presentation can be found here  
2.4  "Trade -Facilitating Agricultural Systems and Technology T -FAST" – Presentation by 
Paraguay  
2.6.  Information on Paraguay 's presentation can be found here (Spanish)  
2.5  "A Single Window Solution and the  New Air Cargo Control " – Presentation by  Brazil  
2.7.  Information on Brazil 's presentation can be found here  
2.6  Regularizing the Committee's Experi ence Sharing/Thematic Discussions – Update by 
the Chair ( JOB/TF/238 ) 
2.8.  The Chair indicated the following:  
2.9.  I would like to take this opportunity to update the Committee on developments regarding my 
suggestion at the Committee meeting in June to adjust the format of the experience -sharing sessions 
so that the Committee is able to make better use of the valuable information that is shared during 
these sessions.    
2.10.  We continued the exchange on the issue at our informal meeting in July, and at the end of 
that discussion I noted that there was support for two specific forward -looking actions: (1) the 
first action is to identify specific themes to be covered on an annual basis; and (2) the second action 
is to have a tangible outcome, for example, a compilation document of the lessons learned and good 
practices identified as shared with the Committee. The compilation wo uld include information from 
beneficiary Members and from donors and it would be updated on an annual basis.  
2.11.  At that point, I invited Members to identify at least ten possible topics for experience sharing. 
This number of topics would cover Committee meet ings into 2024 so that the next Chair can continue 
with the identified programme, and not have to re -start the exercise from zero.  
2.12.  You will find further information on the outcome of the July meeting in my summary report 
which was circulated in document JOB/TF/235 .  
2.13.  Coming back to my invitation for topics, I was very pleased to receive a total of 
23 suggestions. I would like to thank delegations for your active engagement with this exercise.  
2.14.  I roughly divided the topics under four headings: Sections 1, 2 an d 3 of the Agreement, plus 
a fourth heading of cross -cutting issues. You will find the suggested topics listed in document 
JOB/TF/238 .  
2.15.  I invite Members to submit their top 5 priorities by Monday 30 October. I will then circulate a 
compilation of the priorit ies and will hold an informal meeting in November to have a short and 
focused informal discussion by November to further clarify the priorities and the next steps.  
2.16.  This concluded  agenda item 2.  
3  PROMOTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEME NT 
THROUGH DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES 
G/TFA/W/90 /REV.1 – PRESENTATION BY CHINA  
3.1.  The presenters  indicated the following:  
3.2.  Our communication, G/TFA/W/90/Rev.1 shows the addition of Mongolia as a co -sponsor. We 
would like to thank  Mongolia for its co -sponsorship. We have heard from the previous agenda item 
some Members , for example, India, Jordan, Paraguay , and Brazil , outline in their pre sentations  that 
digitalization is used in their TFA implementation. I believe  that digitization is very popular in the G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  implementation of TFA and I hope that more and more Members become co -sponsors of our 
communication . 
3.3.  I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our  programme. At the first formal meeting 
of the CTF in March 2023 GACC (General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of 
China) presented  three smart initiative s of promoting the implementat ion of the TFA  through digital 
revolution and intelligent technologies , which received a positive response from many Members . At 
the second formal CTF meeting in June 2023 , GACC  further shared the concept of cooperation on 
the three smart initiatives of us ing digitalization and new technology to update customs control  
procedure s, guided by the three smart initiatives.  
3.4.  Today,  I would like to share our practi ce on promoting Custom s modernization through the 
implementation of Smart Customs . At the 2021 China Central and Eastern Europe Summit, China 
first proposed a cooperative initiative to deepen Customs cooperation on Smart Customs , Smart 
Borders , and Smart Connectivity (3S). Last year in 2022 , China announced the central task of 
promoting the greater revita lization of the Chinese nation on the Chinese path to modernization. As 
the major force and components of Chin a's path to modernization, China's Customs has proposed 
to advance the construction of modern customs in an all -round way  by taking Smart Customs  as a 
basis.  
3.5.  The background to the 3S arises from the need to adapt to new demands  – the demands of 
the huge trade supervision , and  the demand  to promot e the healthy development of new forms of 
trade. Smart Customs coincide s with the  evolution direction of Custom s modernization , plus Smart 
Customs also solves the challenges of "Wide Open" and "Fast Clearance " faced by Customs controls . 
Smart customs not only forms the basi s of Smart Borders  and Smart Connectivity , but it is also the 
starting point for l anding  "3S". R elying on the double wheel drive of reform and innovative 
technologies , we propose to advance the comprehensive transformation an d upgrading of Custom 
ideas, institutional mechanisms , and operation patterns so as to moderni ze the Customs governance 
system and capability . 
3.6.  GACC regarded 2023 as the starting year of Smart Customs . After full preparation, GACC 
formulate d the general scheme for Smart Customs in July 2023 and systematically laid out the 
construction of Smart Customs . According to this scheme, GACC will 1) comprehensively promote 
the construction of an operating system and the science and technology support system which  
include s establishing a new form of custom s supervision and service through  networking, digital 
perception, AI analysis and automatic operation ; 2) create a safe, facilitative,  and efficient Customs 
intelligent governance  ecology ; 3) build an advanced and the most competitive new custom 
supervision system in the world  and 4) build a modern all-round Customs . I think the achievement 
of these goals will contribute to the completi on of the objective of the modernization  of Customs.  
3.7.  The first step is to build a Smart Customs  operation system. We will take digital transformation 
and intelligent upgrading as the core comprehensive  approach , deepen the reform , and build a Smart 
Customs  operation system. G ACC will promote Custom s operation  management reform and 
innovation by creating  the following four comprehensive mechanism s: 1) whole -chain supervision 
mechanism featured by tight and adapting  to the situation ; 2) whole process, multidimensional 
integrated prevention and control mechanism ; 3) all-round  facilitative  and efficient service 
mechanism ; and 4)  the smooth operational mechanism of all -fields coordination.  
3.8.  In addition to the four mechanisms  and continuously improv ing the operational management 
capability , we have six modernizations : 1) full ecologicalization  of custom s operation system ; 2) full 
proceduralization  of operating specification s; 3) full parameterization of  policy requirements ; 
4) multi-source of regulatory  data; 5) digitalization of  knowledge and experience ; 6) full intelligen ce 
of operation al management.  
3.9.  Additionally, GACC is comprehensively constructing the Smart Customs technology support 
system, focusing on the needs of the business operational system. This includes building 
five platforms to enhance technology  support for business operations , as follows: 1)  the application 
support platform ; 2) big data analysis platform ; 3) business collaboration platform ; 4) monitoring 
and command p latform  and 5) infrastructure support platform.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  3.10.  To ensure the effective supply of technological support capabilities, China Custom s is 
improving three mechanisms  - R&D mechanism of application system ; R&D mechanism for scientific 
projects ; and infras tructure-building mechanism.  
3.11.  So through the construction of the core comprehensive  approach , the six transformation s to 
modernization, the five platforms and the three mechanism s, China Custom s is comprehensive ly 
building the business operational and technolog y support system of Smart C ustoms , providing the 
business foundation of the technical support  needs for Custom modernization. GACC is currently 
mobili zing its efforts to implement the general plan, systematically advancing the construction of 
Smart Customs , planning to achieve key breakthroughs within a year , establish the basic framework 
within three years , and form a comprehensive complete system withi n five years , ultimately aiming 
to build a world -class Smart Customs  system.  
3.12.  The Smart Customs  not only pursues institutional excellence, but also strives for technological 
leadership. From a technical perspective, in recent years, rapid development in te chnology such as 
artificial intelligence , Internet of Things and blockchains have provided key technical support for the 
Smart Custo ms. Through the  facilitation custom s clearance  brought by technological upgrades for 
business to meet the ever -changing mark et demands and enhance the sense of ga in for enterprises , 
Smart Custom s has adopted a development model combining micro services and small terminals for 
the first time. In this model, micro services spreads application into smaller scalable units and each 
microservice process can be developed, tested, deployed , and maintained independently, reflecting 
Custom s flexibility to business.  
3.13.  Small terminals which are developed based on the microservices framework interface with 
various business reform requirements , accumulate and reuse existing service resource s, rapidly 
develop  ubiquitous, intelligent applications that meet various business scenarios such as operations, 
management, services, decision -making, thereby providing convenient services for the import and 
export industry and enhancing user -experience.   
3.14.  With regard to t he specific attempts in terms of technological innovation, the General 
Administration  of China actively guided Customs Districts  to carry out the pilot projects  based on 
the existing technolog ical achievement s combined with the concept of Smart Customs . These efforts 
are primarily focused on cargo supervision , key commodities control, document declaration, bonding 
areas , and management and monitoring operation s.  
3.15.  At the Haiko C ustoms they are advancing intelligent identification methods through  a large-
scale container scanning system with compute d tomography scanning system thereby enhancing 
their capability to detect and intercept items through the mail and passengers ' inspection channels. 
At the Nanjing Customs, they have developed AI preliminary screening and remote support for wood 
identification, which includes a knowledge base for wood identification , online expert support,  and 
intelligent recognition. This innovation extends laboratory t echnology  and expert knowledge to the 
frontlines for the wood inspections. At Guangzhou Customs , they have developed algorithms for 
optical character recognition plus other technologies to extract key elements from documents. This 
has improved the ability of onsite customs officers to quickly examine custom s declaration and 
accompanying  documents .  
3.16.  This is the future plan of Smart Customs  construction . By the end of this year , the Smart 
Customs  will comprehensive ly initiate the five platforms , it will upgra de the construction, optimi ze 
and refine a relevant information  management system , establish a range of Smart Customs  
application scenarios . It will  achieve early successes in areas such as animal and plant inspections 
and commodities  inspections .  
3.17.  By the end of 2025, Smart Customs  construction will have made decisive progress and most 
of the planned construction objectives will be achieved. By the end of 2027, the goals of core  
comprehensive approach, six transformation s, five platforms and three mechanism s will be highly 
coordinated , and Smart Customs  construction will demonstrate more significant achievements. By 
2035, Smart Customs  will reach higher level s, solidifying  an advanced and international ly 
competitive Custom s authority, effectively reali zing a world -class moderni zed Custom s system . 
Finally,  by the middle of this century a world -class moderni zed Custom s system will be  fully 
established . So, this may be  our future but it needs our efforts.   G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  3.18.  The delegate of the Europ ean Union  indicated the following:  
3.19.  Many thanks to China for the communication and the presentation . The EU took note that the 
communication is very much focused on trade facilitation with an emphasis on IT, single window,  
and data processing. These are areas where the EU is also actively engaging. It  is our view that 
digitali zation unlocks opportunities and cr eates new jobs  as long as it's underpinned by digital 
infrastructure and connectivity. For this reason, the EU has strongly stepped up its international 
digital cooperation. For example , under  the Global Gateway strategy  the EU and its member States 
are mo bilizing up to EUR 300 billion in investments in infrastructure development by 2027. This 
includes investments in the area of digital infrastructure.  
3.20.  While facilitating legitimate trade is a laudable aim, it should not be taken in isolation. In so 
far as customs activities are concerned , there also needs to be a balance with efficient and effective 
customs controls. The EU is therefore grateful to see the proposition to further advance the 
application of smart technologies and the adoption of innovative me asures to improve customs 
control, deepen customs cooperation and ensure trade, security and faster clearance.  
3.21.  Finally, in the communication, it should be noted that there are several concepts that are not 
immediately clear, such as offline enquiry points , fingertip services, e-payment of customs duties, 
and the use of augmented reality. We will be happy to continue discussions with China on this topic.  
3.22.  The delegate of Mali indicated the following:  
3.23.  Mali welcome s China's  digitalization initiative for faster Customs control  procedures , especially 
for its trading  partner s  for which  China is an attractive export market.  However, there  are still some  
concerns in our country about  the move to demat erialization  as it poses a number of con straints  for 
us which if they are not dealt with could restrict our market  access to Chin a.   
3.24.  For example , businesses  in Mali that were  already exporting to China were this year  required 
to register online in order to obtain identifier  numbers . Depending on the identifier numbers, certain 
proofs would need to be presented for the purposes of customs control , for example , a digital system 
was implemented by  Customs together with the Ministry of Agriculture  in the case of products of 
plant origin . But it is difficult for business to operate  this system . If we look at what is happening 
today  in Mali , while in the past  there were maybe 100 business es exporting to China , today, as a 
result of the difficulties around  registering online and managing the digital ized system , only about 
5 to 10 companies are able to do so  today.   
3.25.  Therefore, while the demateria lization reform  may expedite the customs control procedures , 
our concern is that it can only do this if  training activities on the new system are provided to 
businesses in trading partner countries to ensure  that they understand and can use the new system . 
Otherwise, the dematerialization could restrict  market  access . This is particularly important in the 
case of  small and medium -sized enterprises in these countries, for which the Chinese market is very 
important.  
3.26.  The delegate of  the Kyrgyz Republic  indicated the following:  
3.27.  We would like to thank the Chinese delegation for the communication and  for th e presentation 
of the implementation of TFA through digital revolution and intelligence technology. Trade facilitation  
– the simplification,  modernization and harmoni zation of export and import procedures – is a vital 
issue for the Kyrgyz Re public, as a sm all and landlocked country, and has been a subject of 
discussions raised by the Kyrgyz Re public at the WTO platform. The Kyrgyz Re public sees the TFA  
as an efficient mechanism to facilitate and increase trade in the world by offering efficient provisions 
for expediting the movement, release and clearance  of goods, including goods in transit.  
3.28.  It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between Customs and other appropriate 
authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. For this rea son, in this respect, the  
Kyrgyz  Republic fully supports the communications circulated by China, and the idea of the necessity  
for comprehensive and high quality implementation of the TFA that should be enhanced with the 
new technologies such as digitalization, big data, smart algorithms and other innovative 
technological tools. China's proposal  entails very effective and timely  propositions on the introduction 
of smart technologies across very important aspects of the TFA, such as increasing  transparency G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  through publication and accessibility of information, the release of goods, custom clearance border 
agency cooperation, freedom of transit and customs cooperation .  
3.29.  It should be noted that the Customs Committee of the Kyrgyz Re public  is currently on the 
verge of  major reforms and reorientation of principles and implemen tation of its activities . At this 
stage , in particular, as part of the implementation of activities defined by the concept of the 
Kyrgyz  Republic's  customs service, the Kyrgyz  Government is trying to simplify trade procedures 
and improve the efficiency of customs administration in the movement of goods  and vehicles throug h 
the checkpoints . The objective is  to ensure transparency at all levels of customs operation s, the use 
of innovative tools for monitoring and analysis of business processes carried out at the checkpoints, 
and for information exchange with partner countrie s.  
3.30.  Following the implementation of the concept, the Kyrgyz Republic  wants to change the way 
that customs authorities  operate by optimi zing customs operations and creating a modern 
information system that will allow the administration of customs processes and make key decisions 
automatically based on the results of analytical tools today . To date, work has already begun on the 
development of a new information system, new mechanisms for fixing and controlling the movement 
of vehicles,  and laying the groundwo rk for the transition to a completely paperless technology.  
3.31.  It should be noted that along with the activities carried out within the framework of the 
digitalization of customs administration , work is being carried out on the reconstruction and 
improvement  of the infrastructure of checkpoints. This is m oving forward  taking into account the 
experience of the Chinese side and trade facilitation and measures to automate customs 
administration, as well as given the fact that there is a lon g-standing cooperation  between our 
services. The Kyrgyz Re public expresses its interest in joining the 3S concept and to consider the 
application of this initiative at the checkpoints between the K yrgyz  Republic and the People's Republic 
of China. We are confident that this will greatly reflect the provisions of TFA and make a significant 
contribution to the development of international trade between our countries. From the side of 
Ministry of Economy an d Commerce  of the Kyrgyz Re public , we have circulated the communication 
among our governmental agencies to take a closer look  and we  will get back once we receive the 
final response .  
3.32.  The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
3.33.  Thank you very much, China , for the presentation. There is  a line in the presentation that 
talks about research, and I  would like more information about this. What sort of research and in 
what subject of trade facilitation  is this taking place ? We are interested in incor porating technologies 
such as blockchain  in the context of the single window . What services are you offering that 
incorporate this technology?  
3.34.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the following:  
3.35.  We would like to thank China for encouraging continued experience -sharing on this topic , and 
how Members face the opportunities and challenges  posed by digitalization . We look forward to 
continuing to engage on digitalization advancements , all the while  protecting confidential business 
information, streamlining border processes and communicating with the trading community.  
3.36.  The delegate of Samoa  indicated the following:  
3.37.  Many thanks to China for this very informative presentation. While there are areas that n eed 
to further looking  into, we welcome the presentation and we look forward to further discussion on 
this topic.  
3.38.  The delegate of Türkiye  indicated the following:  
3.39.  We thank China and Mongolia as the co-sponsors of this document. This is an important issue  
to bring up and there is no question regarding  IT-based solutions and issues of digital revolution. 
Digitization in general has a great role to play in terms  of simplification of trade and customs 
procedures, fast clearance and effective customs control, along with the other issues that are related 
to the overall competitiveness of each country in the global markets.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  3.40.  Given the digital divide , which is also underlined in the presentation itself, there should be 
some references made to issues  such as the financial needs  of developing and the least developed 
countries, as well as issues related to technology transfer and to cyber security . I agree with the 
comment made by the EU regarding the need for a balance with efficient and effective customs 
controls , especially for strategic goods.  
3.41.  The delegate of Thailand  indicated the following:  
3.42.  Thailand would like to thank China for reintroducing the paper and also the presentatio n of 
the smart customs . While we are still assessing, please allow us to share the preliminary 
observations on a few p oints.  
3.43.  We share some aspect s highlighted in the paper that advanced technology provides  great 
benefits to improve trade facilitation and custom procedures. However, recogni zing the challenges 
faced by Member s and the dif ferent level s of digital development, it is best for Members to 
first assess their own situation , for example, where they are at  and what are their objective s in this 
context , before delv ing into details . They should explor e options that best suit their sp ecific 
circumstance and to address unique  challenges and capitali ze on the benefit of technologies in the 
area of the trade facilitation.  
3.44.  The area s proposed in the paper could  be a guideline but it would not be an exhaustive list. 
It should depend on the special needs of the developing Members and also the LDC s. Going forward, 
we welcome the proposal to stimulate the discussion in the CTF and we are open to topics that fit 
broad interest s and are agreed by Member s. We also support the continuation of experience sharing 
and evidence based discussion s which can lead to initiatives and development among Members to 
bring this digital and intelligence application into operation.  
3.45.  We are of view that one of the challenges that might arise from applying technologies  to 
custom s procedure s may include the possible adaptation of the investigation and prevention 
procedure in light of the possible circumventions or custom s offence s that may arise from digitaliz ing 
our process. We see that such chall enges could hinder the development of IT in trade facilitative 
implementations, and we need  to take this aspect into account.  
3.46.  Lastly, Thailand is willing to work constructively with all Member s to find the appropriate 
approach to tackle the challenge s faced by Member s and to improve the implementation of the TFA.  
3.47.  The delegate of  the Russian Federation  indicated the following:  
3.48.  Russia welcomes the revised communication from China and Mongolia promoting the 
implementation of the TFA  through  digital revolutio n and intelligence technologies . Discussion s and 
the sharing  of experience and best practi ces as well as challenges on the issues indicated in the  
paper will reinforce the deliberative function of the CTF and implementation of the TFA . Experience 
sharing and thematic  discussions are currently part of the Committee meetings and in this regard 
we note that a number of interesting presentations were made  today on digitalization. We look 
forward to further engagement on this issue.  
3.49.  The de legate of Pakistan  indicated the following:  
3.50.  I would like to thank China for an excellent presentation and for showing us the way forward 
on leveraging ICT for making customs and border clearances more efficient and transparent. 
Pakistan too has been pursu ing a path of digitalization of its border processes and  procedures  
including the development and rollout of the single window to make its border processes less 
cumbersome, more efficient, transparent and to ensure that the Government and trust is protecte d 
in terms of higher revenues without getting into more intrusive practi ces. So we really appreciate  
the communication that China has  made and the suggestions that are in the paper.  
3.51.  The only suggestion that I would have and that probably echoes the sentim ents expressed by 
some of the delegates, is to also assess the digital infrastructure in the countries that would like to 
leverage technology for customs processes. Many of our countries do not have the digital 
infrastructure in terms of high broadband , Internet facilities at remote border locations, especially 
at the land borders that they share with their partner  countries . Pakistan Customs is also entering G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  into Customs to Custom s agreements for connecting the customs and single window systems with 
partne r member countries to exchange information electronically . We would like to work with our 
other trading partners as well to establish similar electronic connectivity between our single window 
and their systems.  
3.52.  The delegate of China  indicated the followin g:  
3.53.  I would like to thank all the Members for their  positive comments  and questions regarding  
our presentation : European Union, Mali, United States , Kyrgyz Republic,  Colombia , Samoa, Türkiye,  
Thailand, Russi an Federation,  and Pakistan.  
3.54.  Regarding the  European Union's request for greater clarity around some concepts  such as the 
fingerprint or the e -payment, maybe we can work together to clarify this concept . Thank you very 
much to the Kyrgyz Republic for your positive comments . We know that you would li ke to implement 
a pilot programme of the 3S at your checkpoint with China. This is a very good opportunity for us 
to make it a model of the cooperation between our two Customs  to increase trade facilitation  between 
our two borders. I think that we can go b ack to our capital and ask my colleagues to facilitate this 
corporation  and we can respond to a s soon as possible .   
3.55.  Regarding Columbia 's interest  in research on  blockchain , we welcome  this positive cooperation  
and we will see whether there are opportunit ies to work together on this research  if you are 
interested in this area. Both Türkiye  and Thailand have made very good suggestion s. Since our 
initiative is just at the beginning we welcome  more Members to engage wit h this topic and then 
maybe some Members could take a lead in some of the sub -areas to discuss them in more detail . 
So we welcome your reactions and we hope to work with all interest ed Members in this area.  
3.56.  That concluded  agenda Item 3.  
4  THE ROLE OF TECHNO LOGY TRANSFER IN BUILDING RESILIENCE: TRADE 
FACILITATION – COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN GROUP ( G/TFA/W/92 ) 
4.1.  The delegate of Egypt (on behalf of the African Group)  indicated the following:  
4.2.  The communication contained in document G/TFA/W/92  highlights the critical role of 
technology in building resilience, especially for developing and least developed countries and its 
implications for trade facilitation. In today's globalized and digitalized worl d, technology is not merely 
a tool, but a driving force behind economic development.  
4.3.  The TFA mandates the Members to publish information on imports, exports and transit 
procedures on the Internet, employ electronic payment systems for fees and charges, and  deploy a 
national single window. These provisions acknowledge the pivotal role of technology in streamlining 
trade processes, reducing costs,  and enhancing transparency.  
4.4.  I will provide some examples to validate the linkage between the TFA and transfer tec hnology, 
especially in the context of development. First, many developing countries, including Egypt, have 
embraced digital trade facilitation platforms that integrate customs, logistics and regulatory 
agencies' processes.  These platforms leverage technolo gy to expedite customs clearance, reduce 
paperwork and enhance transparency.  In Egypt, for example, the Nafiza platform has significantly 
reduced the time and cost of trade transactions, benefiting both businesses and consumers.  
4.5.  Second, developing countrie s often require technical assistance and capacity building to 
implement t rade facilitation measures effectively.  Technology transfer plays a crucial role in this 
process.  Through partnerships and cooperation, countries could establish IT infrastructure and  train 
personnel to harness the benefits of digitalization in trade facilitation.  
4.6.  Third, e -commerce is a growing facet of international trade, and digital technologies enable 
businesses, including small and medium -sized enterprises, to access global market s. Egypt's 
e-export program me is a prime example, providing training and support to local businesses to 
expand their reach through online platforms.  This demonstrates how technology can enhance market 
access and trade opportunities.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  4.7.  Fourth, the integration  of digital technologies in logistics, including tracking and monitoring 
systems, has reduced transit times and improved supply chain efficiency.  This is particularly relevant 
for countries seeking to integrate into the global technology -intensive supply a nd value chains 
connecting several sectors and across distant markets.  
4.8.  The African Group submission discusses the importance of technology in trade facilitation and 
resilience building, emphasizing that digital technologies are crucial for efficient trade.  It notes 
progress in adopting technology for trade, but highlights challenges, especially in developing 
countries.  The communication poses questions for discussion and suggests resuming work on trade 
and technology transfer within this Committee.  Essentia lly, it underscores the role of technology in 
trade facilitation and calls for further discussions within the WTO and this Committee on this matter.  
4.9.  The submission calls for discussions and potential recommendations within the WTO Trade 
Facilitation Commit tee to address the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies 
in international trade.  The communication proposes that the work on trade and transfer technology 
should be at the heart of this Committee in a manner that would address all the matters and 
questions contained in th e submission.  
4.10.  We look forward to further engagement with Members on this important topic, which we 
request to be a permanent agenda item for discussion in the context of the business of this 
Committee.  
4.11.  The delegate of India indicated the following:  
4.12.  We thank the Africa n Group for their submission on a very signif icant issue and for inviting 
discussion on certain critical issues relating to WTO rules on technology transfer and trade 
facilitation. Application of technology is ever -expanding. We discussed yesterday as to how 
technological innovation and deployment of  new-age technology  is helping all of us in trade 
facilitation in building resilient  supply chain s and supporting our efforts to address other challenges.  
4.13.  Developing countries face technical barriers, information asymmetry, and relatively lower 
current use  of ICT solutions. A focused discussion is needed on the enablers for trade facilitation. 
Technology is the foremost requirement here.  
4.14.  However, as the submission brings out, Members are lagging behind in adoption of digital 
technology. Technology obsolesce nce is the real challenge. Technology is changing rapidly, and 
newer technology is inaccessible to developing countries and least develop ed countries. A widening 
digital divide is also not helping. The rapid digitalization of trade suggests changes to trad itional 
policymaking that involves better addressing cross -border e -commerce, trad e in services, and the 
data required for automation.  
4.15.  Unfortunately, we are not debating enough on this issue and most of the focus remains on 
transparency. Accordingly , the c onsequences and the results are reflected in asymmetric gains from 
trade facilitation. The Africa n Group has raised very pertinent questions. We fully agree that the 
need for developing understanding and appreciating the larger set of components to effective IT in 
trade facilitation is needed for achieving a wider and useful impact of trade facilitatio n. 
4.16.  We are quite keen to deliberate on this issue with the objective of making a recommendation 
for adopting it in MC13. At the same time, since the questions are quite pro bing and very important 
for taking a view on the subject and to make recommendations,  we would also like to suggest that 
that the Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD) be asked to do a well -research ed analysis 
on each of these questions. As ERSD has also worked extensively to assess the gains of trade 
facilitation  it is therefor e in a position to work on the issues raised in the paper, which are to our 
understanding the real issues and real challenges for the majority of the membership here.  
4.17.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the following:  
4.18.  The United States thanks the Africa n Group for this submission, which we are reviewing , but 
will share some preliminary comments.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
- 26 - 
 
  4.19.  We do support a review process on technology transfer as long as we can bring some 
real-world experiences to these discussions. We think that it would be i nteresting to have more 
informal discussions where non -governmental organizations and businesses can also actively 
participate in these types of discussions.  
4.20.  We would encourage the Africa n Group to draw from the work being done in various 
committees, which  focus on building up the competencies and the specific experiences and the 
specific needs. We want to underline that point  regarding the specific experiences and challenges 
and needs of developing countries. Looking at the list of potential discussion topics, they are very 
general and seem to be  blanket topics.  
4.21.  It would be interesting to actually have some specific examples of what types of challenges 
that developing countries are facing. And we are interested to know how the Africa n Group intends 
to drive the work they propose forward.  
4.22.  We note in the communication that the Africa n Group says i t proposed that the resumption 
of work on trade and tech nology  transfer begin as soon as possible in the Committee. We would ask 
if the Africa n Group could elaborate on that point , and what it means . Does the African Group 
envision informal thematic discussions? Does this fit into the discussion that we had yesterday on 
how we prioritize the list of 20 topics  for those disc ussions ? Does tech nology  transfer figure into 
that?  
4.23.  The United States stand s ready to contribute to this knowledge -sharing approach amongst 
Members.  
4.24.  The delegate of Congo (on behalf of the ACP Group)  indicated the following:  
4.25.  We take note of the communica tion from the African Group and welcome the fact that this 
issue on technology transfer is being  raised in this Committee.  
4.26.  Consequently, the ACP Group would like to call on Members to hold discussions, particularly 
on the impact of technology transfer on trade facilitation.  
4.27.  The delegate of  the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
4.28.  The UK would like to thank the Africa n Group for its contribution to the discussion on 
technology transfer. Technology and innovation have a key role to play in ac hieving economic 
development in developing countries and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) 
and we recognize that developing countries can face barriers to adopting innovations.  
4.29.  The UK submitted a paper to the July General Council offeri ng reflections on IP, tech nology  
transfer and voluntary licensing for health and pandemic preparedness, which we invite all Members 
to engage with. We are open to the conversation and keen to have more evidence -based discussions 
to better understand Member s' perspectives on tech nology  transfer.  
4.30.  We also wonder whether it would aid discussions to have a better understanding of what 
technology transfer really means in a trade context and specifically in the context of the WTO, given 
that it is such a wide -ranging and widely used term across a number of different issues, 
organizations,  and contexts. As for the specific trade facilitation paper presented today, we  are very 
happy to engage in discussions but have similar questions to our US colleagues about how ex actly 
the Africa n Group hope or plan to bring the work forward in this Committee.  
4.31.  We would  like to ask the Africa n Group to outline how they envisage next steps on deliberating 
technology  transfer in this Committee, but also, given the work of the Working Group on Trade and 
Transfer of Technology, how do they see the different roles of the committees and working groups?  
4.32.  The delegate of  Samoa  indicated the following:  
4.33.  We also thank the African Group for this presentation. For sustainable development in 
addressing the climate crisis, technology transfer plays a very critical role in supporting countries G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  with their transition to green economies, particularly with the transfer of technology like solar panels 
and wind turbines.  
4.34.  Digital technologies are key to boosting e -commerce in developing countries, and this was 
shown during  the COVID -19 pandemic . Digital technologies are also important for trading services 
for countries like Sa moa that are very isolated and whose export supplies are vulnerable to climate 
disasters.  
4.35.  The delegate of  Japan  indicated the following:  
4.36.  We would like to appreciate the efforts of the African Group in submitting the proposal. Japan 
is first interested in  understanding the content of the proposal. In particular, the African Group's 
awareness of the issues and background circumstances regarding the questions for discussion listed 
in paragraph 2.2 of the proposal, which the African Group states will form the  basis for discussions 
to review the WTO rules on technology transfer and trade facilitation.  
4.37.  In other words, the TFA already has mechanisms for technical assistance and capacity building 
for its implementation, so we would like to know whether the technol ogy transfer in the proposal 
can be addressed or not through such technical assistance and capacity building. In any case, Japan 
is prepared to engage in discussions on this proposal.  
4.38.  The delegate of  the European Union  indicated the following:  
4.39.  The Europea n Union would like to thank the African Group for its presentation o n the role of 
technology transfer in building resilience. The EU recognizes the importance of the topic and we are 
ready to engage in this conversation.  
4.40.  The EU and its member States are al ready actively promoting technology transfer 
programmes, in particular to LDCs. This includes licensing ou r technologies, training and education, 
exchanges of qualified staff, and joint research projects.  
4.41.  The main financial source is the Horizon Europe Fra mework Program, with a total budget of 
EUR 96 billion spread over seven financial years. Technological innovation and its dissemination, 
however, would be impossible without ensuring adequate conditions and protection, including 
effective national and inte rnational intellectual property rights frameworks that enable the 
international transfer of technologies.  
4.42.  A successful technology transfer is not only an IPR matter, however, and getting access to 
the technology as such. It also requires that the recipient  be able to apply the technology in practice. 
This requires quality education and training result ing in expertise, absorption capacities to produce 
locally, openness to international trade and investment, access to financing, adequate infrastructure, 
and the predictability of regulatory and legal frameworks.  
4.43.  The EU is open to discussions based on practical examples and best practices of the 
beneficiary Members on how to build or enhance absorption capacity and how to make use of existing 
WTO frameworks to f acilitate the transfer of technology to eligible Members.  
4.44.  As others, the EU would like to know more about the proposal, what are the next steps, and 
in which committee does the African Group see the work advancing on this issue?  
4.45.  The delegate of  Singapore  indicated the following:  
4.46.  Singapore thanks the African Group for the submission. We are studying the paper and would 
like to better understand from the proponents the challenges and opportunities highlighted in the 
proposal.  
4.47.  While we recognize the role that  technology plays in Members' implementation of the TFA, we 
also appreciate the proponents' view in paragraph 1.7 of the proposal that there is a misconception 
that adopting automation for trade transactions automatically leads to a speedier movement of 
goods and people.  Availability of ICT and IT capabilities are only one facet of trade facilitation, and 
this should be complemented by other factors such as digital upskilling and an open trade regime.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  4.48.  We also note that the suggested questions within the pro posal explore the relationship 
between technology and issues outside the expertise of this Committee, such as value creation, 
production incentives, and comparative advantages.  
4.49.  We stand ready to work with the proponents to better understand how this intere st could be 
appropriately addressed here in this Committee.  
4.50.  The delegate of  China  indicated the following:  
4.51.  China also would like to thank the Africa n Group for submitting this document . We already 
mentioned in our communication that capacity building and technical assistance and we really want 
to first work on this area with interested Members . I tend to think that we share the same 
understanding with the Africa n Group. We look forward to  our further discussion and collaboration 
in this area.  
4.52.  The delegate of  Djibouti  indicated the following:  
4.53.  I would also like to thank Egypt for the presentation on behalf of the Africa n Group. 
Paragraph  37 of the Ministerial Declaration, the Doha Declaration, for the first time introduced in the 
WTO a mandate to examine the relationship between trade and technology transfers.  
4.54.  Technological progress is essential for economic growth and th e prosperity of our country, 
regardless of the level of development. The speed of technology transfer exchanges will help to close 
the gap between those who possess the technology and those who do  not. This technological 
difference is very disturbing and i ntroduces imbalances in trade.  
4.55.  Our countries do  not have the economic resources or the basic resources and infrastructure 
for research and development, nor national mechanisms to be able to formulate and implement 
policies in relation to technology.  
4.56.  For mo st of our countries, technological progress is based mainly on the adoption and 
adaptation of technology available beyond our borders and that is why technology transfer and the 
distribution of this technology are  absolutely essential . 
4.57.  International cooper ation is essential on this matter and within this Committee we can initially 
examine the weaknesses and the needs of the countries in need of these technology transfers . We 
can look at the capacity or absorption capacity for these technologies and look at the provisions of 
the various WTO Agreements which could perhaps create obstacles for technology transfer towards 
developing countries and LDCs , and try to find ways in which to attenuate the negative effects of 
these provisions.  
4.58.  The delegate of  Canada  indicated the following:  
4.59.  Canada would like to thank the African Group for this presentation. Canada understands the 
importance of this issue for developing and LDC Members. We take note of the paper's reference to 
the importance of digital tools in trade fac ilitation and look forward to hearing with greater specificity 
about how the proponents would aim to engage on this issue in the context of this Committee and 
its work.  
4.60.  The delegate of  Egypt  indicated the following:  
4.61.  I would like to provide some initial reactions to what I heard today.  On behalf of the 
Africa n Group,  I extend our thanks to the delegates who have taken the floor.  
4.62.  India was correct in its assertion that there are certainly recommendations  for which there is 
a mandate that dates back  some 20 plus years which gives  instructions that  the WTO should address 
technology transfer in a pragmatic manner.  
4.63.  Yet, we have the Working Group on Trade and Transfer Technology, and we have an agenda 
item that has been there for decades now,  yet the res ult is that we do  not have recommendations 
to pass over to our ministers.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  4.64.  We keep asking the question, how relevant is technology transfer to what we do here, and 
how can the WTO address this very important matter, given that it's a cross -cutting issue tha t goes 
beyond the mandate or maybe the realm of the WTO in itself.  
4.65.  Yet, there are a lot of things that the WTO can do.  We have agreements that talk about 
technology transfer, and we have agreements that, like the TFA , require technolog y for Members to 
be able to implement their obligations swiftly and easily.  
4.66.  In response to the  US regarding what the African Group really recommend s in terms of 
proceeding with the ideas contained in the document in this Committee . I believe that yesterday we 
discussed the  list of issues  for thematic discussions, including cross-cutting issues  and digitalization, 
and I hinted that this transfer of technology could be taken care of under the digitalization thematic 
discussions.  
4.67.  If we are  going to have thematic discussions in the  future dedicated to digitalization and 
transfer of technology, I think we can have all the questions that we pos ed in our document for 
discussion in the thematic sessions.  Only then, when we get to engage on those questions, can we 
get an idea how to appr oach them, how to deal with them.  
4.68.  So this is the call for now, just to have those questions addressed or answered in the context 
of the deliberation of the relevant thematic sessions.  
4.69.  The transfer of technology should be always present, especially that we have a lot of  
presentations which included technology . For example, t he Chinese presentation was very rich in 
terms of technology.  
4.70.  That presentation tells us a lot about the importance of technology , and, therefore , the 
importance of transferring and diffusing this technology to other countries that are unable to have 
them or afford to buy them easily.  Buying technology is one way of havi ng this technology, but 
again, not all countries, especially from Africa, are able to buy this technology and apply it right 
away.  It requires, like delegates said, technology transfer  needs trained personnel  and infrastructure 
for those technologies to yi eld their benefits.  
4.71.  We have the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology  and we submitted this 
proposal alongside other proposals that may  relate to other subsidiary bodies.  We believe that the 
context of the discussion in the Working Group on Tra de and Transfer of Technology is very wide 
and basic  and it touches upon technology in every aspect.  But here , we want to focus our discussions 
on the relationship, the nexus between trade, the TFA and the transfer of technology.  We want to 
figure out ways  and means, maybe by addressing those questions and others whenever possible, to 
get to better understand how this Committee could really assist through the existing tools as this 
committee is very well advanced in terms of tools and facilities that we are  implementing here to 
assist developing countries.  
4.72.  This means that this Committee could be very beneficial to the WTO in general in terms of  
telling us how to approach technology transfer in a pragmatic manner to make it work for those who 
need it to imple ment their commitments.  
4.73.  I believe that more focused discussions on the matter by addressing or trying to engage on 
the basis of the questions contained in our document in the thematic sessions on digitalization is 
going to provide answers to this question and maybe inform us how to proceed or find other ways  
and means to make technology available for those who need it to implement the TFA. 
4.74.  Yes, a lot of education and training  will be required as well as investment infrastructure.  This 
goes beyond  the mandat e of this Committee, but again, when we  engage on the basis of the 
questions that we have in the document the discussion can tell us a lot about the proper means 
through the mechanisms that we have in the CTF  to provide the technical assistance and the 
investments that are necessary on the basis of a discussion where Members  can get to know the 
needs and the challenges facing developing countries.  
4.75.  We will be happy and ready to engage and provide answers to Singapore's  questions on 
paragraph 1.7.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  4.76.  Yes, we share the same understanding with China on the challenges facing developing 
countries and the importance of building capacity.  I believe one of the topics that could be discussed 
under the relevant thematic session is the challenges  facing developing countries, especially in 
Africa, as they relate to the implementation of the TFA . 
4.77.  Djibouti  was clear in hinting to the mandate that we have in the Doha Declaration and the 
importance of international cooperation and how essential it is.  
4.78.  These are preliminary remarks.  We are ready to engage bilaterally with interested  delegates 
and to provide answers to their questions.  The communication is a call to everybody here to engage 
on the basis of the questions that we have  raised . Maybe some of the questions are very relevant,  
maybe  some of them are not relevant.  This is something that we have to agree a ll together in the 
context of future thematic sessions .   
4.79.  The delegate of  Pakistan  indicated the following:  
4.80.  I would like to thank all the Member s who have presented their views quite comprehensively 
with respect to the technology transfer.  
4.81.  One part is the technology transfer for the purpose of implementation of the TFA . It is correct 
that in the short term, the IT transfer in itself would not gene rate results. In fact, our experience is 
that in the short term, when an IT system is implemented, your costs go up and you actually have 
to maintain both systems. So there is a lot of work that has to be done with respect to change 
management when you are  shifting to an IT system.  
4.82.  Pakistan's  experience was that we had to develop it ourselves. Consequently,  the national 
single window  was developed indigenously  by Pakistan . We initially tried the technology transfer 
route, but it was too difficult. Here I wo uld also request that once the Working Group on Technology 
Transfer carries out the work, we would like to see what the successful models for technology 
transfers are. What is the process through which it gets transferred? And what are the channels 
through which it gets transferred? We should look at t echnology, as has been pointed  out by  my 
colleague from Egypt, as part of the broader framework of people, process, organ ization and 
technology. Unless you have the right set of people who have engineer ing skills  or understand the 
right kind of processes, or who work in an organization which is supportive, no matter what 
technology is transferred, they will not be able to us e it effectively.  
4.83.  As we  look at technology transfer , we have to look at area s such as building the right kind of 
skill set, building the right kind of organizations and looking at , and developing,  the framework for 
technology transfer , not only with regard  to implementation of the TFA , but also to look at other 
agreements that have had discussions on technology transfer in other areas.  
4.84.  To this effect, I think it would be very helpful if the Secretariat can help us in putting together 
some research or knowle dge which can help us in understanding this entire process. Pakistan would 
be very willing to share our experience and also to share the system that we have developed for the 
purpose of implementing the TFA . We are also willing to look at the possibility o f implementing this 
particular solution in other jurisdictions which would like to have support from Pakistan.  
4.85.  The delegate of  Peru indicated the following:  
4.86.  Technology transfer is very important  for developing countries . However, it is not just a matter 
of becoming familiar with the systems  and software that exists in the world, but we have to know 
which is applicable to each specific country depending on the circumstances .  
4.87.  Based on our experience, it is necessary to identify the best technology that is suitable for 
each country or that could be adjusted to the reality of each country . We need input from experts. 
We need to know what the progress is internationally, but it is also absolutely essential  and critical 
for countries  to be able to help us to ide ntify the best solutions to match the needs of each country.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  4.88.  The Chair indicate d the following:  
4.89.  The African Group is available to address some of the questions bilaterally.  As referenced by 
some delegates, we would also  have the thematic sessions to look more closely at some of the 
details  of the proposal – which was made as a suggestion  in the list of thematic topics yesterday.  
We need to try to order the  thematic topics to establish links between the work of the Commit tee 
and the TFA, which requires additional work.  We also  need to have opportunities for exchange s of 
ideas and opinions  other than under the thematic discussions . I invite you to consider  all of this and 
take it into account.  
4.90.  That concluded  agenda Item 4. 
5  DOCUMENT CONTAINING  GOOD PRACTICES AND BUILDING BLOCKS OF SUCCESSFUL 
NTFCS (G/TFA/2 , PARA 9. 3(V) ; (G/TFA/W/96/ REV.1 ) 
5.1.  The Chair indicated the following:  
5.2.  The Committee will recall that t he drafting of a document containing good practices and building 
blocks of successful National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFCs) was a decision  arising from the 
first 4-year review of the TFA ( G/TFA/2 , para. 9.3(v)).  
5.3.  First of all, this is a result of a decision that was taken by the Committee in 2021 as one of the 
outcomes of the review of the TFA. Secondly, it is intended to be a consensus document in this 
Committee. Thirdly, it is a non -binding document.  
5.4.  Its purpose is to draw on the experiences shared by Members of their own NTFCs , together 
with presentations and papers submitted by international organizations  and identify good practices 
and the various factors that will contribute to successful NTFCs and may be of benefit to other 
Members.  
5.5.  The Committee has had a series of very good discussions on this item, both at its June meeting 
as well as the July informal meeting this year. As a follow -up to the July meeting and at the request 
of the Committee, the Secretariat has prepared a first draft of the document based on inputs from 
Members  which was circulated in document G/TFA/W/96/Rev.1 . 
5.6.  The delegate of  Ecuador  indicated the following:  
5.7.  Ecuador  supports the draft circulated  in G/TFA/W/96/Rev.1  and we appreciate the proposal . It 
adequately and equitably reflects the conversations that were held amongst the various participating 
NTFCs . It also includes the principle of capacity building and training programmes for NTFCs, which 
had been submitted by Ecuador to be considered for inclusion in the document . 
5.8.  The delegate of  India indicated the following:  
5.9.  This age nda item has been discussed in the last TF meeting as well as in the informal meeting. 
NTFCs are an important  issue including  in the context of the TFA . 
5.10.  With respect to this document, a few issues may require further discussion. One of the issues 
which was raised in yesterday's discussion  was whether we would be working with a similar approach 
for identifying good practices or best practices or key principles in respect of other items that would 
be taken up in the structured, thematic or experience sharing session, which would be done in the 
forthcoming meeting.  The other issue was whether the C ommittee would adopt or endorse or take 
note of good practices as identified in the experience -sharing  sessions. In that context, the Chair 
had mentioned yesterday that the Committee shall discuss these aspects as we reach to these 
discussions.  
5.11.  Turning to the document, first, it uses varying abbreviations like NTFCs, NFTC s, NCTF, etc. in 
various places in the document. I think we wish to use the term NTFC consistently.  Second, the title, 
which says "key principle s of shared practices ", appears to be a bit unclear . Are t hese key principles 
of NTFCs or key principles of shar ed practices or key principles emanating from the shared practices ? 
Third, the  document refers to the principle s of successful NTFCs. Therefore, i n this context, it may G/TFA/M/27  
 
- 32 - 
 
  be worthwhile to lay out some criteria as to what constitutes a successful NTFC. Succes sful NTFCs 
may have different meaning s to stakeholders and even to the Members with different capacity and 
different stages of its implementation. So the issue arises as to how do we measure successful or a 
success of NTFC.  
5.12.  The TFA  is still being implemen ted by Members and there are several challenges that Members 
face, particularly developing countries and LDC Members. We have had these discussion s in the CTF . 
5.13.  The a pplication of digital technology is one such issue. Capacity gap s are also significant 
issues. We are still evolving in implementation of the TFA and discovering what the enablers  are for 
its effective implementation. For example, the application of digital innovation solution s and 
technology may be the foremost requirement for effective functio ning of NTFC s, and it is necessary 
for effective participation and communication channel s in the NTFC , the two principles which are 
highlighted in the document.  
5.14.  Setting clear priorities lead s us to the issue of capacity constraint in terms of resources. The 
paper  indicates that NTFCs are being used by Members for different purposes, which vary  from 
monitoring and ensuring consistencies in position s and priorities on cross -cutting issues and projects, 
such as supporting bilateral, regional, collateral and mu ltilateral forums, or to set up a working group 
to gather information and expertise throughout the border areas and supply chain s. 
5.15.  Therefore, requirement s and principle s vary vastly based on the mandate of NTFC in the 
respective member State. Therefore, while Members may agree on certain principle s in order of 
priority, the order o f the priorit ies for Members may vastly differ. Therefore, by using the term like 
"all Membe rs agreed to certain principle s", do we include those Members who have no experience 
with NTFCs so far?  
5.16.  A lot of work is going into NTFCs  and a lot of other actors are working on it , such as UNCTAD.  
A number of Members may only be at the stage of conceptu alization of NTFCs.  Therefore, it is 
important for this Committee to consider the kind of comprehensive document it would like to 
produce,  whether it would like to endorse a few principle s without dwelling on the issues 
comprehensively.   
5.17.  Taking all these  points into account, we feel that this document requires some more discussion 
including as regard s the approach.  One idea could be that we have more thematic discussion s on a 
few more topics of similar importance  and then we work on the approach after dwell ing on the issues 
which Member s may raise, certain issues we have mentioned today.  That would also give the answer 
to whether we endorse /adopt /take note of the document . As these are documents which are 
evolving, Members are learning from experience.  Whene ver this document is ready in our view, the 
Committee should be taking note of the ideas and the principle s identified by the Committee  so that 
the document could continue to be iterative and developed . In conclusion, we are open to the 
discussion and the views which are taken in the Committee.  
5.18.  The delegate of  Djibouti  (on behalf of the LDC Group)  indicated the following:  
5.19.  The LDC Group would  appreciate  it if the Secretariat could clarify where the good practices 
and experiences will be incorporated in the report. The LDC Group requests if the report can reflect 
the good practices  from LDC contributions?  
5.20.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the foll owing:  
5.21.  The United States thanks the Secretariat for providing a first draft of a Committee document 
entitled "Key Principles of Shared Practice of Successful NTFCs ". It accurately captures cross -cutting 
principles highlighted during Members' presentations  over the last few weeks.  We view this as an 
ongoing project that will need to be reviewed and updated in the future discussions.  So for 
paragraph  4.5, our preference is to use "will" be reviewed . And we are delighted to see a Committee 
decision and we ful ly support the Committee's adoption of these principles.  
5.22.  In response to India's question as to what constitutes a successful NTFC , that is  a self-judging 
standard and it means something different to each Member depending on what that Member's 
circumstances are.  There are Members that either have not established NTFCs or maybe they  have G/TFA/M/27  
 
- 33 - 
 
  established them but they have capacity gaps and challenges.  One of the points of this document is 
that the types of principles  contained therein  can provide inspiration to those Members that are 
either looking to establish an NTFC or to modify it or to make it better.  We would like to reflect 
further  in response to In dia's comments.  
5.23.  The delegate of  the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
5.24.  The UK would like to thank the Secretariat for producing a revised document. We  are happy 
to see that feedback and comments have been incorporated into th is version. The document will be 
a valuable addition to a NTFC development toolbox alongside the resources provided by delivery 
partners such as UNCTAD.  
5.25.  The delegate of  Australia  indicated the following:  
5.26.  Australia thanks the Secretariat for the revised draft and the US and other Members for their 
work in bringing this paper forward. Australia sees the paper as providing value to Members through 
identifying key principles of successful NTFCs. The document has been developed through an 
appropriate non -binding, consensual and iterati ve approach  and it  can evolve through future review 
processes. Australia supports the adoption of the document and the key principles set out in 
paragraph 4.2.  
5.27.  The delegate of  the European Union  indicated the following:  
5.28.  The European Union would like to th ank the Secretariat for this revised document. We support 
this communication from a customs viewpoint as well as from a general assessment of the 
recommendations. We can endorse the six principles as good practices of national trade facilitation 
committees , but we do not have strong views to the words in brackets.  
5.29.  The delegate of  Singapore  indicated the following:  
5.30.  Singapore would like to express our appreciation to the Chair and the Secretariat in preparing 
this document, as well as to the US for the original proposal. We welcome the additional elaborations 
behind each principle, as well as the new seven principles on capacity building and training 
programmes.  
5.31.  We have heard yesterday that some Members are facing challenges with their NTFCs and their 
interest in  experience sharing and capacity building on this topic. We note that there are some 
outstanding differences in Members' views on the recommendations in our earlier discussions. I'm 
consulting with my capital on this, and we will share our comments with th e Secretariat in due 
course.  
5.32.  The delegate of  Uzbekistan  indicated the following:  
5.33.  Uzbekistan has established a National Trade Facilitation Committee  and it is a platform for 
institutional coordination and public and public sectors consultation, particularl y with regard to 
Uzbekistan's implementation of the TFA. At the same time, Uzbekistan, with the assistance of the 
World Customs Organization and with other donors, actively implement s the provisions of the TFA.  
5.34.  The delegate of Türkiye  indicated the followi ng:  
5.35.  We would also like to thank the Secretariat for the draft version of this document . Out of all 
the discussions made at this committee or in the margin of the Committee activities, it has been 
clear that for many of our economies, for most of the WTO Members,  NTFCs  lie at the heart of the 
trade facilitation reform process at home.  So their success is something that can be defined 
according to their own circumstances.  
5.36.  Still, the key principles that have been brought together on this draft are very import ant and 
they are indeed shared principles for many of the established NTFCs . This document  should be seen 
as part of an ongoing discussion  and process in the Committee.  The establishment and betterment 
of the NTFCs , how they are functioning, and how they c an better function in future is a dynamic and G/TFA/M/27  
 
- 34 - 
 
  an ongoing process,  and there is a lot that we can learn from each other's experiences  during the 
process.  
5.37.  Specifically for the last paragraph 4.6, I suggest that the committee should take note of the 
contents  and the objective of draft paper, rather than taking an action either to adopt or endorse 
the document as it is.  
5.38.  The delegate of  the Philippines  indicated the following:  
5.39.  The Philippines places  full importance on the crucial role of NTFCs  as a driver to ad vancing 
trade facilitation, and more importantly, the TFA. The Philippines also recognize s the daunting role 
of NTFCs in fostering reforms that facilitate cross -border trade,  and streamline and improve customs 
procedures.  
5.40.  The Philippines created our NTFC, the Philippine Trade Facilitation Committee  (PTFC). During 
our initial years, we were able to develop instruments through the assistance of international donors 
because we ha d no idea of how to operate the NTFC. With t he assistance  we were able to de velop 
an operational work plan and roadmap.  
5.41.  However, considering that the PTFC is newly established, we also experience several 
challenges due to our lack of experience in operating an effective NTFC, increased  by the limitation s 
brought by the COVID -19 pa ndemic.  
5.42.  The Philippines welcomes the initiative of the CTF in documenting good practices and building 
blocks of successful NTFCs. This will greatly benefit our country in improving our understanding of 
the role of the NTFC and best practices for its establ ishment and operationalization.  
5.43.  The Philippines is also open to further discussing the elements that will be essential for 
implementing and identifying what a successful NTFC is, and will be open to sharing our experiences 
moving forward.  
5.44.  The delegate of  Niger indicated the following:  
5.45.  Niger's experience  shows that  the role of the NTFC is key in the planning and coordination of 
the implementation of trade facilitation measures.  
5.46.  Following  the deposition of ratification instruments of the TFA at the WTO on 6  October 2015,  
and in line with Section 2 of the Agreement, Ni ger has committed to follow the notification calendar 
and to inform the Committee  of its progress in implementation  of the TFA . 
5.47.  As such, Ni ger notified the definitive dates for implementation of category C measures in 
July 2022,  and it notified technical arrangements for six of those measures , which  was laudable.  
However, technical assistance provisions for 11 category C measures have yet to be notified.  
5.48.  The NTFC  is invited to identify and notify provisions relating to the provision of technical 
assistance for category C measures.  Moreover, it should be noted that Ni ger has made efforts to 
submit  transparency notifications under Articles 1.4 and 10.6.2. However, t he NTFC is encouraged 
to frequently update its transparency notifications in order to ensure that they remain up to date 
and accurate.  In accordance  with Niger's notifications , the implementation date for  Articles 6.3 and 
10.2 is 31 December 2024.  However,  the NTFC  has identified that implementation will not be fully 
achieved by this date and so Niger will request an extension under Article 17.  
5.49.  I would  like to  highlight that since 2021,  Niger has  established  a single window which is 
operational across the whole country,  and it has links with other countries that border Ni ger. 
5.50.  Receiving technical assistance is key for the implementation of Niger's other category  C 
provisions , and we hope that technical and financial partners present  today will be able to look at 
our implementation roadmap and support  the various activities  which will allow Niger  to comply with 
its implementation dates . 
5.51.  The delegate of  the Russian Federation  indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  5.52.  I would like to thank the Secretariat for putting together draft key principles of shared 
practices of successful NTFCs . The idea of the document is to summarize good practices of 
WTO Members rather than to direct them, and therefore  we would prefer as soft a language as 
possible in the document , specifically in paragraph 4.6. We would prefer "takes note of " rather than 
"adopts " or "endorses ". 
5.53.  The delegate of  Pakistan  indicated the following:  
5.54.  We thank the Secretariat for compiling an d sharing this document, putting together the best 
practices for making sure that the NTFC's work in furtherance of the TFA  objectives. We note that 
the document says that it is a non -binding, consensual and iterative document and may evolve 
based on conti nuous experience -sharing by Members on their N TFCs. 
5.55.  In view of the foregoing, we support that the document will be reviewed during the next 
Committee review of the TFA. With regard  to paragraph 4.6, we would also recommend that the 
Committee takes note of  instead of using the word adopt s or endorse s because it  is a non -binding 
document and we would like to make it a dynamic continuous document.  
5.56.  The Chair indicated the following:  
5.57.  The document aims t o compile all of the experiences and information that Members have 
shared in this Committee. After this exchange, I see that we still have work to do on this item. With 
the aim of reaching  a text that  is agreeable for Members, particularly with regards to the terms that 
remain in brackets  in paragraph 4.6 I would like to invite delegations to present comments and input 
in writing by  30 October  2023.  
5.58.  Once we have those inputs, I will circulate  a revised version of document G/TFA/ W/96  for 
future debate within the Committee. Should it be necessary, I will hold consultations with interested 
Members in order to clarify any question s regarding the document , and try to find the best way 
forward on this issue.  
5.59.  The Committee took note  of the information and the statements made.  
5.60.  That concluded  agenda item 5. 
6  FACILITATING HUMANITARIAN  RELIEF IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS – 
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, HONDURAS, THE SEPARATE 
CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU, TÜRK IYE AND THE 
UNITED STATES ( G/TFA/W/94 /REV.1 ) 
6.1.  The Chair recalled that document G/TFA/W/94/Rev.1  was distributed under the sponsorship of 
various WTO Members. The United States had organized an information session on disaster 
preparedness on the margins of the CTF meeting o f 21-22 March. At the Committee meeting of 
15-16 June u nder the Dedicated  Session on Transit Issues for Landlocked Countries , the US  had 
organized an information session from the view from landlocked developing countries. Additionally,  
a third information session on disaster preparedness and trade facilitation  would take place on  
6 October, on the margins of Committee meeting.  
6.2.  The delegate of  Türkiye  indicated the following:  
6.3.  I take this opportunity to introduce the joint communication on facilitating humanitarian relief 
in emergency situations, which was circ ulated in document G/TFA/W /94/Rev.1 . 
6.4.  The objective of the joint communication is to draw the attention of WTO Members to the need 
for having the ability to provide immediate response in cases of emergencies and disasters through 
better utilizing trade facilitation measures in the delivery of humanitarian relief.  
6.5.  Co-sponsors of this paper are aware of the fact that moving humanitarian re lief across borders 
during times of natural disasters can become extremely difficult or even be impeded.  Thus, it is 
essential that countries carry out the  necessary groundwork beforehand, taking required  measures 
in order to be able to be prepared to respond effectively in times of crisis.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  6.6.  Members would agree that the CTF is not unfamiliar with this topic, as the critical importance 
of rapid and effective delivery of humanitarian relief has been discussed on various occasions in the 
WTO through a series of  dedicated sessions.  
6.7.  Indeed, this communication can be considered as a summary of the common themes and the 
core principles that emerge d from these discussions, building upon national experiences, including 
those gained during the COVID -19 pandemic. The co mmunication lists four core principles that have 
been commonly identified by WTO Members during a series of CTF  thematic discussions.  
6.8.  These are : 1) simplification of clearance procedures ; 2) border agency coordination ; 3) clear 
communication to traders and  interest ed parties ; and 4) digitization.  
6.9.  As one of the top priority areas identified, simplification of clearance procedures, which indeed 
can be invoked in a number of ways, can genuinely play a critical role in expediting the movement 
of humanitarian re lief goods,  thus responding effectively to a disaster or emergency from the start.  
6.10.  Developing the legal framework that will facilitate the movement of humanitarian goods  well 
in advance would increase the ability of Governments to immediately implement the ir emergency 
plans without delay.  It is also required that government agencies, in accordance with their 
pre-assigned responsibilities, act in coordination during times of crisis.  Setting up a task force with 
all relevant government agencies involved can f acilitate much -needed close communication.  
6.11.  It seems to us that there is a general recognition on the importance of the role that can be 
played by the NTFCs  as well.  Indeed, NTFCs  can operate as a bridge in enhancing cooperation 
between border agencies duri ng times of crisis.  It should further be noted that these committees, 
which ideally should comprise all relevant government agencies as well as private sector bodies,  
should start to consider their role in their emergency preparedness as part of their ongo ing work in 
the NTFC towards a wider TF reform agenda.  
6.12.  Since  any emergency plan would require close coordination among all the stakeholders,  it is 
going to be essential that all interested parties, including traders and donors,  could have access to 
the inf ormation on customs clearance procedures to be applied in times of emergencies.  While it is 
up to Members how they can provide interested parties with such information,  it is widely recogni zed 
that publishing, import, export and transit procedures for humanitarian goods is of importance.  
6.13.  Equally, developing a system, whether through a dedicated webpage or any electronic means,  
to regularly keep interested parties up to date on procedural developments can be a life -saving 
exercise.  It shou ld be borne in mind that while natural disasters may occur  at any time , and that 
interaction with trade is a complex one,  it is evident that countries with an already struggling 
infrastructure for customs procedures might experience additional challenges d uring and in the 
aftermath of severe disasters.   
6.14.  In this sense, strengthening institutional capacity and ex -ante preparedness might mitigate 
the risk factors and help to make a quicker recovery.  From this perspective, it is acknowledged that 
building up ca pacity in the customs clearance procedures through IT -based solutions can be 
important  and enable Customs to operate as effective as possible.  
6.15.  On behalf of the co -sponsors of the communication, we would like to put on record our 
willingness to continue exa mining the issue raised here  with positive engagement of all interested 
parties.  
6.16.  The delegate of  the United States  indicated the following:  
6.17.  The United States appreciates this opportunity to co -sponsor the communication facilitating 
humanitarian relief in emergency situations to WTO Members.  We support the introductory remarks 
given by our colleague from Türkiye regarding the nature and importance of this communication and 
the proposal to continue to prioritize experience sharing amon g Members on the topic of disaster 
preparedness and response.   
6.18.  As Members, we have a powerful opportunity in the Committee on Trade Facilitation to identify 
how we can collectively use the TFA to go beyond commercial purposes  and assist those in crisis.  All G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  of you here today recall that this Committee was tasked by ministers during the 12th Ministerial 
Conference to build on lessons learned from COVID -19. 
6.19.  Since then, Members have independently gone well beyond the mandate to share experiences 
on lessons lea rned from other kinds of emergencies and disasters.  As a result, Members have so far 
established a promising archive of both challenges and solutions in the movement of goods toward s 
humanitarian relief.  
6.20.  Much of this information is memorialized on the TFA database  website . So far, several 
common themes have emerged from these presentations in leveraging the TFA and its principles to 
solve difficult challenges during or in response to emergencies and disasters.  
6.21.  We hope that other Members can agree that this topic yields a high value for our Committee, 
and we should continue these discussions in informal mode during future meetings.  The more we 
can understand about the challenges and solutions related to the movement of goods, the better we 
can help prepare each other during times of need.  
6.22.  This is not the first time that Members have called attention to this topic, but now may be the 
best time for us to provide more clarity on how we implement the TFA in the context of emergencies 
or disaster.  We enth usiastically welcome co -sponsors of this communication, and note that our door 
is open for any Member wishing to discuss the proposal in further details.  
6.23.  The delegate of  Japan  indicated the following:  
6.24.  We thank the United States, T ürkiye , and other co -sponsors for their proposal. As we believe 
that the contents of the proposal is important in terms of emergency preparedness, including 
pandemics and natural disasters, Japan supports the proposal and has decided to become a 
co-sponsor.  
6.25.  We are ready to partici pate constructively in discussions on this proposal  through experience 
sharing, for example. As a document relevant to this discussion, we would like to point out the 
existence of the WCO guidelines on disaster management and supply chain continuity develo ped by 
the WCO in 2021 as part of the COVID -19 project. We believe that those guidelines provide useful 
guidance for further discussion on this matter, and it may be useful to invite the WCO to share its 
knowledge and experience as appropriate.  
6.26.  The delegat e of the European Union  indicated the following:  
6.27.  The European Union is also pleased to co -sponsor this communication on facilitating 
humanitarian relief in emergencies, building on our previous work on trade and health initiatives. 
The paper summarizes th e common themes and principles raised in previous informal sessions on 
disaster preparedness and provides a basis to identify gaps, strengthen cooperation, and promote 
best practices.  
6.28.  The objective and the content of this paper are very much welcome. They are clearly in line 
with the humanitarian logistics policy which identified the reduction of administrative obstacles and 
bottlenecks, including customs requirements and procedures, as one of the priority areas to enhance 
the humanitarian supply chain.  
6.29.  The objectives of the paper also build on our work in this Committee to consolidate our 
experiences managing the COVID -19 pandemic, which can be extended to other emergencies. For 
recollection, the European Union funds a series of initiatives on these issues,  some of them in 
cooperation with the U nited States . The IMPAC CT working group on Importation and Customs 
Clearance Together, which was set up in 2017, focuses primarily on the importation of relief items 
during national disasters. IMPAC CT receives the req uest from humanitarian partners regarding the 
cross-border movement of relief during complex emergencies.  
6.30.  Finally, the principles identified are also in line with the relevant provisions of the TFA. Given 
the context of the recent COVID -19 pandemic and the  increased emergencies and disasters, the EU 
sees value in closer cooperation in this area. In that respect, as also mentioned by Japan, the EU G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  also calls for close cooperation with the World Customs Organization and the work they have done 
on this topic. We encourage other Members to join us in co -sponsoring this communication.  
6.31.  The delegate of  Canada  indicated the following:  
6.32.  Canada is also pleased to be a co -sponsor of this communication.  We recognize the important 
role that trade facilitation measures ca n play in the response to crises  and equally, how important it 
is that appropriate systems, procedures, and tools are in place before a crisis hits.  We are pleased 
to support the communication and to continue the discussion on how trade facilitation can su pport 
responses to emergency situations.  We encourage other Members to also continue co -sponsoring 
the communication.  
6.33.  The delegate of  Chinese Taipei  indicated the following:  
6.34.  Thank you to  the United States and T ürkiye for initiating this critical communication and 
raising this urgent issue within the Committee.  As a co -sponsor of this communication, we believe 
this is a matter deserving of collective attention.  
6.35.  Humanitarian emergencies and disasters can occur anywhere,  anytime, with devastating 
consequences for affected populations.  It is during th ese crisis that the international community 
must unite to expedite the delivery of essential humanitarian aid.  
6.36.  We support  the communication's emphasis on four core principles  which  can yield significant 
benefits, especially when implemented in non -emergency situations.  
6.37.  We are pleased to join the other co -sponsors in support ing it, and we are also glad to hear 
that Japan has expressed its intention to join.  In conclusion, we sup port the proposal to continue 
exploring this topic through informal experience sharing within the Committee.  This will facilitate 
deeper collaboration among Members, ultimately improving the movement of humanitarian goods 
during emergencies and disasters.  
6.38.  The delegate of  the Philippines  indicated the following:  
6.39.  The Philippines NTFC has created reform area s to assist us in the successful implementation 
of our programmes, one of which is emergency response measures, which echoes the 
communication from our co lleagues.  
6.40.  Indeed, emergency response measures were essential in enhancing our economic growth, 
restoring our trade route s, and taking action on the negative impacts of the pandemic. This is one 
of our priority areas and is also related to the TF A provision  on the acceptance of electronic copies 
as we endeavour to fully eliminate the need for any paper -based submissions to expedite processing 
of essential commodities among all government agencies.  
6.41.  The Philippines is likewise pleased to share that in line with the core principles identified, our 
legislation or legal framework is equipped to process relief consignments in cases of emergencies in 
an expedited manner while maintaining our mandates to protect our borders. This was evident 
especially during the height of the pandemic where essential goods were processed with ease as we 
established a centralized clearance procedure involving all regulatory agencies , and programmes for 
digitization were given priority.  
6.42.  The Philippines very much welcome the recommen dations raised and we can share  our 
experiences further in case additional details are necessary.  
6.43.  The delegate of  Thailand  indicated the following:  
6.44.  Thailand  would like to thank Türkiye for introducing the paper, and thank you to the 
co-sponsors of the document G/TFA/W/94/Rev.1  for the communication.  
6.45.  The paper captures the gist of past discussions and highlights areas of trade facilitation that 
can b e enhanced and prepared for future crises. While capital is still carefully assessing the paper, 
we share similar views to the principles mentioned  in the communication  which are the basis for G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  immediate response to avoid  the threat of disruption in time s of crisis emergencies.  In fact, we see 
that this proposal is valid adheres  to the WTO objective  to help trade flow smoothly, freely, and 
predictably.  
6.46.  With regard to the communication, i t would be beneficial to exchange views on the definition 
of goods that would be subject to measure s facilitating humanitarian relief in emergency situations , 
as well as the definition of such situation s. This would help Members to achieve a better 
understanding of each other 's challenges and expectations before any collaborat ion or protocols 
could then be further decided in responding of emergency or disaster.  
6.47.  Thailand welcomes  further discussion through experience sharing in informal mode within the 
CTF and engagement with other relevant stakeholders.  However, we know that so me themes such 
as border agency coordination and digitization might overlap with China's  proposal.  We would 
suggest merging common themes to avoid duplication.  
6.48.  Thailand remains committed and would like to engage on this important issue.  
6.49.  The delegate of  the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
6.50.  The UK would like to thank the US, Türkiye, and other co -sponsors for this proposa l which 
helpfully builds on the work we have already undertaken on disaster preparedness in this Committee.  
6.51.  As co -sponsor of this communication, the UK welcomes the suggestion to continue this 
important work, but with a specific focus on how we reflect on and use the TFA to facilitate 
humanitarian relief in emergency situations through effective implementation and experience 
sharing before disasters occur.  
6.52.  The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
6.53.  We thank Türkiye  and the United States  for drafting this document . We share the views 
expressed ; how to  anticipate ourselves and have procedures that allow us to be prepared, a s was 
mentioned . We would like to be on the list of exchange of experiences  and good practices, for the 
National Committee of Facilitation  to be ready in this kind of situations . 
6.54.  The delegate of  Singapore  indicated the following:  
6.55.  Singapore would like to t hank the proponents for this proposal and the organization of several 
past dedicated sessions on this issue. The four core principles identified in the paper are sensible 
and we agree that the benefits of these principles are maximized if work is undertake n during times 
of non -emergency.  
6.56.  In that regard, we welcome the suggestion for the Committee to continue examining this 
topic, including engaging with external stakeholders, such as NGOs, academics, donor organizations, 
and the private sector.  
6.57.  The delegat e of Australia  indicated the following:  
6.58.  Australia thanks Türkiye and the United States for presenting the proposal, as well as the 
other Members who have worked to bring this important proposal forward. Australia views the paper 
as identifying the core tr ade facilitation principles to address in times of non -emergency. That is to 
say, to ensure countries can best receive humanitarian relief in times of crisis or national emergency.  
6.59.  Australia supports the paper in principle. However, we are still consulting  and receiving 
feedback  from capital and we  will report back with our final views.  
6.60.  The delegate of  St. Vincent and the Grenadines  (on behalf of  CARICOM)  indicated the 
following:  
6.61.  Many thanks to the United States and the other co -sponsors of this proposal on facilitating 
humanitarian relief in emergency situations.  We particularly wish to thank the United  States for 
reaching out to members of the CARICOM Group on this proposal.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  6.62.  The CARICOM region is one which is forced to confront on a regular basi s climatic events, 
environmental emergencies and natural disasters.  Therefore, the thrust of this current proposal is 
one which we can identify with and we broadly support the effort by the co -sponsors to call attention 
to the topic of emergency response  and preparedness.  
6.63.  Most recently, the COVID -19 pandemic demonstrated the need for the WTO Members to have 
expedited procedures to facilitate access to life -saving equipment and supplies.  In the aftermath of 
the COVID -19 pandemic, several CARICOM countries to ok action to expedite implementation of 
certain trade facilitation measures,  in particular, enhanced use of AS YCUDA for paperless 
transactions, automation and increased use of repayment facilities and electronic issuance of import 
and export licen ces. 
6.64.  Howe ver, sustained rollout of trade facilitation reforms such as these requires substantial 
capital layout and investments in institutional and legislative reforms.  In this connection, efforts to 
facilitate humanitarian relief also necessitate a commitment of resources to those WTO Members at 
lower levels of development.  
6.65.  Against this backdrop, the four principles enunciated in the current proposal are of interest to 
the CARICOM Group which  views them positively . With respect to digitization  in particular , we are 
pleased that the proponents have recognized that this constit utes a long -term investment.  Given 
the digital divide faced by many developing and least develop ed countries, including small island 
developing States,  this is perhaps an area where donor Members and relevant international 
organizations with capacity and r esources can make a formal commitment to build digital capacity 
in countries that need it.  
6.66.  We look forward to further dialogue on what is a very constructive proposal.  
6.67.  The representative of the World Customs Organi zation ( WCO)  indicated the following:  
6.68.  The WCO would like to thank the proponents for their submission, and we would like to also 
thank Japan and the European Union for their reference to the WCO guidelines on disaster 
management and supply chain continuity developed under the COVID -19 project in 2021, as well as 
the work the WCO has already done in this area.  
6.69.  The WCO has close to 30 instruments and tools, guidance materials, and policy papers directly 
dealing with the cross -border movement of relief consignments and e quipment imported for the 
humanitarian purposes. The WCO would be happy to make a presentation in this regard at the next 
Committee meeting if requested, and the WCO is also ready to further support the future work under 
this Committee in this area.  
6.70.  The de legate of  Türkiye  indicated the following:  
6.71.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the co -sponsors of this paper, as well as all 
other WTO M embers who are open to further discussing this issue which has some  close relevance 
to other issues bein g discussed.  
6.72.  We agree that there are some cross -cutting issues, mainly to digitization and trade and health 
initiative . The importance of the paper comes from the fact that there are  more and more global 
natural disasters in recent years.  For example, the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report in 
2018 identified  extreme weather events and natural disasters as the top  two risks. But there are 
other  global risk s, such as earthquakes , which Türkiye suffered a few months ago  with devastating 
effects,  includ ing the loss of thousands  of people, and huge impacts on the economy.  
6.73.  So it is important that we discuss this issue, as was also under lined during  dedicated sessions 
that were held this year . Hopefully , we will continu e on this path, and we will be looking forward to 
receiving feedback from the private sector  and NGOs and any other partners that can help us to  
better understand the risks and challenges  as well as the opportunities that Governments have, plus 
the benefits fr om the TFA.  
6.74.  With regard to  the definition of the essential goods  for disaster relief, it is too premature to 
attempt to define what essential goods are . But there are more or less common understanding s at G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  national level s when Governments are facing natura l disasters as to what  kind of goods are essential.  
For example, Annex J of the WCO R evised Kyoto Convention of the WCO, to which  Türkiye  is not a 
party, but in practice, it was the essential goods  listed therein  that T ürkiye  had recourse to during 
earthqu akes that it suffered . The list, for example, includes goods like vehicles  and other means of 
transport, foodstuffs, medicaments, clothing, blankets, tents, prefabricated houses . 
6.75.  Regarding references to the WCO, we are very much open to better coordination  with the 
WCO. We are willing to learn from the existing guidelines and their implementation in practice by 
different WTO Members . We would like to learn from each other's experiences as we continue to 
discuss this issue.  We are open to discussion also how  to avoid duplication with some other 
cross-cutting issues  while we are trying to focus on the humanitarian situation and avoiding a 
profound impact on our national economies and the efficient functioning of the global supply chains.  
6.76.  I appreciate the  openn ess of delegation s to continue to discuss this issue in an informal mode 
in this Committee . We are very much willing to contribute further on this topic, and we are looking 
forward to other possible co -sponsors that can strengthen the work we are trying to do in discussing 
this paper.  
6.77.  The delegate of  Nigeria  indicated the following:  
6.78.  We wish to than k Türkiye , the United States , and other co -sponsors of this proposal, which 
we welcome.  While it is  currently being reviewed in capital , we would like to assure our Turkish 
colleagues that Nigeria is likely to join as one of the co -sponsors after the conclusion of the review 
process.  
6.79.  Nigeria  will certainly engage in the discussion on how we can deliver on the objective of the 
paper.  
6.80.  The delegate of  China indicated the following:  
6.81.  China also welcomes the communication shared by T ürkiye  and the U nited States  to facilitate 
humanitarian relief in emergenc ies through enhancing trade facilitation.  We share the same 
understanding that improving trade facilitation in relevant areas can help promote humanitarian 
relief an enhance the role of the TFA.  
6.82.  China is open to  further discussion on this relevant proposal.  Before this meeting, I already 
shared some comments on this document, such as how to clarify the humanitarian goods. We are 
ready to engage  in future discussion s with Members . In recent years, China also has m ade progress 
in relevant areas of disaster preparedness and is willing to strengthen its communication and 
exchange with other Members in this regard.  When appropriate , our experts would like to share our 
relevant experience and practice s. 
6.83.  Regarding potential over -lap between the proposal in the communication regarding 
digita lization and China's and Mongolia's proposal promoting the digital revolution and the use of 
intelligence technologies , I think  that the proposals maybe focus on differe nt themes.  And both these 
areas, digitalization and new technologies  are very important for facilitat ing humanitarian relief . 
China's proposal  will support this  initiative . We do not think  that there is any difficulty in develop ing 
both of these proposal s and w e look forward to the further synergy and the mutual support between 
these proposals.  
6.84.  The Committee took note  of the information and the statements made.  
6.85.  That concluded  agenda item 6. 
7  ENHANCING  THE ROLE OF THE WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT IN PROM OTING 
FOOD SECURITY – COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES  (G/TFA/W/95 /REV.1 ) 
7.1.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  7.2.  The United States is pleased to introduce a new communication on enhancing the role of the 
WTO TFA in promoting food security, which highlights how robust implementation of  the TFA benefits 
agri-food trade , and in doing so contributes to food security.  
7.3.  The World Food Program reports the largest food and nutrition crisis in modern history  that an 
estima ted 345 million people are actually food insecure. We as a trade community can play an 
important role in ensuring that food is affordable and available to those in need.  
7.4.  While many WTO agreements contribute to global food security, trade facilitation measu res to 
expedite the movement, clearance and release of goods play a key role in ensuring agri -food moves 
in an expeditious manner and reduces loss and spoilage of needed crops and food bec ause of 
bureaucracy at the border.  
7.5.  For this reason, we suggest we us e our expertise in this Committee and take a closer look at 
TFA provisions, which, if implemented effectively, could support food security. In our paper we 
highlighted a few TFA areas that support movement of agricultural food products, including 
transpare ncy in the form of online publications, predictability in the form of pre -arrival processing 
and release of perishable goods within short timeframes and before the final determination of duties 
or charges, and cost reduction in the form of digitalization o f border procedures with an option for 
electronic payment as well as operationalization of single window.  
7.6.  The CTF is delivering real successes from Members' collaboration and experience sharing. For 
this reason, we ask Members to consider holding thematic sessions on this important topic in the 
future to allow countries to share their experiences with challenges in agri -food trade, or Members 
share their experience with the interagency coordination to implement TFA, or learn about initiatives 
to facilitate agri-food trade undertak en by other international organizations. We are interested to 
hear Members' ideas on how we can work together  in this Committee  to help to address global food 
challenges.    
7.7.  The delegate of  Senegal  indicated the following:  
7.8.  Senegal w ould like to thank the United States for its communication on enhancing the role of 
the TFA in promoting food security . The fact that the communication is addressed to several 
committees and not only to the C ommittee on Agriculture  underlines  once again that food security 
is a cross -cutting issue.  
7.9.  If strengthen ing the role of the TFA would help promote  food security , then the additional  
flexibilities in other agreements,  notably  the Agreement on Agriculture,  are indispensable  for an 
open market  in food productions.  
7.10.  The food crisis is linked mostly to the availability of products rather than the complexities  of 
customs procedure s.  
7.11.  For this reason, the most vulnerable  countries should be exonerated from export restrictions 
on exports  directed towards poor net  food importing countries . 
7.12.  The delegate of  Japan  indicated the following:  
7.13.  Japan would like to appreciate the U.S. proposal. The proposal is a good basis for 
evidence -based discussions, as indicated by citing the OECD's Trade Faci litation Indicators  (TFIs) , 
and Japan is ready to engage constructively on the issues raised by the proposal. We  are also 
interested in sharing best practice among Members, including developing Members . 
7.14.  We also recognize that at the meeting of the Work Pro gram on Food Security for LDCs and 
Net Food -Importing Developing Countries ( NFIDCs ) under the Committee on Agriculture, the 
time-consuming procedures at Customs when receiving emergency food aid , and taxation and fees 
on aid materials in the recipient coun try of food aid has also been a point of discussion. Therefore, 
it would be beneficial to work towards resolving these issues in cooperation with the Committee on 
Agriculture, if necessary.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  7.15.  The delegate of  Singapore  indicated the following:  
7.16.  Singapore woul d like to thank the U.S. for bringing to the Committee's attention the important 
benefit of an effective implementation of the TFA.  In our view, trade policies have an essential role 
to play to help ensure food must be able to circulate from countries with  surpluses to those with 
deficits.  And we agree with the U.S. that these are useful TFA provisions, such as providing for the 
timely release of perishable goods  or single windows to clear agri -food products that may be subject 
to review or inspection by mu ltiple agencies.  The recommendations highlighted in paragraph  4.2 are 
sensible, and Singapore supports the call for further discussions and thematic sessions.  
7.17.  The delegate of  Thailand  indicated the following:  
7.18.  Thailand would like to thank the United States for introducing the paper . We would like to 
share our preliminary comments . We are of the view that this paper has its own merits and  Thailand  
agrees in principle to enhance the TFA roles in the area of the food security, which is also one of the 
priorities for Thailand and other Members.  
7.19.  Since food security is complex in nature, we agree that there is potential to collaborate with 
other relevant committees and international organizations to leverage their expertise to brainstorm 
ideas and exchange v iews. This is also consistent with Members' suggestions under the WTO reform 
agenda to enhance coordination among committees.  
7.20.  We also believe that issues raised in the paper are important, and th at trade facilitation is one 
of the tools to help address foo d security in the short term. However, th at remains a matter of 
ongoing discussion and require s continued efforts from Members. We see that the OECD TFIs 
highlighted in the paper are a good starting point to stimulate the discussion. We agree that sharing 
experience and best practice could lead to the development and improvement of Members' steps 
and procedures t oo possibly elevate standard s and trade facilitation measures for food and 
agricultural products in a practical way.  
7.21.  Thailand is still analysing th e proposal carefully. We are also interested to hear Members' 
views and are open for further discussions if agreed by Members.  
7.22.  The delegate of  the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
7.23.  The UK would like to thank the US for their paper and for explicitly drawing out the benefits 
of trade facilitation implementation in promoting food security. We think it could be beneficial to 
discuss the themes highlighted in the paper and concede that it may be a useful addition to the 
wider existing discussio ns at the WTO on this topic.  
7.24.  The delegate of  Australia  indicated the following:  
7.25.  Australia welcomes the United States ' communication on the role of the TFA in the promotion 
of food security. We can particularly see how its implementation can ensure the eff ective delivery of 
food assistance.  
7.26.  Australia promotes policy options underpinned by the multilateral rules -based trading system 
and science and risk -based decision -making that keeps markets open, do not distort trade and do 
not undermine the food security  of others. Australia notes the relevance and interest in this topic 
across multiple WTO committees and Australia supports further discussion and experience sharing 
on this topic in a trade facilitation context.  
7.27.  The delegate of  India indicated the followin g:  
7.28.  We would like to thank the United States for this submission. It deals with an important and 
very relevant issue. We appreciate that robust implementation of the TFA can play an important role 
in improving the safe, quick and cost -effective movement of  goods, including agriculture and food 
products, to where they are needed.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  7.29.  However, what is important here in this context is to discuss as to how developing countries, 
particularly LDC s, could ensure robust implementation of the Agreement  and the challenges they 
face with respect to capacity and other resource constraints, including that of technology.  
7.30.  We do not see any lack of desire and effort by Members in implementing  the TFA. However, 
implementation of  the TFA poses huge challenges fo r developing countries and LDCs as has been 
brought out in the submission s which we discussed, and particularly today in the Africa n Group 
submission.  
7.31.  With regard to the issue of evidence -based, the submission cites as evidence the analysis by 
the WTO Econ omic Research and Statistics Division ( ERSD ). The study by ERSD was presented at 
the March 2023 Committee meeting and was interesting.  There was an interesting finding in the 
study  revealing that the developed high -income countries  have gained the most fro m the TFA and 
that the  TFA resulted in significantly higher cost reduction  in trade  for developed countries.  
Developing countries' gains were relatively lower, thus in effect , the gap widens.  We would like to 
hear more from the ERSD on this aspect.  In fact , we were in discussion with them about that finding 
and we are waiting for the response from ERSD.  
7.32.  With reference to other evidence included  in the paper,  we would be interested in going 
through the forthcoming OECD report mentioned in the submission,  particularly as regard s the 
assumptions made therein for their reasonableness.  As the paper mentions, the gain up to 32% in 
international trade of agri -products  as mentioned in the submission should have really addressed 
the food crisis issue significantly.  Accordingly, we are  in the process of analysing the proposal further.  
We would be happy to engage constructively on this issue.  
7.33.  The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
7.34.  We would like to thank the United States for the document and for placing this item on the 
agenda. It  is very important for us to tackle this in the Trade Facilitation Committee.  
7.35.  As a suggestion, in point four, where they speak about digitalization, perhaps we could link 
this with health certificates. The document refers  more to the customs aspect and our experience in 
Colombia is that one of the factors that can speed up trade  flows or decrease processing times is 
exchanging health certificates between countries.  
7.36.  The delegate of  Türkiye  indicated the following:  
7.37.  I would like to also thank the United States for bringing up this issue to this Committee . Of 
course, the TFA and transparency,  predictability and  sustainable  open markets can be part of the 
solution for food security problems.  Likewise, better effectuating the TF A can also be a solution in 
addressing food security problems of individual countries.  
7.38.  However, my delegation is of the view that it can only  be part of the solution,  not a panacea 
for the food -security  related issues  which is a multifaceted issue.  When it  comes to food security, 
there may be so many important dimensions  that should be addressed from different angles , 
including , among others,  agricultural production levels  and competitiveness of agricultural 
production of countries.  
7.39.  It is important that we are engaging in such a discussion,  which will be very important to 
better understand  the implementation of the TFA for the se specific purposes.  As we continue our 
discussions  it would also be important to look at what we have in the TFA itself.  The Article  9 
provision on perishable goods  is an opportunity that we have at hand  and it can be better utilized  
for the  purpose of food security. Article 7.9.1(b) refers to exceptional circumstances and how the 
trade procedures or customs procedures  can be better processed in the exceptional circumstances,  
including those applicable to perishable goods.  
7.40.  So we are open to further discuss this issue,  but without compromising the  notion of  food 
safety.  In this respect, I would like to draw attention to the paragraph 5.1 of the U.S. communication  
in which there is a reference to ensuring food safety.  While we are talking about food security, food 
safety is something else,  and there should be no call, no intention to compromise the food safety 
regulations  or food safety practices of each country which  are being implemented  in principle  in G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  accordance with the commitments undertaken in the W TO SPS Agreement.  As we would like to 
better understand this notion,  we would like to ask the proponents of this communication  why there 
is specific reference to food safety in addressing food security  and better using  the TFA provisions 
to achieve this.  We would appreciate further clarification on t his specific point.  
7.41.  The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
7.42.  The European Union would like to thank the United States for this timely submission, given 
the ongoing food security challenges and how high food security features on the WTO  agenda this 
day. 
7.43.  The food insecurity situation around the globe is aggravated because of Russia's war of 
aggression against Ukraine. This submission comes as an appropriate follow -up to the MC12 
Ministerial Declaration on the emergency response to food in security.  
7.44.  The delegate of  Pakistan  indicated the following:  
7.45.  I would like to take the opportunity to thank the United States for highlighting this very 
important issue, especially for countries like Pakistan  that still have a very large agricultural base. 
The Government of Pakistan has been making efforts to have more focus on the trade of agriculture 
products and commodities through implementation of the TFA.  
7.46.  The Ministry of Agriculture was the first ministry to be integrated into the Pakistan single 
windo w system along with the Animal Quarantine Department, with the result that al l the 
phytosanitary certificates, the import permits that are required on the imports or exports of 
agriculture products or animal products are now issued electronically. And the implementation of 
this one single measure has greatly facilitated the trade of Pakistan's agriculture products.  
7.47.  We are now also looking into integration with the e-phyto hub that is there by the  International 
Plant Protection Convention  (IPCC). I would also like to highlight that there  is a need for further 
coordination between different international organizations that are working in this space. For 
example, the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) deals with food security and food trade , and 
the measures that each individual country is taking  for the implementation of the TFA would benefit 
from enhanced coordination and collaboration between international institutions.  
7.48.  In principle, we support the ideas contained  in this communication, and we would be willing 
and happy to share our own experience with other Members  on how to integrate agri -food products 
and food products into the implementation of  the TFA.   
7.49.  The delegate of Peru indicated the follow ing:  
7.50.  Peru would like to thank the United States for this document, and we would also like to add 
that ensur ing rapid clearance  of food products and avoid ing their deterioration  is linked to the 
application of appropriate risk management  systems,  both by h ealth and customs authorities. In 
order to do this, countries need to have technological systems which bolster risk management, and 
this can be part of the single -window system.  
7.51.  As the document indicates , single windows are key tools in achieving the aim o f guaranteeing 
food security. This topic is also related to notifications for enhanced controls or inspections , which if 
strengthened, would also contribute to this goal . 
7.52.  The delegate of  China  indicated the following:  
7.53.  China welcomes the U.S. communication  and we agree that improving the implementation of 
the TFA can help in enhancing food security.  China is ready to engage in further discussion  and 
experience sharing with Members in this regar d. We observe that this document  was circulated in 
several committees and we  look forward to the proper coordination  of the discussions in the different 
committees.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  7.54.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
7.55.  I would like to thank everyone for providing their comments. We strongly agree tha t food 
security is a very complex and cross -cutting issue, and for this reason, the United States submitted 
its first communication on the WTO's role in enhancing food security in March 2023 to the Committee 
on Agriculture.  
7.56.  As we all know, several WTO agre ements contribute to food security, and the TFA is one of 
them. We agree that trade facilitation is not a solution, but it is a part of the solution, and we strongly 
feel that with expertise in this Committee, we can all explore the gains from the TFA that  could be 
accrued from the movement of agri -food across the borders with the goal of ensuring food security.  
7.57.  We are open to exploring options for discussions. The ideas in the paper are just our 
preliminary ideas, but we  are definitely open to other topics  and engage with Members  in the future.  
7.58.  The Committee took note  of the information and the statements made.  
7.59.  That concluded  agenda item 7. 
8  INDONESIA'S  CUSTOMS PROCEDURES  FOR INTANGIBLE PRODUCTS - REQUEST BY THE 
UNITED STATES ( G/TFA/Q/IDN/1 ); (G/TFA/Q/IDN/2 ) 
8.1.  The Chair recalled that item 8 was a request by the United States regarding Indonesia's 
customs procedures for intangible products.  
8.2.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
8.3.  The United States  thanks Indonesia for its responses to some of the U.S. questions posed in 
March 2023. Indonesia's response validated U.S. significant concerns with Indonesia's regulation on 
transfer of self -consumed goods.  
8.4.  To remind Members, this regulation stipulates cu stom operation for intangible goods, including  
through procedural requirements and Chapter 99 of the Indonesia's tariff schedule. The regulation 
has been in force since 14 January 2023, creating significant administrative burden on U.S. industries 
by requi ring customs import declaration for digital goods and a new paperwork retention requirement 
that is undefined and uncertain.  
8.5.  It is still not clear to us if Indonesia followed a consultation process per Article 2 of the TFA. 
We ask Indonesia again to explai n how it consulted with traders and the public about this new 
regulation and if it took any comments into consideration before the implementation this January.  
8.6.  As a reminder, we have a number of outstanding questions for Indonesia in regards of TFA 
Article  6.3 on penalty disciplines, TFA Article 7.5 on customs audit including document retention 
requirements, TFA Article 10.1.1 on formalities and documentation requirements, and Article 3, to 
which we ask Indonesia to respond in writing as soon as possible.  
8.7.  We want once again to call out an example of our concern. Indonesia states that the new 
regulation only applies to legal entities and not personal, so cell phone users are not supposed to be 
impacted. But according to Article 1 of the regulation, the liable  person is an importer who is a 
natural person or legal person. Therefore, everyone with a cell phone is within the scope of this 
regulation.  
8.8.  Second, Indonesia specifically states that all electronic data is within the scope. Therefore, 
there is no distinc tion and liability  is attached  to a 3D picture, a pathogen report, an email and 
meme, or even an app update. Our concerns are not addressed by Indonesia's reply, and again, we 
ask them to rethink the current regulation and come to the table with private se ctor and others to 
create an approach that is fair, clear, and takes into account the current rule of law.  
8.9.  Because of the enormous impact this regulation is already having and will have on millions of 
people, the United States continues to raise its concerns in this Committee, and we ask Indonesia 
again to suspend the application of this regulation, at least until Members hav e a clear understanding G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  on how this regulation complies with the TFA and until Indonesia can answer many questions around 
this regulation in this Committee.  
8.10.  We thank Indonesia for continued bilateral engagement and look forward to receiving 
Indonesia's replies.  
8.11.  The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
8.12.  The European Union would like to thank the United States for bringing the issue to the 
attention of this Committee. Imposing new customs procedures and reporting requirements  will put 
an additional burden on users of digital services. While we appreciate the replies from Indonesia, we 
would welcome more information. Indonesia notes that the regulation will not lead to any trade 
distortions at the global level, nor will it crea te any undue administrative burdens for the importation 
of digital products that are transmitted electronically.  
8.13.  However, it appears that additional customs procedures for electronic purchases are being 
implemented here. This will undeniably create a new n egative signal for foreign investors and could 
create trade distortions. Could Indonesia please explain further on how these measures do not 
contradict the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions?  
8.14.  Additionally, we fail to see how such a measure would be compatible with the ambitions of 
the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, the negotiations of which have been recently 
launched in Jakarta. The EU would also appreciate more information on the definitions, including the 
exact scope  of digital goods. There is also a lack of clarity in determining the country of origin and 
the valuation.  
8.15.  The delegate of Australia  indicated the following:  
8.16.  Australia joins the United States and other delegations in expressing our concerns at 
Indonesia's  application of the regulation as it relates to intangible goods. The last two decades have 
seen exponential growth in data -crossing borders, including via emails, video calls, digital movies 
and other transfers.  
8.17.  Indonesia has capitalized on this boom in d igital technology and e -commerce, with Indonesian 
start-ups trading across multiple jurisdictions. With the introduction of this regulation, Indonesia 
becomes the only WTO Member requiring a customs procedure for intangible goods.  
8.18.  Australia is concerned th at these additional procedures are inconsistent with efforts to 
streamline and reduce the burden of import procedures. These additional burdens have the potential 
to negatively impact on digital trade, with increased costs for exporters and customers of in tangible 
goods.  
8.19.  We would welcome further details on how Indonesia is and intends to apply this regulation 
and the intention behind the introduction of these additional procedures. We are also interested to 
hear how Indonesia is engaging with industry stak eholders on the regulation and responses from 
industry to its introduction.  
8.20.  The delegate of Canada  indicated the following:  
8.21.  Canada supports the questions that have been raised by other Members, and thanks 
Indonesia for the answers provided so far. Canada would also like to echo calls for additional 
information to respond to the concerns raised by Members.  
8.22.  The delegate of Singapore  indicated the following:  
8.23.  Singapore thank s the United States for raising this agenda item and Indonesia's response to 
the U.S. written questions. We join other delegations in expressing queries and concerns, especially 
with the transparency of the measure, whether adequate consultations have been conducted, and 
how stakeholder feedback ha s been taken into account.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  8.24.  We will apprecia te additional clarity on how this regulation is being operationalized, given the 
potentially wide scope and additional administrative burden for businesses, in particular MSMEs, 
which are the backbone of Indonesia's economy. We echo other Members' call for  Indonesia to 
suspend the application of this regulation until Members' questions and concerns are addressed.  
8.25.  The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
8.26.  The U.K. shares the concerns shared by the U.S. and other colleagues in this Committe e 
regarding Indonesia's regulation. We  would like to thank Indonesia for their written answers to the 
questions and can confirm that we are still reviewing the m in capital.  
8.27.  The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
8.28.  Japan also shares the concerns raised by the United States and other Members, and would 
like to seek more clarification from Indonesia.  
8.29.  The delegate of Chinese Taipei  indicated the following:  
8.30.  We would like to thank Indonesia for its written responses, but we also share some co ncerns 
raised by the other Members. We understand that Indonesia has implemented a Chapter  99 
classification for intangible goods, which requires importers to self -assess and declare the imported 
items' value and classification.  
8.31.  However, there seems to be an absence of clear and transparent guidelines  pertaining to the 
classification, valuation,  and documentation of intangible products.  This lack of clarity raises 
concerns about potential challenges  that business may encounter when they a re trying to naviga te 
customs procedures efficiently.  
8.32.  We would appreciate insights into how Indonesia's customs procedures  for intangible products 
align with international customs practices  and WTO principles.  Clear and predictable customs 
processes are essential  to promote trade and investment.  
8.33.  However, the new measure, which mandates customs import declaration  for digital goods and 
introduce additional paperwork retention,  could impose a significant administrative burden,  
potentially increases costs for business,  and may no t support a conductive trading environment  for 
intangible products.  
8.34.  We appreciate the opportunity to raise these doubts for further discussion.  
8.35.  The delegate of Korea, Republic of  indicated the following:  
8.36.  Thanks to the United States for raising this issue,  and to Indonesia for the written replies. 
Korea has concerns on the Indonesian Regulation which has  been creating administrative burdens 
for Korean industries. Korea also kindly asks Indonesia to suspend the application of this Regulation 
and to have more  consultation with stakeholders and Members.  
8.37.  The delegate of Indonesia  indicated the following:  
8.38.  Indonesia values the ongoing interest in this matter and has taken diligent note of all the 
comments raised. In addressing the concerns regarding the implementation of Minister of Finance 
Regulation Number 190 of 2022, we refer Members to our previous statements where we have 
sought to provide clarity on this measure.  
8.39.  It is crucial to underscore that the primary aim of this measure is to establish clear  and 
transparent guidelines for the customs import declaration process for intangible goods. 
Consequently, we wish to reiterate that there are no additional customs procedures or import 
declaration necessitated for the entry of digital goods.  
8.40.  Importers ret ain the option to submit their import declarations through the Convenient Online 
Application System, or CESA. In response to the written inquiries from the United States, as G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  delegations have mentioned, Indonesia has furnished comprehensive and detailed exp lanations as 
outlined in document G/TFA/Q/IDN/2 .  
8.41.  Prior to the issuance of the regulation, the Ministry of Finance conducted a public hearing 
alongside multiple dissemination efforts aimed at providing technical assistance and information to 
importers in January, April, and June 2023. An d in responding to the request to seek clarification 
and explanations, Indonesia Customs has facilitated the consultative meetings, with among others, 
several embassies, the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, Australian Department of 
Foreign Affair s and Trade ( DFAT ), and US-ASEAN Business Council  (USABC ), companies, and other 
associations.  
8.42.  We wish to emphasize our continued openness to engaging in further discussions on this 
matter.  
8.43.  The Committee took note of the information and of the statements ma de. 
8.44.  That concluded  agenda item 8. 
9  MC12 IMPLEMENTATION  MATTERS  
i. Improving the Functioning of the Committee on Trade Facilitation (G/L/1474  - 
G/TFA/W/88 ); ( G/C/W/824/Rev.1 ); ( JOB/TF/234 ); ( JOB/TF/235 ); 
(JOB/TF/237 ); (JOB/TF/239 ) 
9.1.  The Chair indicated the following:  
9.2.  The Chair recalled the request from the CTG for a report from each of its subsidiary bodies on  
improving the functioning of the committees. The CTG Chair underlined the "common understanding 
that each committee is free to organize its work as it sees fit. And it is up to each committee to 
decide the way in which they would like to improve their fun ctioning, taking into account the interests 
of Members".  
9.3.  This Committee had a first exchange on possible improvements to the functioning of the TF 
Committee at the March meeting. As a follow -up to that exchange, the former Chair of the 
Committee circulate d, on 3 April, a summary of the inputs from the March meeting, requesting 
additional ideas and suggestions which could be consolidated into a document as a basis for further 
discussions in the Committee.  
9.4.  I subsequently requested the Secretariat to prepare a document containing the consolidated 
list of suggestions identified by Members plus the current practice in the Committee with regard to 
the suggestions made, and I took the opportunity to identify a number of the suggestions that I 
believed the Committe e could easily adopt in the short term. The document was circulated as 
JOB/TF/234 . 
9.5.  Using JOB/TF/234  as a basis, the Committee held further discussions in an informal meeting 
that took place on 26 July and identified a number of next steps that could be taken. I circulated a 
summary report of the meeting and identified next steps in JOB/TF/235 .   
9.6.  The C ommittee met formally on 15 -16 June 2023 and had an exchange of views. The 
Committee met informally on 26 July to advance the discussion and as a result of these discussions, 
the Committee agreed to implement eight changes with a view to improving its func tioning. The 
discussions are reflected in the Chair's Summary Report of the meeting in document JOB/TF/235 . 
Two of the changes 1) circulation of an annotated agenda ahead of formal meetings of the 
Committee, ten days in advance of the meeting and 2) implement ation of an eAgenda on a trial 
basis, subject to budgetary and resource considerations were adopted through formal written 
procedures in documents JOB/TF/237  and G/TFA/7 . The remaining six changes will be introduced 
by the Secretariat to the way in which it supports  the work of the Committee.   
9.7.  As a follow -up to this process, I circulated a draft report in JOB/TF/239  which consolidates the 
developments resulting from the process described above.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  9.8.  Therefore, to summarize, the draft report describes the discussions held a nd improvements 
introduced in the Committee on Trade Facilitation in the context of the WTO "Reform by Doing" 
process since the conclusion of MC12 (June 2022), following extensive discussions by Members, and 
with a view to better responding to their mandat e and terms of reference.  
9.9.  The delegate of Djibouti (on behalf of the LDC Group)  indicated the following:  
9.10.  The LDC Group thanks the Chair  and the Secretariat for the useful draft fact ual report.  
Regarding Section 3 of the document G/TFA/W/88, the LDC Group would like to put on record a few 
points.  
9.11.  The LDC Group supports improvements to the functioning of committees, in particular, those 
that had a genesis in the LDC Group submission JOB/GC/223/Rev.1 . Those include use of annotated 
agendas, expediting the production of minutes, mechanisms to avoid overlapping of key meetings, 
summary notes the same day of meetings, translation provided for all informal meetings as well.   
9.12.  However, the LDC Grou p calls on all proposals requiring adoption and of a crosscutting nature, 
to be sent to the General Council for debate and for General Council recommendations for decision 
at MC13, as provided in paragraph 3 of the MC12 Outcome Document.  In fact, this prov ision does 
not distinguish between crosscutting and other reform proposals for decision.  We supported 
paragraph 3 because we were concerned about any matters taken up beyond the mandates of the 
sub-bodies and the ability to debate properly all reform propo sals scattered across the WTO bodies.  
We are small delegations; however, we are all at the General Council.    
9.13.  We also express concern about the use of the "written procedure " especially during summer 
recess, regarding any item that requires adoption, unless there is a consensus on the urgency and 
why a special meeting outlining matters for adoption could not be held.  We do not see the urgency 
to take decisions in this matter on WTO Reform and where there are impacts across the institution 
and on LDCs.  
9.14.  We acknowledge that some matters have two sides to be considered.  But we see that recently 
only one side of a proposal has been taken into account and adoption was done by written procedure.  
9.15.  One of the important considerations of the LDC Group co ncerning WTO institutional reform 
has been that two-or-three -person delegations, with even only one delegate following the WTO, 
cannot keep up with the proliferation of meetings of all of the bodies.  In the enthusiasm to take 
practical steps to improve the  committee work, which we supported, there has been an avalanche 
of meetings of sub -bodies and at the council levels, which even our focal point designated by the 
LDC Group to follow reform cannot follow.  
9.16.  Matrices have been prepared, some including the are as for decisions, and others do not.  
Regarding the improvements specific to the CTF, we acknowledge those areas elaborated in 
paragraph 3.4 (5)  of this document , as useful improvements.  We also note here improvements 
concerning the minutes described in Sec tion 2  of the document . 
9.17.  The Chair indicated  the following:  
9.18.  The Chair recalled  that the foundation of the work that we  have developed , not only in this 
Committee but in several committees, is with the understanding that each committee is free to 
organize it s own work and we  have tried to accommodate these debates in the best possible way.  
The process in this Committee did not start in August as we had proposed in the July meeting 
precisely because we felt that delegations would not have the time or the level of attention to address 
this. Accordingly,  the process started in September . Nonetheless, we are open to all comm ents and 
questions to allow us to improve our discussion and our work which is aimed precisely at enhancing 
participation  of all participants in the Committee . 
9.19.  In relation to cross -cutting issues, we  have identified some topics that are for consideration 
to the General Council. One issue is the impact on the budget of some of the proposed improvements 
and another concerns the planning of the overall calendar of WTO meetings . I am at the disposal of 
the LDC Group  to continue discussions on how to improve our process on the way.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  9.20.  The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
9.21.  It is in the interest of all delegations th at the CTF, along with the WTO as a whole,  operates 
efficiently and in a way  which maximizes inclusivity  and the participation of all Members,  most 
notably those with capacity constraints,  as we  have just heard.  
9.22.  The UK has been a strong supporter of this work  throughout the Organization,  tabling 
six papers across a range of WTO bodies  on practical reforms.  Our approach throughout has been 
inspired  by the LDC Group suggestions in document JOB/GC/223/Rev.1  and took note of  papers put 
forward by other Members.  
9.23.  We want to thank you, Chair,  for your efforts in driving practical improvements  to the 
functioning of the Committee  and to the pragmatic approach  that you have taken as Chair.  
9.24.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
9.25.  Thank you, Chair,  for the work that you  have put into this document and this process.  My 
delegation has very much  been a supp orter of the reform -by-doing  and taking a common -sense 
approach  to trying things that may help Members,  and if those things do  not work, then we can 
change them.  Nothing  is set in stone here.   
9.26.  The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
9.27.  I would just like to extend our gratitude to you , Chair,  and the Secretariat of the Committee 
for the significant efforts in analysing and promoting the better functioning of the Committee. We 
know that monumental efforts have be en made to have this discussion not only in this Committee, 
but in several subsidiary bodies of the CTG.  
9.28.  We know there are  matter s that would fall outside the scope of the Committee , but we are 
proponents of an initiative  towards this objective . The answer s and the conclusions arrived at are 
headed in the right direction, and we are very willing to continue working with you and all the 
delegations who so desire in order to have a much more functional and efficient Organization, 
especially for small delegati ons. 
9.29.  The delegate of St. Vincent  and the Grenadines (on behalf of the CARICOM Group)  indicated 
the following:  
9.30.  CARICOM welcomes the report. We also applaud Members for their work in improving the 
functioning of this Committee from a systemic standpoint, al so bearing in mind the capacity 
constraints of many small delegations to engage in the work of the Committee in a granular fashion, 
and further bearing in mind the need to uphold the principles of transparency, inclusivity, and 
consensus decision -making.  
9.31.  We urge that any decisions of a horizontal nature be submitted to Members in the General 
Council prior to their adoption by the Committee. Without this, we run the risk of agreeing to 
fundamental reforms which may affect, albeit inadvertently, the core inte rests of CARICOM 
members.  
9.32.  The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
9.33.  The European Union would also like to thank you for this report. The EU supports the 
improvements included in the document, and we consider them useful. We agree with the pragmatic 
approach of reform -by-doing while recognizing that we do need to ensure tha t the views of all 
Members are taken into account.  
9.34.  The Chair indicated  the following:  
9.35.  I would like to invite those delegations who indicated certain specific concerns to contact me 
and the Secretariat as soon as possible.  The Committee has  been updated on the process, and I 
remind Members  that we have a mandate from the 12th Ministerial Con ference to submit a report to 
the Council for Trade in Goods  (CTG). I intend to circulate a revised version of this report  with a G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  deadline of 30 October for any comments . If I receive no objections to the report by that date, I will 
submit the report to th e CTG before the formal meeting to be held on 30  November  2023.  
9.36.  The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
ii. WTO Response to the Pandemic (G/L/1475  - G/TFA/W/89 ); (G/TFA/W/97/R EV.1) 
9.37.  The Chair indicated the following:  
9.38.  The second element of the CTG -related MC12 implementation matters  concerns  the Trade 
Facilitation Committee's response to the COVID -19 pandemic. The major action of the Committee 
was the compendium of trade facilitation measures implemented by WTO Members and Observers 
in response to COVID -19 as presented to the Trade Facilitation Committee, which was contained in 
document G/TFA/W/40 . 
9.39.  The Committee's intention was that the compendium  would be a repository of best practices. 
As a follow -up to this report, at its informal meeting of 26  July 2023 , the Committee requested the 
Secretariat  to prepare a draft summary of the latest version of the compendium as contained in 
document G/TFA/W/31/Rev.4  under four thematic headings : 1) publication and availability of 
information ; 2) release and clearance of goods ; 3) formalities connected with importation , 
exportation and transit ; 4) other reported trade -facilitation related measures in the COVID -19 
context.  The summary  was circulated in  G/TFA/W/97/Rev.1  for consideration at this  meeting . 
9.40.  The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
9.41.  The United Kingdom would like to thank the Secretariat for diligently pulling together a 
first draft summary of the compendium of COVID -19 responses. Whilst we are still reviewing this 
document in capital and will submit revision suggestions as necessary, the UK would like to signal 
its early support for the summary. We are mindful, however, that other Members may require 
additional time to review,  and would appreciate some clarity on the process for agreeing the final 
version read y for submission to CTG.  
9.42.  The delegate of India indicated the following:  
9.43.  We would like to thank the Committee for circulating  this very useful document as we need 
to learn from the experiences and the measures which were taken by Members during that  
unprec edented time. We will be furnishing our comments, but this is a useful document to begin the 
discussion. Under the next agenda item India will introduce a communication on the measures which 
India took during the COVID pandemic . 
9.44.  The Chair indicated the fol lowing:  
9.45.  I understand from what I have heard that there  is preliminary support for this draft summary,  
while some delegations will need further time to analyse the draft.  Therefore, I invite delegations to 
submit any comments to me as soon as possible so th at we can carry out any consultations that we 
may need to hold in order to revise the report. I will then circulate a revised version of the document 
with a deadline of 30 October  for comments. I would like to call on delegations for flexibility as the  
Committee  will need to adopt th e revised document  in order  to submit it to the CTG for its meeting 
of 30 November  2023.  
9.46.  The Committee took note  of the document and of the statements made.  
9.47.  That concluded  agenda item  9. 
10  TRADE RELATED  MEASURES TAKEN BY INDIA IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID -19 
PANDEMIC AND PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS ( JOB/TF/236 ) – 
COMMUNICATION FROM INDIA  
10.1.  The delegate of India indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  10.2.  India is home to 1.4 billion people.  India was seriously impacted by the COVID -19 pandemic  
and the enormity of challenge was humongous with this population size.  It required an 
unprecedented and unimaginable response to the crisis.   
10.3.  The Council of India responded to the COVID -19 crisis with a whole -of-government approach.  
Relev ant trade policy instruments were put to use very effectively.  Digital innovation in approach 
was the core of the whole response that India took.  The response was multi -pronged , and a 
multitude of stakeholders  was approached and participated with a cohesive approach.  
Non-conventional approaches were taken .  
10.4.  The cargo tracking and report mechanism that was developed for data points in domestic tax 
regime became one of the most important tools as we could assess to quite an extent as to where 
was the c oncentration of supplies like oxygen and other medical products and could distribute them 
to the areas that were facing shortages. Such a use of this IT system was never envisaged but it 
came as a boon.  
10.5.  The crisis had multiple dimensions, health, medical supplies, food services, logistics, services, 
and other essential supplies. All were so seriously affected. Vaccination was a huge challenge with 
our population base. And the response mechanism that was being put in place was untested before. 
Therefore, we  should all marvel now at the response to such a crisis that all of us engaged i n. There 
is so much to learn from this experience that can allow us to  be better prepared in future.  
10.6.  India not only took care of its people but also extended a helping hand to  the world in the 
fight against C OVID . As highlighted in our communication, w e administered 2.21 billion doses of 
vaccines by June 2023 ; we developed, manufactured, and exported COVID -19 health products ; 
COVID -19 vaccination and testing facilities, had an extensive application of digital technology in our 
response efforts , for example, a  COVID -19 Vaccine Intelligence Network in DPI mode; various mobile 
application s like Arogya Sethu; the Aarogyapath National Healthcare Supply Chain Portal; the 
national tele medicine service (eSanjeevani); innovations in the service sector for an almost 
uninterrupted service delivery; measures to address the food security concerns resulting from the 
COVID -19 pandemic , including providing food grains to 800 million beneficiarie s. India's measures 
for providing food security helped nearly 1.4 billion people. India also helped other developing 
countries based on their request s for an augmented supply of essential food grains.  
10.7.  We also took several key trade facilitation measures that are covered in part 6 of the 
submission , in para graph  26. These included switching to paperless, faceless and contactless options 
for various customs procedures; simplification of procedures ; automatic renewals of authori zation;  
plus, a dedicated response framework for our traders , etc. 
10.8.  India's  response particularly highlights the need for trade facilitation, such as the innovative 
approach in response to the pandemic through the  application of DPI, and the role of foreign health 
professionals  in ensuring the continued supply of critical services across borders.  
10.9.   Given the mandate of paragraphs 23 and 24 of the MC12 declaration on the response to the 
pandemic ( WT/MIN(22)/31 ), India make s this submission detailing the measures  taken by the 
Government in response to the COVID -19 pandemic.  
10.10.    The TF  Committee has been working on the compendium of trade facilitating measures 
implemented by Members which would serve a repository of best practices. Our submission is to 
enforce what the Committee is already doing in a laudable effort. We hope Member s may find this 
compendium useful.   
10.11.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
10.12.   We thank India for providing a comprehensive and detailed account of how its Government 
implemented trade facilitative measures , in addition to other trade -related measures in response to 
COVID. We are grateful for India's contribution and would like to note  that many of the measures 
documented in response to COVID -19, like the use of digitalization and simplification of clearance 
procedures, align very closely to what other Members have shared at the TF Committee as critical 
for facilitating humanitarian car go in response to non -pandemic disasters or emergencies.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  10.13.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
10.14.   The European Union would also like to thank India for its work on this interesting 
communication. The focus on streamlining trade flows d uring the pandemic aligns well with the 
principles of the TFA, as well as the priorities of the EU. Elements like the further uptake of digital 
technologies highlighted by the COVID vaccine intelligent network application are also encouraging.  
10.15.   The delegat e of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
10.16.   The UK would like to thank India for the presentation and for circulating the paper outlining 
the measures they took in response to the pandemic. We commend them for the level of detail they 
have provided.  
10.17.   The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
10.18.   That concluded  agenda item  10. 
11  THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT FACILITY – ITEMS RELATED TO THE 
FRAMEWORK ( G/TFA/3 ) 
11.1.  The Chair informed the Committee that there were two reports to take up under this item. 
The first report to be taken up was the ALADI report on the third Latin American meeting of Trade 
Facilitation Committee s in Latin America which had been organized by TFAF and t he Latin American 
Integrational Organization. The meeting had been hel d from 23 -26 May 2023 in Montevideo , 
Uruguay.  The meeting was organized at the request of ALADI and financed by TFAF in the context 
of its 2023 work plan in order to provide training and  capacity building in respect of border agency 
cooperation and to strengthen the National Trade Facilitation Committees of its members. The report 
had been published in Spanish and also circulated in document  G/TFA/6 .  
11.2.  The presenter of Brazil  (on behalf of ALADI)  indicated the following:  
11.3.  Brazil was the Chair of the ALADI committee during the first half of 2023 which covered the 
May meeting. There were  more than 60 participants from the public sector and the private sector 
from 18 countries of Latin America and experts from various organiza tions, including the World  Bank, 
the Inter -American Development Bank, the International Trade Cent re, the Andean Community, the 
Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, the World Customs Organization, the OECD, UNCTAD, the 
European Union, and USAID.  The mee ting discussed topics of interest as identified by the 
participants, such as digitalization of trade processes, risk management, expedited shipments, 
cooperation with donors, and private sector participation.  
11.4.  The meeting , which comprised nine sessions,  created a space to promote and disseminate 
best practices that are already being implemented by the Foreign Trade Facilitation Committee, 
known as CONFAC, as well as providing a very good environment for discussions to advance the 
implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
11.5.  We were able to identify areas where we could learn from each other  and to collaborate, as 
well as exchang e experiences between members of the NTFCs . We also worked on capacity building 
to better evaluate and monitor the reforms bei ng carried out in the 18 participating countries with 
regards to trade facilitation.  
11.6.  Some of the topics dealt with included the following : digitalization of trade processes ; risk 
management of expedited shipments ; monitoring of the implementation of the TFA; technical 
assistance and cooperation from the perspective of both donors and the participating countries;  and 
private sector participation in the NTFCs . 
11.7.  We produced this report as the output of the meeting. It contains  information regarding each 
of the  nine sessions that we held  – some overall general information,  plus information on the 
strengths , best practices  and challenges t hat were identified, and in some cases , tools that are 
available to the committees.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  11.8.  We have issued a series of recommendations, five of which I would like to highlight here : 
1) put the topic of trade facilitation at the highest possible political level ; 2) promote coordinated 
border management ; 3) measure the impact of the implementation of the measures under the TFA 
and not only in terms of whether the Agreement has been  implemented  or not; 4) Members  to share 
their experience  of implementation of the Agreement ; and 5) deepen digitali zation, transmission, 
and harmoni zed exchange  of inform ation between parties.  
Strengths and best practices  
 
11.9.  The report outlines the strengths and best practices that were identified across the sessions  
and I would like to highlight just two of them here.  
11.10.   Firstly, one of the strengths is that NTFCs have been established and they have implemented 
or are about to complete implement of the TFA provisions. The factors underlining their successful 
functioning were identified as the development of roadmaps and implementat ion plans  which also 
improved coordination between the public and private sectors.  Another  strength was having a mix 
of technical and political aspects  because this strengthened political support  for the national 
committee and enhanced the discussions and the resolution of technical problems.  Public-private 
coordination  was also regarded  as a strength as it created opportunities to involve the private sector 
in the decision -making process.  
11.11.   A second strength was identified as the digitali zation of processes which has been extremely 
positive  across countries , and it has led and it continues to lead to a better  automation of working 
processes and a proper commitment and support from the private sector  to the national committees . 
Another strength is the number o f initiatives for coordinated border management at a sub -regional 
level,  which involves bodies working to ensure follow -up and to promote the coordination  of new 
initiatives over the medium and long term.  
Challenges  
 
11.12.   NTFCs face a number of challenges in th eir future work . One of the main challenges  identified 
in the report  was the issue of economic resources  as it was mentioned in many of the sessions . 
Another identified challenge was the need to measure the impact of implementation of the TFA,  not 
only in terms of measuring whether or not it was implemented . There is also a need to try to create 
capacity building programmes  and training for participants and members of the NTFCs as well as for  
the private and public secto r dealing with , for example,  the issue of resistance to change  for those 
who may have doubts relating to the TFA.  The necessity to involve the private sector in order to 
seek political support  was mentioned in some cases . These challenges  require strategic planning 
within all these stakeho lders because this allows for good coordination of all the actions  that need 
to be put into place in order to overcome them. 
11.13.   Another identified challenge  was the need for information  to be made available electronically 
in advance,  and it is important that national committees consider how they can provide that  to the 
authorities of the various countries.  Mention was made of issues relating to administrative stability 
and leadership,  both in the public and private sectors,  and the need to seek stability withi n the public 
and private authorities.  
11.14.   Another area that requires consideration is how ensuring coordinated and comprehensive 
planning  of coordinated border management between countries  because this will allow for proper 
coordination and collaboration  betwe en the border agencies, not only within the country,  but also 
with their counterparts in neighbouring countries.  With regard to the interaction between the private 
sector and the public sector, in some cases dialogue only takes place at a superficial level  and it is 
necessary to strengthen and deepen it.  
11.15.   Turning to technical assistance and capacity building support, donors  pointed out that they 
experienced some difficulties in identifying specific needs in the countries, while Members seeking 
assistance id entified a  level of complexity in terms of how to frame a request to the donors  which 
presented a challenge to them .  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  11.16.   The delegate of Peru indicated the following:  
11.17.   My delegation wishes to express its thanks to the WTO and to ALADI for organizing the 
meeting in  Uruguay  that provided a very valuable opportunity to exchange information on best 
practices  that are being implemented within the NTFCs  throughout Latin America.  There were some 
very interesting panels  which looked at the importance of digiti zation of procedures,  not only for 
customs authorities, but also for border control authorities as well . There were also discussions on 
the importance of the TFA in terms of promoting  and boosting measures and regulatory projects 
that have benefited many coun tries. Also, I wanted to highlight that one of the issues that was raised  
was all that is needed to implement  provisions of the TFA,  such as infrastructure  related -measures, 
logistics -related measures,  and that these are necessary  to ensure the full implem entation of the 
provisions,  such as cooperation of border agencies and control notifications, amongst others.   
11.18.   The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
11.19.   The delegation  of Colombia  thanks the delegation of Brazil for including this very important 
item on the agenda. We should just like to echo some of the elements that were raised during this 
third meeting of the National Trade Facilitation Committee meetings. Some of the conversations that 
took place at that meeting looked at the implementation of the TFA, the issues relating to 
implementation from a regional perspective, and looking in detail at the status of progress in terms 
of digitization, risk management, urgent shipments, together with coordination with various 
stakeholders involved in trade facilitation, such as donors, the private sector. All of these are 
fundamental to ensure the proper development of trade.  
11.20.   We also thought it was very relevant that the Committee be aware, as Brazil said, of the 
following six recommendations that came out of that meeting : 1) NTFCs  need to strengthen 
themselves in order to ensure full implementation of trade facilitation on the agendas of the higher 
political authorities ; 2) encourage proper border management ; 3) Latin American countries need to 
comply w ith the minimum TFA requirements, and so national committees needed to look at the 
impact of each measure in the Agreement to increase efficiency using performance indicators instead 
of only concentrating on compliance ; 4) strengthen regional experience through  sharing of 
experience and information; 5 ) NTFCs  and the CTF  should look in integrated depth into topics such 
as transmission and exchange of information, as well as regional interoperability, risk management 
in terms of expedited  shipments, and the e ffective evolution of best practices with the private sector 
and other interested parties ; and 6)  urge donors to provide information about the requirements and 
procedures to ensure cooperation in the context of the TFA with the aim of achieving better 
dissemination  of information . 
11.21.   We believe that this topic and data analysis will lead to greater efficiencies in terms of public 
policies  which , together with digitization , are essential in terms of consolidating trade as a pathway 
to improving trade as a whole . 
11.22.   The delegate of Angola  indicated the following:  
11.23.   Thank you to Brazil for sharing the regional discussion among the NTFCs of Latin American 
countries. We agree that  sharing successes and challenges among NTFCs is very important to assist 
implementation of  the TFA  and we would also be available to discuss this exchange among Latin 
American countries in greater depth.  
11.24.   The delegate of Chile indicated the following:  
11.25.   We welcome the presentation made by Brazil. The exchange of experiences between the 
countries in the region is extremely valuable,  including as an opportunity to strengthen ties between 
the various public  and private authorities, as well as national agencies.  This opportunity  should help 
to ensure greater regional integration,  which is on e of the topics that brings us together here in the 
international arena.  
11.26.   The delegate of Costa Rica  indicated the following:  
11.27.   Costa Rica, as a participant at that third meeting of trade facilitation committees, would  like 
to thank ALADI and the mechanism a s a whole for the coordination and development of that activity. G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  We highlight the relevance of that space for discussion and joint learning, which allowed us to 
establish lasting partnerships and also ensures fluid communication throughout the region leadi ng 
to a greater level of regional integration on trade facilitation.  
11.28.   This meeting allowed us to share some of the good practices and strengths which come from 
each of the committees, but also, and perhaps more important, to identify some of the challenges 
that each of us are facing and that we  are facing as a region. This space was also an opportunity for 
us to exchange experiences and to clarify any doubts with regard to operationalization of 
implementation alongside donors.  
11.29.   With regard to the recommendat ions, these can consolidate actions that we believe will 
strengthen the work of the NTFCs . Despite  the fact that th e recommendations were drawn from a 
Latin American perspective, we think that the y are very valuable and can also contribute to the 
experienc e and development of committees in other Members. Therefore, we would  like to urge 
them to read the report in detail.  
11.30.   Costa Rica thinks that the recommendation on the need for national committees to start to 
measure the impact of the Agreement  is very impo rtant, especially with regard to complying with 
minimum requirements. This can improve the efficiency and the performance of each of the 
measures that have been implemented. Under this recommendation, Costa Rica has started an 
assessment exercise for the i mplementation of the notification measures for category A with the 
intention of identifying their practical efficiency and whether there  is room for improvement on each 
of these actions. This exercise, which has been led by the National Technical Commissio n, will draw 
up a report once it is finished, and that report will contain recommendations which will be submitted 
to the NTFC with the aim of an agreement being emitted in order to allow the authorities to properly 
implement the recommendations.  
11.31.   The dele gate of Ecuador  indicated the following:  
11.32.   We would like to extend a special thanks to the delegation of Brazil for the presentation.  We 
would also like to thank TFAF for funding the participation of various countries.  Ecuador had the 
opportunity to participate at that meeting,  and it allowed us  to get to know some of the activities  
that other NTFCs  have been putting into place, as well as the different opinions from i nternational 
experts . It also allowed us to look together at the different challenges being faced by  different NTFCs . 
Ecuador very much welcome s the recommendations  contained  in the report . In particular, we 
welcome the recommendations on : 1) how to ensure  that we can come together and assure funding 
from donors ; 2) how to strengthen  relationship s that should exist among  agencies that are members 
of the NTFC; and 3) the important issue of how to measure the impact of the implementation of the 
TFA. We are ve ry much interested in continuing to ensure these kind of experience exchanges in 
order to ensure that we can strengthen our NTFCs .  
11.33.   The Committee took note  of the statements made.  
i.  TFAF Report to the Trade Facilitation Committee (G/TFA/TFAF/5 )  
11.34.   The TFAF representative  provided the following update:  
11.35.   TFAF complements the work of the TF Committee, and our purpose is to assist Members who 
are finding it difficult to implement the  TFA to find support from donors and implementation partners.  
11.36.   Our mandate and our objectives are determined by the TF Committee, and we regularly 
submit our reports to it. This report covers the period from June to August 2023.  
11.37.   The report describes  the activities under  three mai n pillars : the donors programme ; technical 
assistance and capacity building ; and engagement with implementation partners and donors.  
11.38.   The Committee took note  of the information . 
11.39.   That concluded  agenda item 11. G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  12  DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT (2023) OF THE TRADE FACILITATION COMMITTEE TO THE 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS ( G/TFA/W/93 ) 
12.1.  The Chair recalled that a ccording to the procedures for an annual overview of WTO activities 
and for reporting under the WTO  (WT/L/105 ), which were adopted by the General Council on 
15 November 1995, all bodies constituted under agreements in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement 
are required to submit an annual factual report to the Council for Trade in Goods, which is then to 
take note of these rep orts. 
12.2.  In line with this requirement in document G/TFA/W/93 , we circulated a draft annual report of 
the Trade Facilitation Committee to the Council for Trade in Goods.   
12.3.  The Committee agreed to adopt the annual report as prescribed in document  G/TFA/W/93  
and updated to includ e the information from the October meeting . The updated report would be 
circulated for comments before the final report would be  published.  
12.4.  That concluded  agenda item 12. 
13  OTHER BUSINESS  
13.1.  The Chair indicated the following:  
Committe e meeting dates for 2024  
 
13.2.  Taking into consideration the Ministerial Conference next year, the first meeting of the CTF in 
2024 will take place on 16 and 17 April. This  meeting will include the Dedicated Session on Transit 
Issues. The second meeting will take place on 9 and 10 July, and finally, the third meeting of the 
year will take place from 15 to 17 October. Once again, the October meeting will include the 
Dedicated Session on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building S upport which will take place on 
17 October.  
Update on Chair's participation in TFA -related activities  
 
13.3.  The Chair reported that he  took part in three events since the last meeting of the Committee: 
1) the multi -annual experts meeting on transport, logistic s, and trade and trade facilitation, 
organized by UNCTAD, particularly the session on Trade Facilitation and Emerging Topics held on 
19 July; 2) a virtual forum organized by the Peru Foreign Trade and Tourism Ministry  on the impact 
of authorized economic o perators for health in facilitating foreign trade held on 31 August ; and 3)  a 
Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) working group meeting with the private sector held on 
13 September.  
Invitations to participate in the next CTF meeting  
 
13.4.  The Committe e agreed  to invite the Annex D  organi zations as well as the Global Alliance on 
Trade Facilitation to participate in the next meeting of the CTF. At the request  of the United States, 
the Committee also invited the Inter-American Development Bank, the Africa n Development Bank 
and the Asian Development Bank.  
13.5.  That concluded  agenda item 1 3.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14  DEDICATED SESSION ON ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
14.1  Review of progress in the provision of assistance and support for capacity building 
to support implementation, including the top five provisions in category C, identified by 
notified definitive dates, to be implemented in the two -year period 2024 to 20251 
14.1.  The agenda for the dedicated session was also contained in WTO/AIR/TFA/27/Rev.2 . 
14.2.  The Chair recalled that the annual dedicated session on technical assistance and capacity 
building was organized in accordance with Article 21 of the TFA. T he topics for discussion were 
outlined in Article 21.4 of the TFA  as follows: (i) discuss implementation problems; (ii) review 
progress in the provision of assistance and capacity building support; and (iii) share experiences and 
information on ongoing assi stance and support, including challenges and successes. The Committee 
was also to  review donor notifications submitted under Article 22 . In addition, the Committee  would 
review the operation of Article 2 1.2 which reference d that targeted assistance and sup port should 
be provided to the least  developed country Members, given their special needs, so as to help them 
build sustainable capacity to implement their commitments.  
i. Status  update by the Secretariat  
14.3.  The representative of the WTO Secretariat  presented an update on support for the 
implementation of category C provisions as indicated in Members' notifications. The presentation is 
attached as Annex 2 to this document and is also available at https://www.tfadatabase.org .  
14.4.  The delegate of Niger  indicated the following:  
14.5.  I would like to congratulate the Chair and the Secretariat for this presentation, wh ich gives 
us a real snapshot of the situation in all countries regarding the implementation of their category  C 
provisions .   
14.6.  Some  donors have been identified and practically all Members that  have a NTFC are present. 
Could I suggest , therefore,  that delega tions focus on this and when officials go back to their own 
capitals they can look at how they can work on their category C  provisions  so that  they can identify 
the necessary elements and submit relevant  notifications. It is important that this be taken u p by 
NTFCs and the work  should be done on the basis of their various priorities. I think if we can do that 
before 31  December we will then be able to look at developments and see how these various 
reforms, which have been identified, can be passed on to th e technical working groups that will allow 
the work to get done.  Looking at the various indicators, I believe that this mean s that our work 
would give some really good results.  
14.7.  The delegate of Ecuador  indicated the following:  
14.8.  I would like to thank the Secretariat for this presentation which has given us a very clear 
overview of what is  going on, and we can see the contributions from various Members . This 
information will help us identify which development organizations can help  us, and we can also see 
how we can exchange experience with different Members. W e are very grateful for this information, 
and we will continue to work with other delegations.  
14.9.  The delegate of Peru indicated the following:  
14.10.   We would like to thank the Secret ariat for this very useful information. In Peru, we have 
made progress towards the implementation of category C provisions. We have also made significant 
enhancements in the implementation of category A provisions where we identified potential for 
further development. We achieved this with cooperation from Switzerland, the World  Bank, UNCTAD, 
and the Global Alliance.  
 
1 Sub-item 14.1(v) was subsumed into agenda item 14.3 "Report by the TFAF on how the top five issues 
will be prioritized in the delivery of its technical assistance activities and grants ". G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.11.   The process of seeking cooperation started in 2019. It was quite difficult in the early days 
to try and identify which agencies might be able to help us, where we could get support and where 
we could work with them, both technically and financially. We value the information provided which 
enables us to have more contact with cooperating organizations.  
14.12.   The delegate of Samoa  indicated the followin g:  
14.13.   We also commend the Secretariat for this very clear report. In Samoa's case, we currently 
have 12 category C measures in total, 11 of which will be fully implemented between 2025 and 
2027. We have made key progress with the implementation of Article s 1.2, 7.1, and 7.4 of the 
Agreement.  
14.14.   On Article 1.2, information available through the Internet, we launched a trade information 
portal in 2019. The portal was funded by New Zealand  and Australia and was developed with the 
assistance of UNCTAD. The portal al so contains information related to export and import procedures 
and regulations, which is in line with our obligations under Article 1.2.  
14.15.   For Article 7.1, pre -arrival processing, we have implemented an e -phytosystem, which allows 
our quarantine office to i ssue phytosanitary certificates electronically to Australia, Belgium, Fiji, 
France, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and the United States. The system was developed in 2019 
with the support of the World Bank, TFAF, and PACER Plus.  
14.16.   Finally, on Article 7.4, risk management, our customs office is in the process of procuring a 
new x -ray scanner, in addition to the current one we have at the border, which was provided through 
the assistance of the Asian Development Bank.  
14.17.   Samoa greatly appreciates the suppor t provided by our donor development partners and 
implementing agencies. We welcome further assistance and collaboration to ensure the successful 
implementation of the TFA. 
ii. Experience -sharing by Members with top five category C implementation dates 
within the 202 4 to 202 5 period on their technical assistance arrangements and 
progress   
14.18.   The delegate of the Philippines  indicated the following:  
14.19.   The Philippines expresses its gratitude for the opportunity to share the arrangements 
concluded and progress made in the provision of technical assistance and capacity building support 
for implementation of the single provision that we designated in category C – establishment of a 
single window.  
14.20.   The single window has been implemented since June of 2022 in accordance with  its notified 
date of implementation. The Philippines received technical assistance from various donors in the 
establishment of the single window, plus other capacity support for our newly established National 
Trade Facilitation Committee.  
14.21.   Regarding the si ngle window implementation, the Philippines collaborated with USAID  in 
updating the legislative, institutional, and regulatory framework of relevant agencies through the 
conduct of a legal gap analysis as early as 2012. Technical assistance was likewise pr ovided to review 
and align domestic laws with the protocol of the legal framework to implement the ASEAN single 
window for its eventual live operation in exchanging cross -border electronic messages.  
14.22.   In 2019, the Philippines participated as the tenth and last ASEAN member State in the live 
exchange of the electronic certificate of origin using the ASEAN single window. However, noting the 
need to continuously implement and enhance the single window system in order to meet our regional 
commitments with ASEAN, the Philippines has again sought and received technical support from 
USAID through the USAID -ASEAN Policy Implementation Project, including training sessions for 
customs officers.  
14.23.   These technical assistance programmes were carried out at the national level  and were 
greatly instrumental to the development and implementation of the ASEAN Customs Declaration G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  Document (ACDD) . This time, the Philippines became the sixth ASEAN member State to participate 
in the live exchange. This year, we are happy to share that  the Philippines is the third member State 
to join the exchange of the electronic sanitary and phytosanitary certificate. The seven remaining 
member States are in the process of enhancing their system to be able to join the exchange of the 
electronic SPS c ertificate.  
14.24.   The Philippines is likewise pleased to share that this progress is a result of the support 
provided by USAID, not just on capacity building but also on areas of system development and 
awareness campaigns at the national level. This only highlig hts how the localization of assistance 
benefits a specific country and how far it could reach in terms of improving and implementing a 
country's trade facilitation commitment.  
14.25.   Other technical support on the single window is currently provided by UNESCAP 
(UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) under the Framework  Agreement  on 
Facilitation of  Cross -border Paperless Trade in which the Philippines is an active member and the 
first ASEAN member State to ratify the Agreement. In 2022, UNESCAP  provided assistance in 
convening the first national single window summit in the Philippines. During the interactive panel 
discussions, single window experts from the Republic of Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, 
Singapore, and Thailand shared their e xperiences and underscored the numerous factors that 
needed to be taken into full consideration when developing a single window system.  
14.26.   Meanwhile, for other trade facilitation measures related to the TFA, the Philippines has also 
received various technical  support from the International Trade Center (ITC) and the World  Bank 
Group. To date, we are preparing the implementation of the reform tracker with support from 
UNCTAD. With all the information we have on hand, several challenges on how to effectively 
implement a single window for the Philippines still remain. This is why the Philippines greatly 
appreciates this kind of platform as organized by TFAF where we can interact with other Members . 
It also allows us to open the network with other possible donors t hat can provide support and 
capacity building programmes on areas such as the onboarding of additional government agencies 
to the single window system , and in strengthening our NTFC in order to continuously implement our 
TFA measures in the future.  
14.27.   The del egate of Zambia  indicated the following:  
14.28.   I would like to thank our development partners for providing technical and financial support 
to Zambia to enable implementation of various articles of the TFA. The measures implemented and 
still currently being imp lemented include Articles 7.4, 7.6, 7.7, 8, and 10.4.  
14.29.   Under Article 7.4 on risk management, Zambia, with support from the World Bank and 
UNCTAD, has established a system for risk management at the Zambia Revenue Authority and 
subsequently at the Zambia Co mpulsory  Standards Agency. However, the absence of risk 
management capacity within other agencies remains a challenge, while a lack of coordination 
between the agencies also remains a challenge. This is an area where Zambia would need additional 
support in  the form of development of a multi -agency risk framework.  
14.30.   With regard to Article 7.6 on average release time, a number of time release studies have 
been undertaken at various ports of entry, which include Kazungula with Botswana, Chirundo and 
Victoria Fal ls with Zimbabwe, Nakonde with Tanzania, Muami with Malawi, and at the Kenneth 
Kaunda Airport. This has been made possible with the cooperation of development partners, such 
as WCO, who have built capacity for local experts to undertake the studies, and fu rther technical 
and financial support has been received from the European  Union, the Common Market for Eastern 
and Southern Africa  (COMESA), the World Bank, and JICA.  
14.31.   The major findings from these studies include, among other things, weak internal 
cross-border coordination and the lack of harmonized working hours at the borders, which have 
acted as an impediment to expedited clearance. To this end, the Government of the Republic of 
Zambia is in the process of strengthening border agency cooperation through the implementation of 
a coordinated border management model. There is  a need for continued support to enable Zambia 
to undertake evaluations and new studies that would cover initial and additional entry points, 
respectively.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.32.   Under Article 7.7 on authorized operators, the Zambia Revenue Authority and the Zambia 
Compulsory Standards Agency separately provide AEO status. I wish to thank the WCO for providing 
capacity building and technical assistance, mainly to the Zambia Revenue  Authority, in the 
implementation of the fully -fledged AEO programme. However, there is need for additional technical 
assistance to support the introduction of the multi -agency framework for the AEO concept and 
stakeholder education on the benefits of bein g recognized as an AEO. 
14.33.   Under Article 8 on border agency cooperation, Zambia, with technical support from the 
World  Bank Group, has developed a Coordinated Border Management (CBM) where a maximum of 
six agencies will physically operate at the borders. This  effort is expected to drastically improve 
efficiency in the clearance of goods, as some borders presently have around 18 agencies physically 
operating there, which has led to some inefficiencies and duplication of efforts.  
14.34.   The successful implementation o f the model will heavily depend on a smooth operation of 
electronic platforms such as the electronic single window and the cargo tracking system. Therefore, 
there is need for support to enable Zambia to implement the CBM model, which will require, among 
other things, purchase and re -engineering of electronic ICT systems and equipment.  
14.35.   Under Article 10.4, single window, through the technical assistance provided by the 
World  Bank Group and UNCTAD, Zambia is currently piloting phase one of the implementation o f the 
Zambia electronic single window for import, export, and transit. There is still need for additional 
technical support and capacity building for the implementation of phase two , connectivity to the 
single window, which covers the remaining processes f rom the border agencies that have not yet 
been connected to the single window. The pace to connect all border agencies continues to be 
hampered by inadequate ICT infrastructure to support the connectivity of all the agencies. For the 
single window, there i s also a further need to continually sensitize the public and private sector 
stakeholders on the use and benefits of the system.  
14.36.   Zambia has been able to coordinate trade facilitation reforms through the NTFC on 
three  tiers, which include, firstly, the stee ring committee, which is chaired by the Secretary to the 
Cabinet; secondly, we have a technical committee that is co -chaired by the Permanent Secretary in 
the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry and the Commissioner General of the Zambia 
Revenue Auth ority; and thirdly, we have thematic subcommittees, which include transport and 
transit, non -tariff barriers, single window, and coordinated border management.  
14.37.   The NTFC has legal standing under the Trade Facilitation Act of 2018, and the NTFC is an 
open fo rum that encourages interagency coordination and provides direction on trade facilitation 
issues between the public and the private sector. The secretariat for the NTFC sits within the Ministry 
of Commerce, Trade, and Industry and presently is receiving su pport from the World Bank Group in 
the form of two consultants to strengthen the operations of the NTFC secretariat.  
14.38.   I wish to reaffirm Zambia's commitment to implementing the WTO trade facilitation reforms.  
14.39.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the  following:  
14.40.   We would like to thank Zambia and the Philippines for their very useful presentations. Both 
presentations referenced collaborations, including tri -agency collaboration among national 
government agencies. We would be interested to hear about  the top one or two challenges in 
collaboration among internal government agencies that you faced, and how you overc ame that 
challenge with the support of technical assistance and economic cooperation.  
14.41.   The delegate of Zambia  indicated the following:  
14.42.   Largely , the challeng es are related to the differing levels of ICT connectivity that exist in the 
various border agencies, particularly with reference to the single window. Some agencies have the 
infrastructure in place already while others are lagging behind. With the support  of developing 
partners we have been able to scale up or upgrade some of the agencies to a level that allows them 
to connect and interact on the single window.  
14.43.   In addition, we face the challenge of a lack of harmonization of the working hours of the 
border  agencies. This is currently an ongoing exercise to ensure that we are able to harmonize the G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  working hours so as to ensure that the movement and clearance of goods is not hindered by the 
absence of personnel from any specific border agency. This has requir ed a legal and regulatory 
review exercise, which is currently being supported by the European Union and COMESA.  
14.44.   We are hopeful that with the interventions of the Government and with collaboration with 
cooperating partners, we will be able to address most of the current impediments.  
14.45.   The delegate of the Philippines  indicated the following:  
14.46.   Our main challenge is to secure funding to conduct interagency coordination meetings and 
to enhance the ICT infrastructure in order to capture new business processes. Ano ther challenge for 
us is to maintain continuity of every project that we introduce, considering that government agency 
officials change often according to administration decisions.  
14.47.   The delegate of Cambodia  indicated the following:  
14.48.   It is my great honour a nd pleasure for the opportunity to brief the CTF on behalf of Cambodia 
National Committee on Trade Facilitation on the Progress of Cambodia Implementation on WTO TFA 
measures and the technical assistance and financial assistance needed.  
14.49.   As an LDC, I would like to share Cambodia's key success with TFA implementation, the 
support from development partners and donors, the remaining challenges we face, and finally 
identify additional technical and financial assistance needed required on the  way forward.  
14.50.   Regardi ng Cambodia's success, Cambodia has fulfilled all its notification requirements. We 
identified six category C provisions and notified six measures that need technical assistance. We 
also notified technical assistance arrangements and progress, as well as r emaining gaps in 
implementation assistance.  
14.51.   Cambodia has made significant progress in implementing the TFA. The compliance rate of 
60% in 2017 increased to 87% in 2023. We notified the accelerated implementation of two  category 
C provisions - Article 1.4 on notifications, and Article 7.7 on AEO. The remaining four  category C 
provisions comprise Articles 7.1 on pre -arrival processing; 8.2 on border agency cooperation; 10.4 
on single window ; and 11.5 on freedom on transit. We are making some progress on Arti cle 7.1 on 
pre-arrival and pre -departure processing, while the implementation of three other measures is 
relatively slow compared to Article 7.1, for example.  
14.52.   The key success factors come from the whole -of-government approach to implementation, 
and we also  have active support from development partners and donors as well as  a working 
partnership with the private sector.  
14.53.   Cambodia would like to thank our donors that have been actively contributing to our 
implementation progress. Our first major donors, EU-ARISE Plus and GIZ2 Germany  contribute to 
the capacity building activities, and in some cases provide IT solutions. JICA provides  long-term 
expertise in capacity building with regard to specific requests. UNCTAD provides assistance in 
e-learning and also the NTFC reform tracker. The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GTAF) , 
represented by Swisscontact i n Cambodia,  assist with pre -arrival processing and express  shipment 
for postal items. The WCO provides capacity building on customs t echnical expertise . Through the 
Mercator program me it carried out a diagnostic study which we used to produce the TFA national 
roadmap and a concrete action plan  to be embodied in Cambodia's reform programme. The 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided assistance in developing a legal framework, as well as 
with the reform strategy. The World Bank also provided assistance and completed a situational 
analysis and made recommendations for future activities on border agency cooperation. The Asia 
Development Bank (ADB) conducted a study on Cambodia's compliance with the TFA freedom of 
transit provisions and made some recommendations for future activities.  
14.54.   Cambodia's first priority in terms of securing capacity building and technical assistance  is 
the implement ation of phase III of Cambodia's single window which will connect our national single 
window to 11 other government agencies (OGAs) . This  require s a different form of support and will 
need a budget of approximately USD 3 million. We have notified this need  in the last CTF meeting 
 
2 German Agency for International Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit ) (GIZ). G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  and have been working with the development partners and donors, but we have not yet achieved 
concrete results. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our call for support. Recognizing 
the budget constraints of developme nt partners and donors, we have taken the approach of splitting 
the implementation of phase III into smaller projects, with budgets ranging from approximately 
USD 300,000 to USD 500,000 , in order to better accommodate development partners and donors.  
14.55.   This approach would also work towards the initiative discussed yesterday regarding the role 
of the TFA in facilitating the export of agricultural products as a means of enhancing food 
security  - for example by linking e -phyto certificates to the single window.   
14.56.   In relation to food security, as an agricultur al country, Cambodia has various crop surpluses 
but we face many challenges to bring our agriculture products to international markets. The 
Committee yesterday had exchanges on the role of the TFA in enhancin g food security through the 
facilitation of agricultural products. Cambodia  would see implementation of phase III of the single 
window would allow the linking of e -phyto certificates with OGAs. Cambodia welcomes the initiative 
and looks forward to cooperat e with development partners on this issue.  
14.57.   Our second priority is to complete the implementation of pre -arrival processing. We have 
made significant progress and we are now finalizing the regulation. The IT solution has been 
developed and is ready for test ing. Here also we got support from the EU -ARISE Plus programme, 
and from GATF through Swisscontact. We still need more technical assistance to fully implement 
pre-arrival processing in combination with expedited shipments, because this requires a lot of 
amendments of other laws and regulations, together with developing instructions and standard 
operating procedures (SOP).  
14.58.   Our third priority is border agency cooperation. I believe that the World Bank expressed 
interest in this project and it has already comp leted a case -study for Cambodia but we require more 
technical assistance and financial assistance on the implementation of single -stop inspection in the 
common custom s area.  
14.59.   The fourth priority is freedom of transit. Following the ADB's study on Cambodia' s compliance 
with the freedom of transit provisions and the resulting recommendations for future work, we again 
repeat our request for technical assistance on the implementation of this provision.  
14.60.   While our AEO programme has been completed, it remains an o ngoing work, and we need 
additional technical assistance and capacity building this area. We also need further assistance with 
our notifications because there is a gap between the information available in our national language 
and the reduced information a vailable in English. Since Cambodia keeps producing new regulations 
and updating them requires continual work , we need assistance to carry it out.   
14.61.   Looking  to the way forward, Cambodia is committed to fully comply with the TFA by 2025. 
In order to do so, we developed our national roadmap and action plan. With our roadmap, we have 
a vision that we will maximize trade facilitation to accelerate our economic competitiveness. Our 
first strategy is to have a fully functioning NTFC and secretariat. Without this,  the whole -of-
government approach will not work. Our second strategy is to ensure Cambodia's compliance with 
the implementation of our category  B and C provisions. The third strategy is to closely cooperate 
with our development partners, private sector and  other government agencies. Finally, the 
fourth  strategy is to enhance trade facilitation beyond the TFA. In this regard, we welcome the 
initiative discussed yesterday regarding the TFA and humanitarian relief and we can consider 
whether to include it in o ur next action plan.  
14.62.   I would like to highlight the important role of the NTFC in Cambodia's trade reform and its 
major achievements. We set up the proper institution to ensure that there are regular meetings of 
the committee and its working groups. We also  have a TFA implementation roadmap and strategic 
plan. We have fulfilled all our TFA notification obligations. We work on strengthening our 
communication cooperation with other trade agencies and the private sector. In addition, we have 
a reporting mechani sm as well as a monitoring and evaluation mechanism. The NTFC actively works 
with the donor community and it also participates in the NTFC Global Forum.  
14.63.   Before concluding, I would like to take up the issue of the impact of implementation of the 
TFA on Cam bodia's economy by looking at three indicators - trade volume; revenue collections; and G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  poverty reduction and income growth  over the period up to 2013,  the period up to 2017, and up to 
2023:  
14.64.   The indicators show that trade volume has almost doubled every f ive years from 
USD 12 billion in 2010 to USD 26 billion in 2017, and it is now close to USD  50 billion in 2022. 
Revenue collected by Customs almost doubled from USD  700 million in 2011 to USD  1.9 billion 
in 2017 and to USD  3.2 billion in 2019 before the CO VID-19 pandemic. With regard to poverty 
reduction and income growth, GDP per capita increased from USD 700  in 2010 to USD  1,300 in 
2017, and to close to USD  1,800 in 2022.  
14.65.   In conclusion, the evidence shows that Cambodia benefits from implementation of TFA. We 
have committed to fulfil all of the TFA requirements and we continue to request support from the 
donor community.  
14.66.   The delegate of Nigeria  indicated the following:  
14.67.   I would like to congratulate the three Members that shared their experience on the progress 
they have made so far in implementing the TFA. It appears that some issues, particularly the issue 
of border agency collaboration, are challenging for most LDCs and  developing Members. Apparently, 
the challenges are intra -agency, and as mentioned by Zambia, are possibly due to different levels 
of automation due to these challenges.  
14.68.   Therefore, I would like to reiterate my previous request to the donor community and 
implementation partners that support should be demand -driven and in line with Members' requests. 
At the same time, it should be ensured that the support is customized to the requesting Member so 
that the support directly address es the identified desired obje ctive.  
14.69.   The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
14.70.   Thank you to all three presenters. Those presentations were extremely informative. We 
would appreciate hearing any reflections from the speaker on how Cambodia's NTFC is helping with 
donor coordination, if at all.  
14.71.   The delegate of Pakistan  indicated the following:  
14.72.   Thank you very much for the excellent presentations today. I think there  is much to learn 
from the experiences shared by the various delegates.  
14.73.   With regard to Cambodia's experi ence, what kind of mechanism is in place to ensure that 
the single window remains sustainable and that it does not face the same problem many of us face 
regarding capacity constraints when government officials keep on rotating between different 
assignments . 
14.74.   The delegate of Cambodia  indicated the following:  
14.75.   To respond to the questions raised, f irst, regarding the coordination of our NTFC with donors, 
we have not yet organized a high -level development partner meeting but the NTFC tasked the 
Secretariat to or ganize annual development partner meetings. The 2023 meeting took place this 
month. The Cambodian Customs Secretariat to the NTFC organized a donor partner meeting inviting 
all the international organizations. Our domestic agencies also participated and we  presented the 
reform programme and accompanying budget , and asked the development partners if there were 
any particular areas that they might be interested in supp orting. These annual meetings have turned 
out to be productive in many ways because developm ent partners would sometimes be working in 
different areas while other times they are overlapping. We gain a lot of synergies from these types 
of meetings.  
14.76.   Regarding the sustainability of our single window, Cambodia likewise faces a big challenge 
on mainta ining the single window. That is why we split its development into three  phase s. We faced 
challenges with regard to the institutional arrangement arising from resistance from many other 
government agencies to join the single window. For this reason we put the NTFC at a high 
institutional footing. The steering committee is headed by our Deputy Prime Minister and he can call G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  for meetings among different ministries - this deals with the political aspect. But still when it comes 
to the operational level, we hav e also witnessed resistance at this level, which is a big challenge. 
Cambodia is interested to learn from other Members' experience regarding how to solve this 
problem.  
14.77.   The delegate of Vanuatu  indicated the following:  
14.78.   Vanuatu has been implementing Categor y C commitments since 2018. It carried out a needs 
assessment in 2012. Prior to the TFA entering into force, Vanuatu identified the single window and 
testing procedures as its most important priorities.  
14.79.   Vanuatu notified its categorizations and has engaged with donor partners for technical 
assistance and capacity building. I take this opportunity to thank the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework (EIF) for supporting Vanuatu's efforts in mainstreaming its trade policy framework.  
14.80.   Trade facilitation is featured as a k ey component in the framework and sets out the way to 
the successful establishment of our NTFC, combining both government, private sector and civil 
society.  
14.81.   The EIF stepped in as the first donor to fund Vanuatu's national electronic single window 
system. T his project is carried out in collaboration with UNCTAD and I would like to take this 
opportunity to thank EIF and UNCTAD for their support. Australia is also supporting the enhancement 
phase of Vanuatu's single window system. This is a successful result o f donor coordination and which 
co-funds phase one and phase two of the project. As a result, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 
collaboration with UNCTAD and EIF have launched another new module in Vanuatu to add to the 
single window system. This is being  done in parallel with the module for disaster humanitarian relief 
supplies undertaken by a project team in collaboration with the Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs of the UN Secretariat.  
14.82.   Vanuatu signed up for phase three of the project o ne month ago and we are aiming to 
achieve the successful outcome of phase three by 2024 in accordance with our TFA implementation 
notifications. With regard to developing a regional trade facilitation strategy, we acknowledge the 
European Union funding sup port, covering both WTO Members and non -WTO Members, in the Pacific 
region. With the support, Vanuatu is already earmarking a sub -regional single window connectivity 
solution.  
14.83.   We express our support for the conversations taking place in the Committee aroun d digital 
transformation, digital transfer and automation of business processes. Finally, we call upon donor 
partners to continue to support the EIF project for LDCs which adds value to Vanuatu's development 
aspirations for the future.  
14.84.   The delegate of Niger indicated the following:  
14.85.   Niger has notified 17 provisions in category C . Working  with development partners we are 
in the process of implementing 6 of those , leaving us with 11 category C measures  still to be 
implementation . 
14.86.   Among the six that we are in the process of implementing are the trade information portals 
that we have set up through the Ministry of Trade with funding. We are in the process of setting up 
one-stop foreign trade shops which are financed 100% by the State through the Webb Fontaine  
Group . The agreement was signed in 2021 and the portal  was launched  in 2022. Since W ebb Fontaine 
will be setting up in Niamey, it has been able to set up branches in the regions to cover all the 
countries involved in implementing this one -stop foreign trade service.  
14.87.   All the import and export  procedures  and declarations  are now carried out at these single 
foreign trade counters. Given that this is still the implementation phase, we are asking donors and 
partners to support us in the face of cer tain difficulties that we have identified and shared with our 
partners.  
14.88.   Secondly, with regard to the border agency cooperation , Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo and 
Benin held an interministerial meeting in May 2023 to discuss the issue and to sign a quadrilatera l G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  agreement that will enable us to cooperate on transit, transport and roads . Through this we have 
drawn up a roadmap for the implementation of certain reforms that we identified during the work 
on the signed agreement.  
14.89.   We did the work on the roadmap with the support of a West African programme financed by 
the World Bank, and we also have received support from the European Union. The roadmap now 
involves implementing the activities identified therein. I would like to follow up with the European 
Union to  find out what support they are  prepared to give in implementing th e roadmap. Beyond that, 
I would also like to see if other partners would be interested in implementing the roadmap .   
14.90.   As for the other reforms  around the remaining  11 category C measures, when we get back 
to the capital I would like us to try to work with the NTFC  to see how  to proceed. We would like to 
know from our discussions today what could be done to help us implement t he roadmap. Looking at 
other reforms  that will be required for the remaining 11 provisions , when I go back to the capital, 
we want to see how we can update our work so that we can submit  necessary notification s to the 
WTO. This is important for our review purposes, and we would like to hear from the donors what 
their position is in regard to our work.  
14.91.   The delegate of Pakistan  indicated the following:  
14.92.   I would like to take this opportunity to share Pakistan's experience on the implementation 
of the  top five category C commitments, as identified by  the Members for the year 2023 -24, and to 
state also that we have implemented most of these provisions with a lot of technical support and 
assistance from our development partners.  
14.93.   I would like to highlight the next steps that we are taking and where we wo uld require further 
donor intervention. Starting with Article 7.4, risk management, Pakistan Customs has been applying 
risk management practices since 2006. Under the single window initiative, we have progressed 
beyond that, and now we have developed an in tegrated risk management system that includes the 
regulatory agencies other than Customs. It applies the principles of risk management,  using  red, 
green, amber, on the issuance of their documents, including export certificates, import permits, and 
release orders.  
14.94.   Under Pakistan's various laws, there are 77 different government agencies regulating cross -
border trade, so the impact of the integrated risk management on their work is expected to greatly 
reduce the time and cost of doing business.  
14.95.   Under the next  step in our risk management initiative, we are looking for donor intervention 
to help us develop border infrastructure for joint inspections because under the single window, we 
are eliminating multiple inspections of the same container /truck by different agencies. The system 
sends one message, and every agency that needs a sample, a test, or a drill examination  has to 
coordinate through the system to open the container or the truck only once and do whatever they 
are required to do.  
14.96.   We ar e very thankful for the support of the Asian Development Bank, USAID, and ASYCUDA3, 
who at various stages have provided technical and financial support for developing the risk 
management systems.  
14.97.   Regarding Article 7.6, average release times, Pakistan has been regularly conducting time 
release studies on its various borders. Pakistan has seaports, airports, and land borders, so every 
year we select a different set of ports to conduct the time release studies. But considering that 
Pakistan Customs and now th e single window is digitizing the border and trade processes from end 
to end, we are looking to integrate the risk management tools into our system to reduce our reliance 
on manual service and inspections, and get information from digital data analysis bei ng collected 
through our various systems. And for that, also, we are looking for some donor support.  
14.98.   For Article 7.7, authorized operators, Pakistan implemented the authorized economic 
operators (AEO) programme, but we think that it requires a lot of impro vement. We recognize that 
the AEO programme needs to be realigned with global best practices, and that the success of the 
programme depends a lot on the post clearance audit capacity of Customs and other involved 
 
3 Automated System for Customs Data . G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  government agencies. Therefore, we are also  seeking support from the donor community on 
exposing Pakistan Customs and the stakeholders to the global best practices and other successful 
programmes that have happened around the world.  
14.99.   Article 8 is the Border Agency Corporation. That is one of the mos t challenging articles to 
implement for us, although there are two separate initiatives that are working in Pakistan. On the 
ports and the airports, and even at the land borders, the Pakistan single window is harmonizing and 
standardizing the processes, so  Customs and different government agencies are working together 
on that. But for land borders, Pakistan also intends to create a separate land port authority to 
coordinate all the working land borders and to bring in those agencies which have an enforcemen t 
mandate and not directly related to clearance of goods. The Asian Development Bank has been 
helping Pakistan under a big project called the Integrated Transit Trade Management System that 
is being implemented at the Torkham and Chaman borders with Afghan istan, and the single window 
is also helping in digitizing some of the processes there.  
14.100.   Lastly, on Article 10.4, the Pakistan single window was rolled out in June 2022. This year 
we completed the second phase. The single window goes much beyond Customs and  also includes 
other government agencies. So far, we have been able to digitize 11 government agencies handling 
all of their cross border processes through the system. Other than the government agencies, we 
have also started to integrate private sector par ticipants and service providers in the system.  
14.101.   One of the key features of the Pakistan single window is that we are doing an extensive 
business process reform. Since the implementation of the single window system, we have 
re-engineered 111 processes and r eplaced three documents with electronic verification. A total of 
145 manual submissions have been replaced with electronic submissions, while 46  documents have 
already been eliminated. The single window system is also integrated with other national databas es 
and so the electronic customer protocols reduces the time for customs registration from the previous 
two weeks to just 20 minutes. Once a trader enters a national tax number, the system automatically 
verifies all the information from the different datab ases, including the national citizen database, the 
federal board of web news database, and the database for companies, and then issues an ID to a 
two-factor authentication.  
14.102.   One of the other innovations that Pakistan has done under the single window system is to 
create a Single Window Act. It is a separate piece of legislation that gives the Pakistan single window 
a lot of authority where the cross -border trade processes are concerned. Under the law, every 
government agency is required to align its informati on and documentary requirements, business 
processes, and procedures with international best practices as recommended by the Pakistan single 
window. That has helped manage and mitigate some of the risks associated with resistance that 
comes from other gover nment agencies. The Single Window Act has overriding powers. It includes 
provisions for electronic signatures, risk management, and electronic exchange of data.  
14.103.   Finally, there is a very strong public -private sector collaboration. The private sector people 
are working in the single window system but the process design implementation is led by officers 
from the Government of Pakistan who are brought onto the project on secondment and are given 
separate market allowances to ensure that they remain invested in the project and work. I hope our 
experience would also help other Members who are dealing with some of the same challenges that 
we have dealt with in the past.  
14.104.   The Chair suggested that the information shared during the dedicated session should be 
used to c omplete notifications on technical assistance arrangements and progress which be of help 
in efforts to secure required assistance. He indicated that he and the Secretariat would be available 
to provide support with the notification.  
iii. Experience -sharing by international and regional organi zations and other agencies 
supporting the implementation of the TFA on their activities to support 
implementation by Members of these category C provisions in the 202 4 to 202 5 
period  
14.105.   The representative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  
indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.106.   UNCTAD's work on trade facilitation assistance is basically divided in two blocks. One area, 
which is the support that is contained within our ASYCUDA programme, and the other block that is 
a trade facilitation programme.  
14.107.   The ASYCUDA programme is a customs management programme that is implemented in 
more than 100 countries around the world with support of many contributors and has been operating 
for more than 40 years. A customs  management programme is first and foremost focused on 
collecting revenue but there are benefits in terms of time and cost savings and as well in terms of 
implementing a risk management system and securing country borders.  
14.108.   ASYCUDA also assists countries wi th the implementation of single windows based on the 
ASYCUDA infrastructure that is already in place. When ASYCUDA helps countries implement single 
windows, this is really based on the priorities and needs of the user countries. We then collaborate 
with th ose partner countries and create a single window that is based on their priorities. That means, 
like in many other countries that are implementing single windows, we are implementing these on 
a step -by-step approach based on what the country sees as the ne ed, on what is implemented 
already in many countries, and then making an ecosystem of a single window. For the different 
countries, there are also different agencies that are connected in that step -by-step approach 
according to country priorities.  
14.109.   The UNCT AD database on NTFCs contains information about more than 130 countries 
around the world and their NTFCs. We collect this information on an ongoing basis. We do a survey 
of NTFCs every two  years. The information contained in the database includes the objec tive scope, 
institutional framework, and based on the information collected, a sustainability score for each NTFC 
that indicates whether the committee will be sustainable in the future.  
14.110.   The UNCTAD reform tracker is a tool that we have implemented with aro und 30  countries 
around the world. It is a monitoring tool, a project management tool, and a team management tool. 
Those that are involved in trade facilitation reform in countries are included in the work that uses 
the reform tracker. There are reform tea ms for each of the trade facilitation reforms. This is divided 
according to the obligations of the TFA which in turn are broken down on sub -articles, and the stages 
of implementation according to the information that is collected at national level.  
14.111.   The inf ormation also includes the country's notified schedule. I believe that many of the 
early warning notifications submitted by countries we are working with have been realized based on 
the reform tracker. Those countries have been able to track what they are doing, what the individual 
agency is doing, and realize that they would need to notify the WTO of a request for additional time 
under the TFA early warning mechanism. It is a very useful tool for countries in that respect.  
14.112.   Another tool that we have implemented is the trade portals, and this is in line with Article  1 
of the TFA on transparency. We also include for many countries an enquiry point function. So there 
are several elements of the transparency included in these trade portals. It is possible  to seek for a 
commodity, import or export, or an entry point and that information will be provided.  
14.113.   The UNCTAD trade portals, which we are implementing in collaboration with ITC around 
countries, are unique in the sense that they are user -friendly and ge ared towards the user obtaining 
relevant information step by step. It identifies the individual steps in import/export process, the 
agencies involved, which documents you will get out of a procedure, and which documents you need 
to provide to the authoriti es. Going into each of these individual steps will give more information. 
There is also a calculator of both the cost and time implied with such a procedure. This is very useful 
in the implementation of the TFA.  
14.114.   A new facility that we have implemented is to use this tool to also do procedural analysis 
and simplification with countries. So using the tool and the step -by-step approach, together with the 
NTFCs, we look at the steps included in a procedure and try to eliminate redundancies. We have 
done that n ow with a number of countries and we see that it is a real tool that can help countries 
eliminate redundant procedure and make trade procedures more cost -effective and timelier.  
14.115.   UNCTAD provides  further assistance, for example, we have published a number o f reports  
on blockchain and its implications on trade facilitation performance, and on climate smart trade, a 
new area that we are working with. We will soon release a publication providing a guidance to how 
to implement single windows.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.116.   I would like to th ank the donors that we are working with, African Development Bank, 
Asian  Development Bank, EU, Germany, Trademark Africa, UK, and the World Bank.  
14.117.   In May 2024, UNCTAD together with the Government of Barbados, will organize a 
first global supply chain forum . This forum will focus on a number of the issues facing countries 
today in the polycrisis around global supply chains and trade facilitation. There will be a specific 
trade facilitation forum also included in this global supply chain forum.  
14.118.   Regarding the  support for building single windows, we have started the work on this kind 
of support based on the ASYCUDA partner countries we have which can benefit from the fact that 
the knowledge and financial investments that have already been inputted in the  ASYCUD A systems 
are also used to build single windows.  
14.119.   It is not necessary that Customs manages a single window. It can be done in very different 
ways according to the country requirements, and we have done that in various of those countries 
where we have imple mented single windows. This model that we are building single windows on is 
country -driven ; it is based on the country priorities  and the country needs, and single windows can 
be built also with our assistance whether or not ASYCUDA is implemented as a cus toms management 
system.  
14.120.   The representative of the World Bank  indicated the following:  
14.121.   The World Bank is heavily involved in providing support for implementation of the TFA. We 
have an investment portfolio of around USD 7 billion, which includes not only technical assistance, 
but our investment lending, our infrastructure support to the supply chain, and advocacy and data 
projects such as the Logistics Performance Index and the upcoming Business Enabling Environment.  
14.122.   Our flagship programme to support the i mplementation of the TFA is called TFSP  – Trade 
Facilitation Support Programme  – and we thank our nine donor partners for their ongoing multi -year 
support: the European Commission, Australia, Canada, United States of America, who is our 
founding donor, Nor way, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Without this 
support, this work would not be possible.  
14.123.   This presentation provides an update of the work the World Bank is doing for the 
five category C priority areas as identified by Members.   
14.124.   The first provision is the single window. We are currently supporting 11  countries to 
implement a single window and preparing, more importantly, for the full and effective integrated 
connection of all border agencies through one single portal which we ca ll the National Single Window.  
14.125.   It is very important for countries considering and moving along the journey of implementing 
a national single window to very carefully design, take the time for preparation, and integrate 
existing systems like ASYCUDA, biosec urity, e -phyto systems, etc.  
14.126.   We have experienced  a number of challenges during the time where we have provided 
support to many, many countries to prepare for the implementation of the single window. Firstly, it 
is a long -term endeavour and is very complex.  Automation solutions cannot be standalone and need 
to be appropriate and customized for the existing context. It is very important to ensure you 
automate an efficient process. Therefore,  the reengineering process is critical as a preparation 
activity to e nsure the digitalization and automation of processes and procedures is effectively 
undertaken to ensure the full and effective outcomes are accrued for private sector traders.  
14.127.   Another lesson learned is the need for a whole -of-government approach. Customs o ften 
are much further ahead and have moved to a single window environment in the Customs context. 
It is particularly important to ensure all stakeholders and agencies, but particularly the SPS agencies, 
biosecurity, quarantine, food safety, etc., are actua lly included and at the table from the beginning.  
14.128.   A base level of automation across agencies is needed to ensure the development of 
technology. It is not only connecting the process for border clearance, but actually the back office 
automation, which is cr itical to ensure not only that certificates and permits can be issued, they can 
actually be tracked. Preparation is the key ingredient here, and the back -office automation for all G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  agencies needs to be on the agenda for the National Single Window Working Gr oup, and more 
importantly, under the leadership of the NTFC.  
14.129.   The second provision is the AEO or Authorized Operator (AO) programme. We are currently 
supporting this programme in 15 countries. The number one challenge is a lack of an integrated and 
fully ef fective risk management system which is required before you are able to effectively 
implement an authorized operator programme, which recognizes high levels of compliance and 
provides those benefits.  
14.130.   The lessons that we have seen in providing support to im plement authorized operator 
program mes include the inclusivity of all traders. During the work we have undertaken to measure 
the constraints for women -owned, women -lead, and women -managed firms in developing countries 
has shown that often they are less lik ely to be included in an AEO programme in the first  instance.  
14.131.   Communicating the benefits of reforms, the benefits of inclusivity, and communicating the 
benefits of compliance, we have seen as a critical lesson to be included in the preparation and design 
of AEO or AO programmes, and not only for Customs. As we know, AO programmes came from a 
customs environment but it is equally important for the recognition of compliance to be 
mainstreamed for all border agencies. So a trusted trader programme for the iss uing of 
phytosanitary certificates and the reduction in inspections based on risk is achievable. We are seeing 
benefits to this in a number of countries where we are working.  
14.132.   The third category C priority is risk management, and we are supporting the 
imple mentation of risk management in 34 countries. Challenges to implement risk management 
include the lack of monitoring and quality control, agencies not able to exchange and work together 
on collection and dissemination of data, risk management not being pra cticed consistently across all 
border agencies, and inadequate human resources dedicated to risk management. Administrations 
often need to dedicate staff, resources, and sometimes an actual risk management unit that can 
manage and lead an integrated risk m anagement framework across countries. One of the lessons 
learned is the importance of developing a project information plan that takes into account specific 
issues and capacities of all border agencies to ensure the integrated implementation of risk is car ried 
out from a whole -of-government perspective.  
14.133.   The next category C priority is border agency cooperation. We are currently supporting this 
in 19 countries. The key challenge is a lack of formal arrangements and standards to facilitate the 
coordination o f border agency activities. We have learned that countries need to develop a leadership 
mechanism, often through the NTFC, to take a high -level decision allowing the mandate for border 
agencies to not only cooperate, but to collaborate. Collaboration is ke y, particularly at land borders 
and particularly in least developed countries, where they can contribute to a regional implementation 
of the TFA.  
14.134.   The fourth priority provision is test procedures, which we are currently supporting in 
four countries. One of the challenges that we see is a lack of a clear understanding of how test 
procedures can be implemented, particularly in regard to connecting the policy level and the practical 
implementation and opportunity for the private sector to access a second tes t. Often it is just a 
matter of documenting and sustaining existing initiatives and producing a policy and a 
communication plan for the private sector. We have seen the government agencies having this in 
place, but the private sector not necessarily being fully aware of how a second test can be obtained.  
14.135.   A lesson learned with regard to second testing is that it is not necessarily about building a 
laboratory. The transparency provision of second testing is actually what it is about and so it is 
important to have the transparency of second testing mainstreamed into communication channels 
by the NTFC.  A regional approach can actually make sense, particularly in regions where we have 
small island developing States.  
14.136.   The fifth and final priority provision is the time release study (TRS). We are supporting TRS 
in 25 countries, and it is a critical baseline for the NTFCs to be able to periodically and continuously 
update the time it takes for border clearance.  
14.137.   However, there are challenges. Often there is no formal policy and structure to measure 
and publish the average release times , and p ublishing can be a challenge. However, we have seen 
that a summary of the results can be published, which in some ways fulfils the requirements of the G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  TFA and moves towards a measu re of transparency and predictability for private sector traders. We 
are working in the 25 countries to support the design, implementation, and sustainability of 
undertaking a TRS with our key international partner, the WCO . We a re also working with the WC O 
to update, revise, and modernize the TRS software and approach.  
14.138.   I thank our international partners, the WCO, UNCTAD, ITC, GATF , and our donor bilateral 
partners for their support in bringing together the activities at the country level in an integrated 
fashion to connect with the leadership mechanisms of the NTFCs.  
14.139.   The delegate of Peru indicated the following:  
14.140.   We are grateful for the World Bank 's support . In particular , we value the ir support for the 
implementation of measures related to the notification of enhanced controls and management of 
health risks . These  measures require the deployment of systems as well as  the development of laws 
and regulations  – which are very complex tasks . Working tog ether with experts from the 
international organizations we were able to identify a course of action.  We hope to continue working 
together  with them .  
14.141.   This work has been monitored in our reform tracker and implemented with the support of 
UNCTAD, and it  has helped us  to identify outstanding work. Measures related to sanitary controls 
are a challenge that require support from international experts.  
14.142.   The delegate of Mali indicated the following:  
14.143.   Could I likewise thank the representative from the World Bank for  that contribution and 
can I put on record that we appreciate the support that we have received through our Ministry of 
Industry and also our Ministry of Finance and Economy. We are very appreciative of the support and 
help that we have had from the World Bank on trade facilitation.  
14.144.   We confirm that we have worked very effectively with the World Bank, particularly in 
Customs -related areas, and that has helped us put in place the IT systems called SIGMAT. SIGMAT 
helps us with goods in transit, not only to hel p the different customs services to cooperate, it is also 
looking at inter -connectiveness and with our objective to minimize the possibility of sharp practice 
and fraud.  Niger has already spoken about this agreement between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, 
and the implementation of SIGMAT. This has been one of the beacon projects of West Africa, and 
we are very much at the forefront of that work.  
14.145.   The World Bank and UNCTAD have helped us with increasing capacity within our 
administration.  However, we believe t hat there is some room for improvement, and we would like 
to make some suggestions on this.  
14.146.   The NTFC is key to implementation. To be effective, you need a dynamic committee, one 
which is able to push reforms, which can draw up texts, and which can then monitor what is done, 
so it can make sure that the reforms are being implemented. We see some gaps here, and we would 
like support from the World Bank to work on increasing the capacity of the NTFC. There are a number 
of reforms to be implemented, and  perhaps there is some dragging of feet, partly because we have 
forgotten that important principle of being dynamic .  
14.147.   Therefore, I would launch an appeal to organizations here that firstly we have to look at 
boosting the capacities of the NTFCs as well as providing them with computer systems that work. 
Equally, in the early stages make sure that they work effectively. While you can certainly train 
people, if they have not got the wherewithal to work, then the work does not get done. We are 
looking at the ef fectiveness of the NTFCs, and we have to look at their dynamism, because this is 
an important part of the approach.  
14.148.   The second point regards the single window. A single window does not limit itself to the 
software that you develop to interconnect the vario us bodies, or its design. In Mali, under the 
partnership that we have used we developed the software and we have now got the computer tools 
so that we can connect, and between the various structures. However, while we have got a structure, 
we have not yet managed to put it in place. We are asking the state to provide a building, and it 
takes a lot of money to establish and fit one out.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.149.   Therefore, when you design a project, you have to look at it in the round, not just one 
small part of it. If you are dealin g with a country which has not got many resources, you will feel 
that things are not being taken up. But countries want to take them up – but we do not have the 
resources.  
14.150.   I would like to thank UNCTAD and the World Bank for their work. Next week there wil l be 
a series of capacity building activities which we are doing with UNCTAD. I would also like to 
congratulate the trainers that were sponsored by UNCTAD to carrying out training in Mali. The 
training has meant that a critical number of our officials and people from the private sector and also 
from the civil society could understand what trade facilitation is, what it means, what we were doing 
and what is at stake.  
14.151.   We are banking on UNCTAD so that we can continue cooperation in these very specific 
areas. If we provide support to the NTFCs, then implementation of other measures – information, 
information points, notification and so on will flow from that because it is the NTFC that does all of 
that. 
14.152.   The delegate of Senegal  indicated the following:  
14.153.   We would  like to thank UNCTAD and the World Bank for the presentations that they have 
made. UNCTAD has helped our country in boosting capacity , and the World Bank is currently working 
with our country on introducing  trade facilitation for farm ing and agriculture. We would like to 
encourage other international organizations to help with other measures as well, which are also very 
important.  
14.154.   The delegate of Nepal  indicated the following:  
14.155.   Nepal has 13 measures in category C and is trying its best to implement the TF A together 
with the support of partners . We have also requested continued support from other partners. As our 
governance system has just transformed into a federal one, the provincial government seems much 
more interested in implement ing the category B mea sures. Once the Customs Bill passes from the 
Parliament, most of the measures would be covered and so we highly appreciate the continuous 
support that we receiv e and we request such support in the future.  
14.156.   With regard to the World Bank presentation, there a re two questions: 1) what lessons have 
been learned while implementing the different support measures and what can be done to ensure 
the best outcomes; and 2) what are the Bank's future support plans regarding implementation of 
the TFA?  
14.157.   The delegate of Cameroon  indicated the following:  
14.158.   We would also like to thank UNCTAD and the World Bank for their contributions to 
Cameroon and for their capacity building support. Their support is very important for trade 
facilitation in our country. We have been working on implementing the TFA since 201 7 and we have 
been working with UNCTAD on capacity building since then.   
14.159.   We have had four training modules as well as training of trainers sessions. This has been 
extremely useful for our country because we can now train officials involved in implementing  the 
TFA.  
14.160.   The World Bank has undertaken several projects with us and has supported us with 
developing our data portal. Thanks to them, we have been able to boost our capacity and to make 
some real headway in this area. We have also been able to carry out work on highways in the 
country, and this has increased our trade. We have designated our ABC categories and we had 
support to identify our technical assistance needs. We are very grateful to these organizations for 
having provided us with this help which is very helpful for developing Members . G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.161.   The delegate of Moldova  indicated the following:  
14.162.   The Moldovan Customs Service would like to thank UNCTAD and the World Bank for all the 
support they provided in the context of the modernization and implementation of  the new Customs 
Code, as part of the implementation of the TFA . 
14.163.   We would like to also thank the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction 
and Development (EBRD)  for all their support in the context of developing the module for 
implementation  of pre -arrival processing, as well as in the context to improve Moldova's capacity 
building in trade facilitation.  
14.164.   We would like to thank the CTF Chair for this opportunity to see all the reforms which are 
being carried out by Members and for the  opportunity to discuss with donors how they can support 
us. Moldovan Customs is very committed to implementing the TFA and i s implementing a lot of 
reforms to develop a very friendly environment for the business community and to attract more 
investment to Moldova.  
14.165.   We would also like to express our gratitude to the World Bank for their support in building 
our capacity as well as their support to improve our infrastructure and border crossing points. This 
is our main focus in the implementation of our trade facilitation agenda.  
14.166.   The representative of the World Bank  indicated the following:  
14.167.   Peru's intervention is a really nice exam ple of how risk management can be mainstreamed 
across outside customers and into the SPS health arena  and it has been very successful. We look 
forward to working further with you.  
14.168.   In response to Mali's questions about broader integration, I think the World  Bank is in a 
very fortunate position to be able not only to provide technical assistance through our Trade 
Facilitation Support Programme, but also to follow with you over a number of years to access a 
number of different instruments : first, through our d evelopment policy operations which allow 
budget support to the Government you can choose how and where you wish to invest that financing ; 
specific investment operations which are designed to have an integrated approach to increase the 
competitiveness of co untries allow for the design and implementation of infrastructure, including 
roads, bridges, ports, ICT, as well as  IT systems like the National Single Window. That framework 
can be multi -year and often stays in place for 10  years  or even longer . It can be  undertaken at the 
regional level as well and a nice example of our regional work around investing in single window is 
actually in the Western Balkans, where we have six economies working together to implement a 
single window system, although at the nation al level, but in a way they can be interconnected in the 
future to have a regional approach.  
14.169.   In response to Nepal, thank you very much also for your kind words. We have provided 
support in Nepal for many years, including the Customs legislation revisions, which you mentioned, 
and also around risk management and around a number of C categories. We have learned a number 
of lessons from providing support, particularly around the implementation of the TFA. For example, 
we have identified the necessary elements of a successful trade facilitation project. I would like to 
put this into the five Cs,  as follows: commitment, coordination, cooperation, consistency of reform, 
and celebration of success to enable continuous improvement. If you think about it like that  and you 
see the five Cs come together in an integrated framework through the NTFC with the private sector 
input, you can learn a lot of lessons and move forward with understanding what success might look 
like. I am happy to talk more about future support and  how we can undertake an approach with you 
that would make sense.  
14.170.   Thank you very much to Cameroon and Moldova for your comments. You have highlighted 
the border control points which the World Bank is about to embark on and support you with 
infrastructure and the effective design and building of border control points.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.171.   The representative of the World Customs Organi zation ( WCO)  indicated the following:  
14.172.   It is a great pleasure for the WCO to be here today and to share information on our existing 
tools and activities to support the implementation of five measures of the TFA with the lowest 
implementation rate.  
14.173.   All these measures are covered by the instruments and tools developed by the WCO and 
the WCO is providing technical assistance and capacity building support to its members on all these 
measures.  
14.174.   The WCO launched the Mercator programme in 2014 in order to assist our members 
worldwide in implementing the TF A in a uniform manner by applying WCO tools and instruments. 
Under two tracks of this programme, we have been developing and updating trade facilitation 
instruments and tools and also providing technical assistance and capacity building at global, 
regional , subregional and national level. This is indeed an open request from customs 
administrations.  
14.175.   There are also a number of other programmes and projects funded by our partners that 
work hand -in-hand with the Merca tor programme to provide technical assistan ce and capacity 
building on trade facilitation, such as WCO -SECO4 Global Trade Facilitation Program, WCO -SIDA5 
Trade Facilitation and Customs Modernization Program, WCO -JICA6 Joint Project, WCO -HMRC7 
UNCTAD Accelerate Trade Facilitation Program and oth ers.  
14.176.   Regarding Article 7.4 of the TFA on risk management, we can focus on three major 
WCO instruments and tools. Standard  6.3 to 6.5 of the General Annex to the Revised Kyoto 
Convention (RKC) set out the principles of Customs risk management. Risk managem ent is also a 
core element of WCO SAFE Framework of Standards  to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade . In 
response to the growing need for a standardized approach that allows customs administrations 
worldwide to communicate effectively about their risk ident ification and mitigation methods, the 
WCO also published the Customs Risk Management Compendium in 2011. This compendium consists 
of two  separate but interlinked volumes. Volume one sets out the organizational framework for risk 
management and outlines the  risk management process. Volume  two, which is available to 
WCO members only, covers risk assessment, profiling and targeting tools. Volume one of the 
compendium was updated in 2021 and an updated volume  two was published in June this year.  
14.177.   Regarding the t echnical assistance and capacity building activities on risk management, 
the WCO Global Information and Intelligence Strategy Working Group plays a key role in exchanging 
expertise among WCO members and also developing guidelines and tools in the area of r isk 
management. In order to support WCO members to strengthen their capacity in the area of customs 
risk management, we also conduct a number of regional and national activities each year. The WCO 
is also making a big effort to expand the pool of WCO accre dited experts to respond to increasing 
needs of our members for technical assistance and capacity building in the area of risk management.  
14.178.   The next measure with lowest implementation rate is Article 7.7 on AEOs. The General 
Annex of the RKC sets out in tr ansitional standard  3.32 its transitional special procedures for 
authorized persons. The SAFE Framework Of Standards principally incorporated into its text detailed 
provisions on the conditions and requirements for customs and AEOs initially developed in a  separate 
document.  
14.179.   The SAFE package includes various tools relating to AEO, including AEO implementation 
and validation guidance, the online AEO compendium, customs business partnership guidance, 
frequently asked questions on linkages between SAFE AEO pro gramme and Article 7.7 of the TFA 
and so on.  
14.180.   The WCO AEO programme is indeed one of the areas where we receive a large number of 
requests for technical assistance and capacity building from our members. In addition to two  regional 
events we organized in th e previous financial year, more than 10 national activities were also carried 
 
4 State Secretariat for Economic Affai rs, Switzerland.  
5 Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency . 
6 Japan International Cooperation Agency.  
7 HM Revenue and Customs, United Kingdom . G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  out. In the current financial year, the WCO Global AEO Conference will be held in China in May 2024, 
and more than 10 national activities are also planned or already delivered in  the first three months 
of this financial year.  
14.181.   The third TFA measure on the list is border agency cooperation. Transitional standard  3.35 
in General Annex of RKC lays down the principles in this regard. Again, the SAFE Framework of 
Standards includes, amo ng other things, pillar 3 to foster closer cooperation between Customs and 
other government agencies. The coordinated border management compendium is helpful for WCO 
members in their attempts to develop and implement CBM in their countries by incorporating  best 
practices on different areas of CBM that members could use for a reference . The compendium on 
coordinated border management was updated last year.  
14.182.   During the previous financial year, the WCO organized two regional  and sub-regional events 
as well as t wo national activities at the request of customs administrations. As for the current 
financial year, three national activities have already been carried out or planned for the coming 
months.  
14.183.   The next measure on the list is Article 5.3 on test procedures. S tandard 3.33 of RKC General 
Annex limits the instances where Customs should take samples of goods. On the other hand, the 
customs laboratory guide is intended primarily as a practical handbook for the establishment or 
improvement of customs laboratories in  developing countries. This guide includes best practices 
covering a variety of laboratory operations. A diagram providing an idea and guidance to how the 
TFA provisions of test procedures could work in administrations are included in the Customs 
Laborator y Guide. Best practices relating to both the first and second tests, including sampling 
procedures, will also be included in this guidance very soon. This tool is available on the WCO 
members website.  
14.184.   Regarding the technical assistance and capacity buildin g activities on test procedures and 
customs laboratories, there were  a number of global, regional, and sub -regional as well as national 
activities either already organized or planned by the WCO in the previous and current financial years.  
14.185.   Lastly, Article 10.4 on single window is one of the five measures with lowest implementation 
rate. To support capacity building efforts in this area, the WCO has developed a compendium on 
building a single window environment, and this compendium consists of two vo lumes. In each 
volume, under each part, they are focusing on different areas of single window environment, 
providing comprehensive guidance on building blocks of single window implementation.  
14.186.   Regarding technical assistance and capacity building activities in this area, the WCO 
delivered four national support activities in the previous financial year at the request of our members. 
And for the current financial year, we have an intensive programme including more than 10 national 
activities either already deli vered or planned for the coming months.  
14.187.   WCO also has a number of e -learning programmes. The first one is CLIC platform. On this 
platform, customs officers from our members as well as officers from other government agencies 
can access almost 60 courses free  of charge, including on the topics such as the TFA, risk 
management, AEO, coordinated border management, single window, and others. They are available 
usually in English and French which are  the two official languages of WCO. However, some courses 
are als o available in additional languages like Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. To register, 
you can follow the instructions on the WCO website.  
14.188.   The second e -learning programme is the WCO Academy, which was launched in 2018 for 
the private sector and ac ademia. There are almost 20 courses available on different topics on this 
platform.  
14.189.   Before finalizing my presentation, let me just underline that customs administrations of 
developing countries and LDCs may submit their request for tailor -made technical as sistance and 
capacity building to the WCO capacity building directorate at any time.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.190.   The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
14.191.   Thank you for the presentation by the WCO. Just a month ago, we finished a workshop 
tailored to the needs of officials i n Colombia. I would like to thank the WCO because it was a 
workshop on data analytics, specifically related to our need to strengthen our risk management 
system. Thank you very much to the World Customs Organization for their assistance.  
14.192.   The delegate of Mauritius  indicated the following:  
14.193.   First of all, let me thank the WCO and the World Bank for their wonderful presentations. 
With respect to assistance under the TFA, Mauritius has secured assistance from the WCO relating 
to the publication of Average Release Time studies (TRS), and we are p leased to inform the 
Committee that we are fully compliant with this provision. Mauritius is now well -trained and publishes 
its TRS every two to four years. WCO has also provided technical assistance to conduct the scoping 
study for setting up a customs la boratory in Mauritius.  
14.194.   We have further secured technical assistance from the World Bank for the enhancement of 
our single window and risk management at the Mauritius Revenue Authority . Mauritius would like to 
take the opportunity to thank both the WCO and  the World Bank  for their assistance , and we look 
forward to continue working with them.  
14.195.   The delegate of the Kyrgyz Republic  indicated the following:  
14.196.   We would like to thank the World Bank and the World Customs Organization for the 
excellent presentations of their activities in supporting implementation of category C provisions.  
14.197.   We would like to note that specifically the World Bank has rendered assistance to the 
Kyrgyz  Republic for Article 7.6, publication of TRS. In accordance with this article, WTO Membe rs 
are encouraged to periodically and consistently measure and publish their TRS. In 2018, with the 
support of the World Bank International Finance Company , the first test was conducted , and the 
second one was carried out in 2021 . The results are posted on  the websites of authorized 
government bodies. A third TRS is planned for 2024.  
14.198.   TRS is a strategic, internationally recognized tool for measuring the actual time required 
for the release and Customs clearance of goods from arrival to physical release . This  is in order to 
identify bottlenecks in trade processes and take necessary measures to improve the effectiveness 
of border procedures. The TRS is a unique tool that countries are encouraged to use to provide 
empirical evidence to review existing procedures  and regularly improve the effectiveness of the 
border controls.  
14.199.   Thus, conducting the TRS is an ongoing process that we currently cannot complete, and 
therefore we hope that the World Bank will continue its valuable support to conduct the given tests, 
even after the nominal completion of the implementation of Article 7.6 by the Kyrgyz  Republic.  
14.200.   We would also like to mention the valuable assistance of the WCO. In November 2021, as 
a part of the visit of the Secretary General of the WCO to the Kyrgyz Republic , a Memorandum of 
Understanding was signed at the specialized Customs training of the State Customs Service between 
the State Customs Service under the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kyrgyz  Republic and 
the WCO on granting the status of Specialized  Customs Training of The State Customs Service of 
the WCO Regional Training Center  (RTC) . 
14.201.   The opening of the RTC will allow employees of Customs authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic 
and Central Asian regions to acquire knowledge and skills that will ensure a  higher quality of law 
enforcement activities, and increase the professional level and exchange of information which will 
allow the application of effective measures to ensure economic security in the Kyrgyz Republic and 
in the region as a whole.  
14.202.   The deleg ate of Peru indicated the following:  
14.203.   Peru would like to thank the WCO for implementing the Global Program for Trade 
Facilitation with the support of the Government of Switzerland. With this project, the WCO provided G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  technical assistance, support for the i mprovement of customs controls, as well as capacity building  
in Peru . 
14.204.   Likewise, we would like to thank the WCO for its regional support. About a year ago, the 
WCO supported us with a workshop for the Pacific Alliance related to e -commerce, which resulted i n 
important recommendations. We are very grateful for this contribution.  
14.205.   The representative of the World Customs Organi zation ( WCO)  indicated the following:  
14.206.   I would like to extend my thanks to Colombia, Mauritius, Kyrgyz Republic, and Peru for 
their comme nts and for the information given about our ongoing activities in these countries. Indeed, 
three of these four countries, Colombia, Peru, and Kyrgyz Republic are beneficiaries of our Mercator 
programme. We have a long -term partnership with these countries under the MY Mercator multi -year 
Mercator programme approach, which means we have been providing long -term support to these 
countries in implementing the TFA.  
14.207.   Regarding the intervention by Mauritius, I would like to congratulate them on their TRS, 
and also  on the establishment of a customs laboratory in their country. And, indeed, we have 
one accredited RTC in the Kyrgyz Republic.  
14.208.   Referring to RTCs, we have 33 in tota l all over the world. The RTCs support the WCO in the 
realization of our technical assistan ce and capacity building activities in different regions.  
14.209.   Turning to Peru, yes, they are a beneficiary of the MY Mercator programme and, in the 
meantime, a beneficiary of the WCO -SECO Trade Facilitation Programme. We organize  a regional 
workshop on e -comme rce in this region. The WCO organizes ecommerce  workshops in all six  WCO 
regions over two years. The WCO support our members in terms of the implementation of all 
technical measures of the TFA.   
iv. Experience -sharing by donor Members supporting the implementation of these 
category  C provisions in the 2023 to 2024 period   
14.210.   The representative of the United States  indicated the following:  
14.211.   Trade has been a critical part of the US' diplomatic engagement in Viet Nam for over the 
past 20 years. Political com mitment towards reform, paired with demand -driven approaches to 
programming, is effectively supporting the country's transition from a low -skilled, labour -intensive 
industrial model to a more diversified economy that aims to move up the value chain.  
14.212.   Viet Nam represents a model of government -led reform, which also benefited from a 
trusting partnership with the US Government. This model of government -to-government 
collaboration has, in turn, spearheaded additional changes in customs reform in the region, inc luding 
in Thailand and Cambodia.   
14.213.   The delegate  of Japan  indicated the following:  
14.214.   Japan would like to introduce two cases of the technical assistance we provided to Egypt 
and Lao PDR.  
14.215.   With regards to Article 7.4, risk management, which Egypt is due to imp lement at the end 
of 2025, Japan Customs conducted a risk management diagnostic mission organized by WCO in 
Egypt in May 2023. Based on the needs of the Egyptian Customs , the mission analysed the gap 
between the legal and operational aspects of risk manage ment in the Egyptian Customs system and 
international standards, and then made recommendations to improve the operations. We hope that 
these efforts will help Egypt to complete the implementation of Article 7.4 by the implementation 
deadline.  
14.216.   Regarding Lao  PDR, Japan Customs has continuously implemented customs technical 
cooperation for Lao Customs. With regard to the Article 7.4 risk management measures, which is 
due to be implemented by Lao PDR at the end of 2024, we are conducting a three -year technical 
cooperation project on risk management from 2021 to 2024, jointly with JICA, and dispatching Japan G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  customs officers to the field in Lao Customs on a long -term basis. As part of the project, training 
was conducted in March this year by inviting Lao customs officials to Japan, and experts from Japan's 
Customs were dispatched to conduct training in Lao PDR in June.  
14.217.   The training included an explanation of the review of screening criteria -setting and 
importer -exporter management at the Japan Customs. Also, with  the aim of developing capacity to 
review and improve operations and other aspects of risk management and customs clearance 
operations in Lao PDR, we exchanged views on the development of an operational manual for risk 
management and customs clearance oper ations in Lao PDR. We hope that these efforts will help 
Lao PDR to complete the implementation of Article 7.4 by the implementation deadline, and we will 
continue to support Lao Customs in improving its capacity in the area of risk management.  
14.218.   The delegate  of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (on behalf of the CARICOM group)  indicated 
the following:  
14.219.   The CARICOM Group thanks the WTO Secretariat, the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility 
Team, the WTO Members, and Annex D organizations for their presentations an d reports.  
14.220.   Since 2016, at the national, regional, and sub -regional levels, CARICOM has benefited from 
support by several donors, namely through the TFAF, Government of the United Kingdom, UNCTAD, 
WCO, ITC, World Bank Group, Commonwealth Secretariat, Islami c Development Bank, Caribbean 
Development Bank, WTO Secretariat, and the European Union.  
14.221.   CARICOM enjoys robust regional coordination of TFA implementation. This has spurred 
national implementation momentum and is mainstreaming regional trade facilitation b est practices 
through the sharing of implementation experience and expertise in the regional committee. Notably, 
some member States have accelerated implementation of priority trade facilitation measures and 
have even completed implementation ahead of thei r notified implementation dates.  
14.222.   Notwithstanding this generally positive picture, there are some areas of concern and a 
number of observations we wish to make. By way of some general observations, one, the donor 
community, whether donor Members or Annex D organizations, generally needs to be more 
responsive to the needs of Members. Here, it is important to note that technical assistance and 
capacity building (TACB) needs are not static.  
14.223.   TACB support is not a one -off event and should be ongoing for as long a s the need exists. 
Also, geographical and other eligibility criteria, such as income -based criteria, are areas of concern 
for CARICOM Members. Furthermore, there are some measures which are very capital -intensive, 
such as single window, for example. And so me Governments in our region are constrained in their 
ability to undertake massive financial obligations at this time, particularly in the broader global 
context of high interest rates, high debt, and fewer concessional financing opportunities. Donor 
Membe rs and Annex D organizations should take these factors into account. There are also certain 
activities which are complementary to TFA measures or TFA Plus in nature and scope, yet extremely 
important within the wider ecosystem of trade facilitation reforms . 
14.224.   Recalling our earlier point that TACB needs are not static, consideration should be given to 
providing support for activities which are not necessarily TFA commitments, but which are 
nonetheless important to trade facilitation reform. For instance, areas  such as fees and charges also 
require complementary legislative reform. In this context, support for TFA Plus initiatives can also 
allow for full and fuller implementation of TFA commitments.  
14.225.   We commit to continue to our constructive engagement in the CTF . We also look forward 
to deeper engagement with donors in the year ahead to further expedite trade facilitation reforms 
in CARICOM.  
14.226.   The delegate  of Moldova  indicated the following:  
14.227.   On behalf of the Republic of Moldova delegation, I wish to convey our appr eciation to the 
WTO Secretariat for the informative sessions held throughout the week concerning the 
implementation of the TFA, which brought together delegates and our capital -based officials.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.228.   In particular, we extend our gratitude to the TFA Facility and  the donor Members who have 
played an instrumental role in facilitating the participation of the capital -based colleagues in the 
Trade Facilitation Committee. Such support to capacity building has made an important impact on 
our national efforts to advance  the implementation of the TFA. The direct involvement of the capital 
colleagues in the Committee sessions have proven to be a valuable learning and networking 
experience, and we hope to continue this tradition.  
14.229.   It has not only deepened Members' understand ing of the existing gaps in TFA 
implementation and the tasks that need to be undertaken before our category C commitments come 
due in 2025, but it has also provided us with insights into how we can actively contribute to the 
future discussions and initiati ves aimed at streamlining global trade procedures drawing from our 
own national experiences.  
14.230.   Referring to the presentations we have heard this morning on experience sharing by the 
international organizations and the donor countries on their activities to s upport implementation of 
the TFA provisions, we would like to react with a general message and extend our thanks to all 
presenters for their informative reports and for the good collaboration we have established over the 
years, particularly with thanks to UNCTAD, WCO, World Bank, and donor partners as European  Union 
and United States, who continue to offer support in capacity building and in the implementation of 
our category C commitments.  
14.231.   I would like to seize this opportunity to draw our donor Members' and partner organizations' 
attention to current limitations in the transport and transit capacity of Moldova in the context of the 
implementation of our TFA commitments. Given these challenges, we are confronted with an urgent 
need for substantial investments in cross -border infrastructure, transport network, and port 
facilities.  
14.232.   This investment would be crucial, especially in these challenging times, and will significantly 
contribute to fulfilling our category C commitments as the implementation de adline approaches. So 
in this regard, we kindly call upon our development partners and donors in considering to offer us 
the necessary support in this endeavour.  
14.233.   In conclusion, Moldova remains committed to the principles of the TFA, and we look forward 
to collaborating with the WTO Secretariat and our international partners to enhance trade efficiency 
and, of course, to ensure smooth implementation of the TFA.  
14.234.   The delegate  of the United States  indicated the following:  
14.235.   We want to take the opportunity to provide an update on the bilateral and regional trade 
facilitation capacity -building activities that are being undertaken by the United  States and by USAID 
in particular.  
14.236.   Preliminary data for calendar year 2022 indicates that approximately U SD 90 million was 
committed and dispersed to support US capacity -building initiatives on issues such as post -clearance 
audits and risk analysis, advanced rulings, border agency coordination, private sector engagement, 
public consultations, administrative p rocedures, and trade promotion in third -party beneficiary 
countries around the world.  
14.237.   USAID is active around the globe and is very pleased to be working with and support, along 
with other donor partners, Canada and Germany, the extensive efforts of the Glo bal Alliance for 
Trade Facilitation. We are also pleased with our ongoing collaboration with and support to the World 
Bank's Trade Facilitation Support Program.  
14.238.   But let me focus on just a few illustrative examples of USAID's ongoing work in a number 
of cou ntries and regions. In Latin America, USAID has continued working to enhance the capabilities 
of border officers with further training through the Border Academy that it helped establish a few 
years ago in cooperation with the Governments of Guatemala, Hon duras, and El  Salvador. USAID is 
also supporting an AEO programme in Paraguay. The Paraguay programme recently signed a 
regional mutual recognition agreement with seven other regional customs administrations that 
should help improve trade facilitation in t he region.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.239.   In Central Asia, USAID's Trade Central Asia activity has supported countries in the region 
across a broad range of customs, transport, and logistics issues. As a consequence, USAID's efforts 
have helped increase use of the Trans -Caspian interna tional transport route by Central Asian 
exporters and by transport and logistics companies, thereby helping to diversify exports to the 
European Union.  
14.240.   In Africa, USAID's trade facilitation activities are spearheaded by our regional missions in 
Accra, Nair obi, and Johannesburg. USAID, in collaboration with other donors, is supporting African 
continental integration and, more specifically, trade facilitation components of the integration 
initiatives through our work with Trademark Africa.  
14.241.   Let me emphasize th at all of these initiatives, as with all of USAID's other interventions, 
ultimately aim at facilitating the private sector's seamless movement of goods across borders. I 
think it is worth highlighting and emphasizing the message that was communicated throu gh the 
Viet Nam experience. It speaks not only to the collaboration among U.S. governmental agencies, 
but the very real partnership that was undertaken between the Vietnamese Government and the 
United  States Government  to advance their trade facilitation a genda and in working in cooperation 
with the private sector.  
14.242.   The delegate  of Maldives  indicated the following:  
14.243.   I would like to join other Members in thanking the organizers for putting together this 
important gathering. An important opportunity to interact  with the donors is always very exciting. I 
thank the European Union, UNCTAD, World Bank, WCO, and other presentations delivered today.  
14.244.   The information that has been provided over the course of the last few days, especially 
available support facilities, ha ve been very useful for us. Indeed, technical assistance from donors 
plays a pivotal role in ensuring that developing countries like the Maldives are able to meet the 
various commitments under the TFA.  
14.245.   Maldives, with assistance from the Asian Development B ank (ADB), UK Customs, and 
UNCTAD recently came up with a very comprehensive roadmap on trade facilitation. We are hoping 
to get the roadmap nationally validated in December 2023. Indeed, it is assistance from donors who 
have helped Maldives' efforts to im prove its TFA implementation rate. I note that in January 2023, 
our implementation rate stood at a mere 38.7%, way below the global and regional averages. I am 
happy to report that in less than eight months, our implementation rate has improved to 62.2%, 
which is a significant progress for a small island economy.  
14.246.   The interventions from donors definitely helped Maldives as a country to reenergize and 
refocus our efforts, as well as improve government -wide coordination and collaboration among 
border agencies.  With this assistance, I am happy to report that we have been able to notify earlier 
implementation of nine WTO measures way ahead of the implementation schedule of commitments.  
14.247.   We hope that this momentum could be continued in light of the recent award of the Turnkey 
contract in mid -September to implement the national single window. At this juncture, I would like 
to convey and express that the Government of Maldives is extremely grateful for the timely 
assistance provided by the WTO, WCO, UNCTAD, and ADB fo r the support received, also the UK 
Customs.  
14.248.   I look forward to use the remaining days of the forum to engage with donors, especially 
those donors who have not been very engaged with the Maldives on TF matters to explore ways and 
how we could work together.  
14.249.   The delegate  of Nigeria  indicated the following:  
14.250.   I would like to commend all the donors that made the presentation s. We have seen efforts 
they are making towards technical assistance and capacity support to Member countries, including 
to Nigeria.  
14.251.   However , as we look forward for further engagement with donors, it is important that 
whenever donors or development partners are coming to a country, particularly with trade facilitation G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  support, they should take cognizance of the existence of the NTFC in order t o have coordinated 
reform activities and at the same time the basis for notification to WTO of technical assistance 
arrangements a progress. In situations where donors may contact some agencies without the 
knowledge of the NTFC, you discover that the NTFC is not even aware that these type of supports 
are ongoing. So it is important to always take cognizance of the existence of the committee and 
particularly if it is a trade facilitation support.  
14.252.   The delegate  of Colombia  indicated the following:  
14.253.   I would lik e to thank donor organizations for their presentations and the support provided 
for the implementation of the various provisions contained in the TFA. In the presentations we have 
heard over these few days, one topic that has been mentioned is the difficul ties faced by customs 
officials, health officials, as well as private users in implementing these measures. I would like to 
suggest to cooperating agencies, capacity building assistance, which is very important. It is an 
element that could really make a di fference.  
14.254.   One notable example is national workshops for customs and health officials, as well as 
private sector users, which in our case are represented by unions or associations. We see that 
reinforcing the message about trade facilitation would increase their engagement in implementing 
TFA commitments. A question for USAID, or if they can provide more information, is how did you 
implement the border academies in the Central American countries?  
14.255.   The delegate  of the United States  indicated the following:  
14.256.   The Border Academy that we are helping support in Central America really is a recognition 
of the importance of human interaction and human contact among border officials across different 
countries. We worked with the countries El Salvador, Guate mala and Honduras to bring them 
together to really encourage a partnership even though they are representing their individual 
countries, but to recognize that by working together, they can be much more effective and much 
more efficient in terms of moving g oods across borders. So it was very much a collaborative effort. 
It is something that the countries recognize the need for and we were happy to step in to provide 
support. In cooperation with our colleagues at CBP, we were able to provide various kinds of training, 
including leadership training in support of the Academy.  
14.257.   That concluded  agenda item 14.1.  
14.2  Sharing of experiences and information on ongoing assistance and support for 
capacity building and implementation program mes, including challenges and successes  
i. Experience -sharing by Members on discussions with development partners and 
donors in capitals  
14.258.   The delegate of Mauritius  indicated the following:  
14.259.   I understand that the aim of this dedicated session is for Members and development 
partners to engage in an open discussion on how to operationalize Section 2 of the TFA and to 
address Members on ongoing requests for implementation support.  
14.260.   In view of the importance of trade facilitation for Mauritius, we were among the 
first countries  to have ratif ied the WTO TFA and we have made substantial progress over the years 
to facilitate trade with other countries. Moreover, Mauritius has been constantly complying with all 
the notification requirements within the timeline provided for in the TFA and we are p leased to inform 
the Committee that Mauritius is implementing all its category A and category B commitments. 
Mauritius has designated four measures in category C – enquiry points, test procedures, risk 
management, and single window.  
14.261.   Up to now, Mauritius h as secured assistance from the WCO relating to the publication of 
TRS and we are pleased to inform the Committee that we are now fully compliant with this provision. 
We have additionally secured technical assistance from the World Bank for the enhancement of our 
single window and risk management. Mauritius would therefore like to thank once more the WCO 
and the World Bank for the assistance provided until now.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.262.   However, despite the TFA including a mechanism that conditions the implementation of its 
measures upon the receipt of technical and financial assistance by donors, Mauritius has not been 
able to secure any other assistance apart from the technical assistance that we have mentioned 
earlier. Mauritius has also approached the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreem ent Facility (TFAF) last year 
regarding the possibility of financing these category C measures where funding has not been secured 
and TFAF has facilitated our meeting with two donors. However, until now, there has not been any 
concrete assistance forthcomi ng. 
14.263.   Mauritius would like to draw to the attention of the Committee that some donors are 
imposing very strict conditions to the technical and financial assistance they are providing to 
developing countries. Mauritius has further noticed that funding is bein g linked with the income level 
of a country and it now looks like there is discrimination amongst developing countries. Donors are 
discriminating between low middle income and upper middle income countries, and so on. Those 
strict conditions were never agr eed in the modalities adopted in the MC9 in Bali.  
14.264.   Almost six years have elapsed since the entry into force of the TFA and if we do not acquire 
the assistance required to implement the other category C measures, Mauritius will not be in a 
position to implem ent them within the notified implementation date.  
14.265.   To conclude, we are of the view that the WTO Secretariat should also play a more proactive 
role in mobilizing the technical and financial assistance required by the developing countries. They 
need to assis t and accompany Members in the process of securing implementation support.  
14.266.   The delegate of Guatemala  indicated the following:  
14.267.   We would like to thank you for including this item on the agenda. It is very important to 
identify the remaining gaps to implement the TFA. In previous agenda items, our country has stated 
that we are working on the implementation of the single window for foreign trade.  
14.268.   This is done in three phases. First, an online portal for information on foreign trade. Second, 
an online portal for the management of authorizations related to foreign trade. Third, the full 
implementation of the single window, which would  include the two previous stages plus the 
possibility of electronic payment for authorizations related to foreign trade. Thus far, progress has 
been made on stage one. Stage two is still being developed, and certain difficulties have been 
identified, such as unequal technological development in the various national institutions. We would 
like to reiterate our request for support from other Members and organizations to be able to achieve 
the standardization of our computer systems and the incorporation of IT  in our national institutions. 
We stand read y to hold bilateral conversations in order to have more information on these matters.  
ii. Experience -sharing by Members and Organi zations on how such synergies have 
benefited implementation of the TFA , and  
iii. Considera tion of where further collaboration and cooperation (including on a 
regional level) might best support a future implementation of specific articles  
14.269.   Agenda items 14 .2(ii) and 14 .2(iii) were taken up together.  
14.270.   The representatives of USAID, Viet Nam  and US Cu stoms and Border Protection (CBP)  
indicated the following:  
14.271.   For the past 20 years, USAID has supported Viet Nam to institutionalize more open and 
predictable trade, including projects and USD 98 million of funding that improves ease of doing 
business in Vie t Nam. Most recently, during the past five years under the USAID Trade Facilitation 
Programme (CFP), USAID in close collaboration with Viet  Nam Customs supported the Viet  Nam 
Government in the development of more than 40 trade -related laws and regulations.  Thirty -seven 
of these have been issued and 60 training events are being conducted for more than 2 ,000 customs 
and GVN officers and 3,000 private sector participants. Those are the three major events. CBP 
through the inter -agency agreement with USAID creat ed a mechanism for the Customs of the US 
and Viet Nam to cooperate on peer -to-peer capacity building.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.272.   CBP does not have a presence in Viet Nam and the group that covers the region is based 
in Thailand. Therefore, by leveraging USAID expertise on this crit ical area with TFA development, 
we have been able to come together and develop capacity building programmes such as taking 
members of the general department of Vietnam Customs to the Trad e and  Cargo Academy in 
Charleston, US, to learn how we process cargo and do a workshop there to get that first -hand 
experience. Other efforts include bringing them to the US Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 
to understand leadership because with efforts like implementation of TFA, it is critical to understand 
change l eadership.  
14.273.   Thanks to USAID, CBP has developed these efforts and beyond that, over the last two  years 
of collaboration we have the ability to bring people into country and focus on some areas that have 
led to significant gains. A trade advisor was temporari ly positioned in Viet Nam who was able to 
work on the single window, a critical aspect of the TFA. The advisor was able to work on advance 
rulings and discuss with the key officials how to improve that plus talking to the trade community to 
get feedback to  ensure the process was running smoothly.  
14.274.   USAID also funded a CBP advisor to go to Viet Nam and discuss other areas related to trade 
facilitation with agricultural products and to enhance understanding of the different regulations both 
with the private sec tor and the Government, including intellectual property rights and other issues 
that emerge.   
14.275.   As a result of the success in Viet Nam, we would love to take the Trade and Cargo Academy 
Programme and work with other countries that could benefit from that un derstanding.  
14.276.   The success of Viet Nam's TFA implementation began with the proactive government 
engagement in various levels. The Government of Viet  Nam understood that to achieve the real 
reform, it needs to take ownership of the process, including the engagement of the high level 
leadership at the Deputy Prime Minister level to the Vice Minister and to the overall general 
Department of Vietnam Customs as well as with the private sector engagement and capacity 
building.  
14.277.   With regard to trade facilitation,  Viet Nam was vested in adopting good valuation practices 
designed to modernize, work as a trusted partner and inspired the collaboration and communication 
with both within and outside the Government of Viet Nam. It also recognized to fully align with the 
TFA provisions. Accordingly, the Government took swift action to revise custom laws, implement a 
risk-based approach and an integrated data -sharing system.  
14.278.   There are a number of success stories of implementation of the TFA in Viet Nam. The 
business commun ity is playing a key role in the Government's efforts to facilitate trade. With over 
650,000 enterprises accounting for 42% of Viet  Nam's GDP, platforms that enhance public -private 
dialogue are becoming increasingly important.  
14.279.   So in Viet Nam, we launched v arious initiatives such as the private sector trade facilitation 
round table to promote the private sector's voice into the policy -making process and to improve the 
custom -to-business partnership. For example, in February 2023, the USTR Ambassador in a tri p to 
Viet Nam attended that round table. During the meeting, participants recognized that the positive 
impact of the Viet Nam Government 's recent trade reforms have made it easier for the enterprises, 
the traders and investors to do business in Viet Nam.  
14.280.   CBP has had some tremendous success with Articles 3, 7, and 10. Focusing on Article  7.4, 
risk management, we have seen tremendous growth with the General Department of Vietnam 
Customs and the other officials we have worked with on risk management as a result of us 
collaborating and having numerous information sessions, and sharing best practices on different 
software programs. In addition, we have worked on developing the concept for risk management 
and how to implement that, not just based on one softw are, but rather to have a plan that can be 
flexible and use different platforms.  
14.281.   We have had multiple workshops to support this, all of which were supported by USAID. 
Some were virtual from our National Targeting Center using our Global Targeting Advisory Division. 
Others were from our office of trade. We have seen tremendous growth in Viet Nam's ability to 
manage risk, and it is an area where we think that we will continue to collaborate strongly so that it 
can expand even further.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.282.   Turning to Viet Nam's mi lestones, Viet Nam has complied with 20 out of 24 TFA provisions 
and expect to be in full compliance by December 2024. Our future plan is very much to strengthen 
the trade partnership and further enhance our role in the global supply chain through our new 
activities.  
14.283.   In summary, Viet Nam's commitment to good regulatory practices and trustworthiness as 
a partner has been instrumental in its growth and development as a WTO Member. I hope the story 
of Viet Nam can showcase the importance of trust -building and  maintaining government -to-
government collaboration.  
14.284.   The presenter  of Global Alliance for the Facilitation of Trade  indicated the following:  
14.285.   I wish to focus on two themes – the private sector and how do we interact with it, and 
quantifiable impact – and h ow these two themes interact.  
14.286.   The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation was created in 2015 and launched at MC11 in 
Nairobi and was aimed at specifically supporting countries implement the TFA. A number of donors 
got together and thought it would be bene ficial to establish a mechanism which is based on 
three  pillars.  
14.287.   The first one is the leveraging of the private sector, bringing this sector to contribute to 
trade facilitation. As we all know, without the private sector there is no trade and the private s ector 
has also got a role and a responsibility in being part of the solution. In that sense, the burden should 
not only be on Governments. So how do we establish a mechanism where both governments and 
private sector work hand in hand for this common cause?  
14.288.   The second pillar was about measurement and how do you establish an initiative which is 
able to measure in quantifiable terms the impact of its work. In the end, donor funding is an 
investment and the more we can move towards being able to quantify this i nvestment, I think the 
more everyone will benefit.  
14.289.   The third pillar is about agility and responsiveness and establishing a mechanism which can 
evolve and adapt as quickly as our world is evolving. If we look at the world today, it is a very 
different plac e than it was six years ago. It is therefore essential that in order to be effective, we all 
work in an adaptive way. And so this is how the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation was created.  
14.290.   The Alliance is a public -private partnership. It is a consortiu m of organizations, non -profit 
and profit organizations who have the main objective to overcome obstacles to trade. It is 
operationalized by four organizations, the Center for International Private Enterprise, the 
International Chamber of Commerce, the Wor ld Economic Forum and GIZ. It is supported financially 
by USAID, Global Affairs Canada and BMZ Germany. I wish to take this opportunity to thank our 
donors for their support over the years. We have also been developing a flourishing collaboration 
with the Islamic Center for Development of Trade, with whom we have just launched two projects, 
one in Nigeria and one last week in Togo. And we work with 41 multinationals, but as you will see 
later, many more SMEs and local companies. The companies you see here o n the slide are the 
companies that are part of our steering group, of our board that provides us direction.  
14.291.   Our footprint around the world, and I apologize if the slide is very small, but I think you 
will probably get a copy of this. We operate today, well , we have been involved in, let's say, 
38 projects, initiatives. We have completed 17, and we have another 17 which are in 
implementation. About half of our work is focused on Sub -Saharan Africa, North Africa, and 
Middle  East. And to keep it simple, the ot her half is split more or less equally between the Americas 
and Asia Pacific,  South Asia.  
14.292.   Interestingly, we operate at various levels of development, from LDCs to low -income to 
higher -middle -income countries. And in terms of our area of activities, about 40% of our work is 
focused on digitalization, and the rest split more or less equally between process simplification, 
process reform, and process reinforcement. We work a lot with regulatory agencies, which need a 
huge amount of support and don't always ge t it. A lot of support is provided to customs generally, 
and customs, of course, need that support. But what we find is that, as you know, the supply chain 
is only as strong as its weakest link. And if you have a regulatory agency, a Ministry of Agricultur e G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  or Bureau of Standards or Ministry of Environment, which is completely manual and inefficient in its 
work, this has direct impact into the supply chain. And so we focus quite a bit on that.  
14.293.   I would like to share that what all these projects have in commo n is that they have been 
created through the collaboration of government and private sector working together. They all 
address TFA provisions, and they are all targeted and practical in nature.  
14.294.   We have two ways of initiating projects. Interestingly, we do not simply just respond to the 
requirements or the wishes of governments, but what we do is we focus more on governments which 
are dedicated to reform and willing to work with the private sector. And when we have a request 
from a country, we create a publi c-private dialogue. We bring government and private sector around 
a table, establish what is the status of trade facilitation, and how we can jointly design focused 
projects to address trade obstacles.  
14.295.   The second option or the second way we initiate projec ts is by asking the private sector. 
They live the supply chain every day, and they know where the obstacles reside. So all we need is 
a challenge statement from the private sector, and we then diagnose, investigate, and try and 
understand what the root cau se of the obstacle is, and then formulate, fund, and deliver a project 
accordingly. All our projects, in the end, are pretty similar. They all aim to work government and 
private sector together and seek reduction in time and cost, which is the first step t owards achieving 
our overall objective of economic growth.  
14.296.   We interface or interact with the private sector in a number of ways. Firstly, we leverage 
their expertise. Private sector has got expertise in trade, and it is important that they can contribute 
to this expertise. And so if there is a need for expertise, whether it is in risk management or advanced 
rulings or any other area of interest, we will seek, firstly, the private sector to try and help us. We 
ask the private sector to therefore provide us w ith technical assistance, but also project ideas.  
14.297.   The private sector can also work in advocacy and outreach, advocacy for trade facilitation 
in general. It is extremely important that the private sector believes in this and actually speaks up 
to private se ctor, and so we encourage them to do this. The private sector can also provide us with 
tools, methodologies, and software. We have had a company, Maersk Shipping Line, that provided 
us a methodology to calculate indirect cost in the supply chain. Another c ompany provided an 
e-learning platform, which we used to train customers, and so on. And finally, we work with the 
private sector on the governance front. They are a member of our steering group along with our 
donors, and they are also a member of our proj ect steering groups.  
14.298.   Overall, since the start of the Alliance, we have acquired over USD  11 million of in -kind 
contribution from the private sector. We work with over 1,000 MSMEs. We work with over 500  large 
companies and over 400 associations in different  parts of the world. Interestingly, a lot of this 
contribution comes from Sub -Saharan Africa.  
14.299.   In terms of impact, we look at activities, outputs, outcomes, project impacts, and 
development impacts, and these are all different notions. Activities is what we  do in the day -to-day 
to be able to get projects moving forward. Outputs is the direct result of those activities, and 
hopefully these lead to outcomes. But what is very interesting is when we move towards project 
impacts and development impacts and try an d measure those impacts, because this is where we 
start seeing how much traction we are creating with our projects.  
14.300.   Project impacts are directly related to the project, and development impacts are impacts 
more generally. When we talk about impacts, we can split this into qualitative and quantitative, and 
at the Alliance, of course, we take into consideration qualitative impacts, but we put a lot of focus 
on quantitative, and that quantitative itself can be split into direct and indirect. What are your cost 
savings, your direct cost savings, and what are the indirect cost savings, which very often we have 
a tendency to forget.  
14.301.   Of all the projects that we have now fully delivered, we have calculated USD  60 million 
worth of reduction in time and costs, so this is a savings to the economy. Interestingly, this is the 
direct result of those projects, but those savings occur not at the same rate, but they will recur from 
year to year, and so you can rapidly start looking and seeing what the impact is of the investme nt 
from the donors.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.302.   Direct costs are one of the direct savings. If you remove a process, you digitalize a process. 
Indirect costs are costs that the private sector may incur, but that the rest of us may not realize. 
When goods get stuck at the border, you may need to have more storage. You may have a late 
delivery for your customers. You may have lost production. You may be prone to theft or to spoilage 
of the goods. You may even lose a customer because your goods are delayed. So there are a whole 
number of  reasons why trade facilitation indirectly is of crucial importance to the private sector, and 
we have developed a methodology called TTLC  (Total Transport and Logistics Cost),  which is focused 
on identifying these indirect costs, because this is where you  will see the real benefit of the work 
that we are all doing in this room day after day.  
14.303.   With regards to the future, as an implementing partner , we work day in, day out, with our 
donors, and we must all recognize the world is evolving very quickly, and the donors are widening 
their areas of interest. As implementing partners, we have to try and assess where we are going to 
focus our efforts and tr y and match the expectations of the donors and the needs of the recipient 
countries. We have gone through an exercise at the Alliance thinking about this, and we have 
concluded that we can consolidate those three areas of interest into three buckets – support 
economic growth, protect the environment, and improve living conditions and society. If we are able 
to focus on those three themes, we might well be making some progress. But if we expand this, you 
will see that there are many subdivisions, subcategori es of issues and activities that need to take 
place.  
14.304.   Some examples are the following: 1) climate change – we need to reduce emissions; 
2) environment and pollution, which I classify differently; 3) build a circular economy; 4) global 
health care – on the back of COVID, we need to deliver vaccines and pharmaceuticals to some of 
the most remote parts of the world; 5) food security – we need to  ensure sustained delivery of 
nutrition; 6) work and labour conditions – we need to eliminate forced labour and focus on gender; 
7) crisis management, establish disaster preparedness; 8) resilience, support government capacity; 
9) intellectual property is an area we don't talk about very much in trade facilitation, but if you fight 
counterfeit trade properly, this also has impact; 10) biodiversity, fighting illegal plant and animal 
trade; and 11) corruption, through establishing transparency. All these them es, interestingly, are 
underpinned by trade. And if we focus on trade facilitation, we have an astonishing way of supporting 
all these objectives together.  
14.305.   Looking at the future, the Alliance is looking very carefully at four specific areas. The first 
is disaster preparedness. Over the past two years, we worked very closely with Madagascar to 
establish some processes to deal with clearance of goods in the case of a crisis. As most of you will 
know, Madagascar can be prone to cyclones, and this work has bee n very beneficial already. We are 
now looking to scale this up. We are working with Columbia University, who have got expertise in 
this area, and we are building our expertise in this area, too.  
14.306.   The second area is food security, very much linked to digital ization. What we do not want 
is that the distribution of food around the world gets hindered by obstacles that do not necessarily 
need to be there, and through digitalization, we can hopefully contribute. It is not the only answer, 
but hopefully we can con tribute to avoiding obstacles to food security.  
14.307.   The third area is reverse supply chains. This is an area which is not discussed very much, 
but will become very topical in the near future. There is a lot of electronic waste on dumps in many 
parts of the wor ld and this cannot remain this way. Reverse supply chains are at their infancy, 
embryonic. We are working with the tech industry to try and find ways to get this electronic waste 
back to plants which can recycle it in a proper way. However, this requires a  tremendous amount of 
work because supply chains have never been designed to work in a reverse mode.  
14.308.   And the fourth area is trade and investment. Those are both sides of the same coin. There 
is a lot of discussion in relation to investment facilitation at the WTO. But if you are able as a country 
to attract foreign direct investment, imagine establishing an investment for a manufacturing plant. 
It is essential that you are able to bring in the raw material without hindrance, and you are able to 
export the f inished products without hindrance. And here again, trade facilitation has got a 
tremendous role to play.  
14.309.   So in conclusion, I hope some of these comments may be useful, may begin a discussion. 
The Alliance is here at your disposal. And I would like to end by thanking our donors and thanking 
our peer organizations such as UNCTAD and the World Bank, we collaborate day in, day out.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.310.   The delegate  of Pakistan  indicated the following:  
14.311.   From Pakistan's perspective, we understand the potential of the private sector in bringing 
in innovation, new technology, and efficiency to cross -border trade processes. And we are making 
an active effort to come up with an integrated policy, which includes the voice of the private sector.  
14.312.   One of the insights that we have gained for the implementation of the single window in 
particular is that there is a difference in how we develop Customs computerized systems and how 
we develop the single window systems. And that difference is in the perspective that you take while 
designing the sys tems.  
14.313.   As an officer of Pakistan Customs, I can say that when we were developing the Customs 
computerized system we looked more at the government perspective to ensure that the revenue 
was protected and the laws were enforced. But from when we started desig ning the single window 
system we started looking at the user's perspective, which is the importer or the exporter, and how 
we can facilitate them in improving the resilience and efficiency of the supply chain.  
14.314.   However, at the same time, sometimes the priva te sector also becomes part of the 
problem, especially when there are capacity constraints. And I think it would be important to note 
that in many countries the private sector is not as technologically advanced or savvy or robust to 
support the implementat ion of different initiatives that the Government wants to take. Sometimes 
it goes beyond the mandate of Customs or other government authorities to work on the capacity 
building of the private sector.  
14.315.   Quoting Pakistan's example, we face a challenge in worki ng with commercial banks who 
are issuing different documents for international trade finance. And despite the rollout of the single 
window that is totally electronic, we come across a number of complaints in which bank managers 
are asking for manual docume ntation before using the system. And that is something that goes 
beyond our mandate to start investing on the capacity development of the private sector. So that is 
something that maybe the donor community would like to think about as an additional activit y to 
support TFA implementation.  
14.316.   With regard to the previous presentations, I would like to know if there is any example of 
an initiative where the monitoring and evaluation function and the change management function to 
ensure that change management and c apacity building continues on a sustainable basis has been 
embedded in any public sector organization connected to cross -border trade.  
14.317.   The delegate  of Cambodia  indicated the following:  
14.318.   Thank you for the presentation from the Global Alliance for Trade Faci litation on the support 
programme in partnership with the private sector. Cambodia is a beneficiary of the Global Alliance 
for Trade Facilitation Programme – SeT4SME (Improving Small Package E -Trade for SMEs) which 
has been officially launched in Cambodia.  The objective of SeT4SME is improving trade performance, 
engaging global supply chain, and driving inclusive growth. The project has two  streams, one for 
public sectors and a second one for private sector.  
14.319.   For the public sector, they are two deliverables in the coming month. First, Global Alliance, 
represented by Swisscontact in Cambodia, is providing assistance in developing the pre -arrival 
processing for postal items and is assisting the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications to draft 
regulations for en forcement of the expedited shipment of postal items. The second work stream is 
on supporting the export capacity of SMEs in Cambodia through small package exports, and this has 
been organized successfully through the SPEC (Small Package Exporter Champion) program me. 
Cambodia would like to take this opportunity to thank the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation for 
this initiative which benefits Cambodia. We have been informed that the project will be completed, 
this year I would also like to take this oppo rtunity to ask whether the Global Alliance will extend the 
project, and there will be measurement of the outcome after a few years of implementation.  
14.320.   The delegate  of Nigeria  indicated the following:  
14.321.   Nigeria is one of the beneficiaries of the Global Allian ce's digitization project, which we 
believe has many multiplier effects in terms of cost reduction within the ecosystem. However, as G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  mentioned by Pakistan, we are facing a challenge with the private sector. For example, the Chamber 
of Commerce are in charg e of issuing a certificate of origin, and they are concerned that the 
digitalization project will take away their responsibility, though we are trying to sensitize them.  
14.322.   Our advice would be that that it is good to call for more sensitization of the stakeho lders, 
particularly the private sector which the project equally targets for providing a lot of assisting. We 
would like to know how it works when trading with a country that is not linked to the e -phyto 
certification in terms of confirmation and other ele ments.  
14.323.   The delegate of Peru indicated the following:  
14.324.   Peru would like to thank the support of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to improve 
transparency measures. Concretely, we developed the project called Improving Authorizations for 
Importing and  Exporting Processed Foods to correct delays in the issuance of authori zations for trade 
in processed foods. Among the results we obtained from this project were the preparation of a 
baseline study on the time and costs of import and export processes, a co mpilation of relevant 
criteria and decisions, a legal framework proposal  for the management of criteria and relevant 
decisions, and a proposed advanced search tool for evaluation and decision criteria linked to 
management, accessible to officials controlli ng trade in processed foods.  
14.325.   We were very grateful for this progress. We understand it is a first phase and there is an 
opportunity to improve the transparency of sanitary measures. We hope to continue working with 
the Global Alliance towards this objectiv e. 
14.326.   The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
14.327.   We would like to thank the Global Alliance for their presentation and for the support 
received on risk assessment systems for sanitary authorities, as well as a project with the private 
sector and custom s authorities to support the streamlining of customs procedures.  
14.328.   I have a question with respect to the methodology to find the indirect costs shown in the 
presentation. Is it available on the website or through the implementation of this methodology?  
14.329.   The delegate  of Madagascar  indicated the following:  
14.330.   I would like to thank the various technical and financial partners who helped us in 
implementing the TFA on behalf of Madagascar's NTFC: ADB, the Enhanced Integrated Framework 
(EIF), the European Union, COMESA, IMF, the Global Alliance, ITC, the United Kingdom, UNCTAD, 
the United Nations bodies such as the UNDP and the UNDC, USAID, the World Bank, and  the 
World  Customs Organization  (WCO). I would  like to thank them on behalf of the TFA of Madagascar. 
I reiterate my thanks.  
14.331.   As referenced in the Global Alliance presentation, since Madagascar is prone to cyclones 
and natural disasters, GATF worked with us to develop an adequate procedure. Plus, they also 
worked with us in several areas related to implementati on of the TFA.  
14.332.   However, Madagascar has still to implement 73% of the TFA measure and I would like to 
appeal to donor organizations that I have not mentioned earlier to provide us with assistance as we 
still need a lot in order to be able to implement all the necessary measures.  
14.333.   The delegate of Ecuador  indicated the following:  
14.334.   Ecuador would also like to thank the Global Alliance for their presentation, and we are 
particularly grateful for the projects that have been implemented in our country. On Monday, I was 
able to refer to them quickly. They include the addition of about 17 forms to the single window and 
the modernization of IT systems in our two sanitary regulation agencies. Work on the single window 
has allowed us to reduce processing time for users. C oordination between the public and private 
sectors is essential for the success of projects. Furthermore, we are interested in continuing to work 
on new projects. We would like to join Cambodia on their question about the continuation of work 
with the Alli ance. We would also like to thank the donors who have made this joint work possible.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.335.   The presenter  of Global Alliance for the Facilitation of Trade  indicated the following:  
14.336.   I would like to thank Cambodia, Nigeria, Peru, Colombia, Madagascar, Ecuador  for your 
kind comments, and thank you for your sustained collaboration over the past months and years. It 
is a real pleasure to be able to work with you in your country.  
14.337.   In response to the question from the representative of Pakistan, indeed, capacity building 
of private sector is of key importance. Capacity building is not just about building capacity of 
government officials. Many of our projects place a lot of focus on capacity building in the private 
sector - I can think of two in particular, in Zambia and Mal awi, where we are training over 200 to 
300 customs brokers on simple things like HS  classification, which is essential.  
14.338.   With regards to calculating quantifying impact, indeed, governments see this through a 
government lens, and so we work with the private  sector. We have a well -defined methodology 
through an in -person survey, where we survey the private sector after our intervention, following 
some very clear guidelines. We then multiply this to work out and calculate the overall impact.  
14.339.   Finally, for the requests from Members for more support, we have the capability and the 
capacity to be able to deliver, and hopefully we can build on what we have established so far.  
14.340.   The representative of the European Union , Head of Sector Trade – European Commission 
Directorate -General International Partnerships, indicated the following:  
14.341.   Trade facilitation is part of the EU larger aid for trade relationships with WTO Members. 
According to the latest figures, the EU alone provided EUR 6 billion in aid for trade support in  2021. 
There is a large focus on the African continent for the main reason that most of the LDCs are there.  
14.342.   One of the main areas for the EU in the last year, but also in the years to come, will be to 
have a more sustainable view on trade and see how we ca n help countries to make trade more 
sustainable from a climate change perspective. You will see that element coming back in most of 
our interventions. It does not  mean that all the other social aspects like gender will not be targeted 
anymore. It is just t hat there will be another focus on it.  
14.343.   What is also very important to realize is that we will try to integrate with the multilateral 
organizations like you already heard. Most of the international organizations can function with 
EU support for trade facili tation. But next to that, the delivery of our contributions is also through 
bilateral and regional programmes.   
14.344.   As an example, we have adopted a strategic economic corridor approach in Africa. It means 
that there were 10 existing or almost existing corrid ors identified as contributing much more to the 
economic development across countries and across the continent. And those 10  corridors are then 
combined with soft measures or trade facilitation measures, where the strategic corridors will focus 
on investme nt in infrastructure, roads, border posts, and bridges, for example. The complementary 
measures will be on trade facilitation, which goes far beyond providing training and includes digital 
systems and whatever is necessary to make the infrastructure work b etter.  
14.345.   There is a lot of interest from Europe in the implementation of the African Continental Free 
Trade Area (AfCFTA). Just recently , a large -scale technical assistance "Team Europe " initiative was 
approved and will be rolled out together with the AfCFTA Secretariat but also in close cooperation 
with the regional economic communities.  
14.346.   The EU vision is to deliver  on the changes and the necessary commitments under TFA, 
either in categor y C or in other categories. We like our delivery on trade facilitation to be part of 
something bigger , so not necessarily focused on one specific TFA article  or one specific topic, but 
something which is more logically linked to our main goal of poverty al leviation and job creation.  
14.347.   One example of this EU approach is provided by Kenya and their shift from air freight to 
sea freight. Kenya is a large exporter of horticultural goods, particularly flowers, vegetables and 
fruits, which are usually shipped by ai r freight. Air freight is one of the most polluting ways per tonne 
from a CO 2 perspective to transport goods. So over the past few years and also during COVID, there 
were tests to see if it was also possible to transport horticultural goods, particularly f lowers, by sea G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  freight, which in itself is not clean, but because of the size of the ships, the CO₂ emissions per tonne 
are much lower, resulting in a saving of about 90%.  
14.348.   It saves logistics from a green perspective, something that the EU would support, b ut it 
requires cooperation between the public sector and the private sector, both in Kenya and the EU, 
because it concerns  not only from where the goods leave, but also where the goods arrive. A large 
amount of trade facilitation needs to happen. That is t he link for us with the TFA because if the 
border agencies do not work together, if there is no single window, but also if you do not have proper 
digitalization of processes, it does not happen.  
14.349.   Kenya does not really export by sea, because everything is ex ported by air. So you need 
to change standard operating procedures (SOPs) , you need to get the proper digital systems in 
place, and also you need to operate 24 -7, or significantly reduce the stacking time that the container 
needs to be in the port ahead of  the ship's departure. Instead of three days, it has to be basically 
an hour, because the shipment will go in refrigerating cooling containers, meaning that if it is 
disconnected from the power for too long, the temperature will go up.  
14.350.   On top of that, what  is even more important is how the supply chain works, because in the 
end, while we talk about SPS and TBT, what is very important in all of this is the consumer preference 
and behaviour in the destination markets, in this case the EU. Consumers are less a nd less prone to 
buy goods that have been flown in because of the CO₂ emissions  and climate consideration s, and 
with this Kenya approach we tried , together with the Government in Kenya  and a Team Europe 
approach with the Netherlands and Denmark, but also w ith the big shipping companies, Maersk and 
CMA CGM, to actually support the future of the horticulture sector.  
14.351.   This programme is implemented partly by Trademark Africa as part of an export 
enhancement programme. It shows how integrating implementation of c ategory C provisions in 
larger -scale projects would have a beneficial economic effect and also help us fight climate change.  
14.352.   The CEO of the Kenya Flower Council , who is also Chair of the Natural Horticulture Task 
Force and coordinating the shift from air freight to sea freight , describes the project as follows: 
Adding sea freight to Kenya's logistics is going to sort out many issues that we have had on capacity, 
cost, management of carbon, and also pest control. We know that we have products that need to 
maintain quality, to be able to move much more efficiently. We are looking at how we can maintain 
the quality of the products that we export  and we believe that sea freight is going to change a lot of 
stuff that we have been grappling with. Through the Busi ness Environment and Export Enhancement 
Programme (BEEEP) run by TradeMark Africa and focusing on avocados, vegetables, and mangoes, 
we are seeing a big push from the Government with some goodwill to work with us. Through this 
project, we see that we are a ble to work with many of the partners in the supply chain who support 
our business, including the public sector – Customs, railway authorities, Kenya Port Authority, the 
powering of the gensets8, putting the gensets on the SGR9, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of 
Agriculture, the horticulture authorities and the phytosanitary authorities – and many other players, 
including donors, that are extremely important. The formation of a Technical Working Group provides 
a first step towards bringing many of the players together in one place where we can have 
conversations with the private sector and Government on the challenges faced by this industry and 
how we can sort it out between ourselves. We need each other to be able to move t his country 
forward and to maintain our competitiveness in the market.  
14.353.   The representative  of Germany  indicated the following:  
14.354.   Technical assistance activities in the area of trade facilitation are carried out through 
Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic  Cooperation and Development (BMZ)  which is the German 
donor organization.  
14.355.   BMZ works at the bilateral and regional level, and also through activities with multilateral 
agencies UN agencies. We also work with other ministries, for example, our Ministry cooperates very 
closely with the Ministry of Economic Affairs on trade facilitation.  
 
8 Generator Set , which refers to a generator and engine combination.  
9 Standard Guage Railway . G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.356.   We cooperate with regio nal trade organizations, for example, we work together with the 
European Union on ASEAN regional integration support, specifically trade -related technical 
assistance. We also advise the ECOWAS ( Economic Community of West African States ) Commission 
in the f ield of trade and Customs, facilitating  trade in West Africa.  
14.357.   We also support a project in Jordan called "Improving Trade to Create Employment". Its 
trade facilitation aspect is geared towards simplifying trade procedures and reducing costs. That 
activity  has already been going on for a few years and will continue until 2025. We are cooperating 
closely with the Netherlands on this project, which is a very good example of our bilateral activity.  
14.358.   Another project we are supporting is  a multi -stakeholder allia nce called the Alliances for 
Trade Facilitation. This is considered a global programme, a very well -established public -private 
partnership. In the German Alliance we have the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action as 
one of our partners, but of co urse also industry players, not only the big industry players, but also 
small and medium enterprises. We also work together with the World Economic Forum, USAID, and 
Global Affairs Canada. This is an example of where the donor agencies are cooperating on d ifferent 
levels, as well as  with industry. This has been ongoing since 2015 and there are several funding 
phases for it. We are currently planning a fourth funding phase to start in 2024. We have had a total 
funding of over EUR 27 million just in this glob al programme  alone. So this is one of our success 
stories that we hope will continue. We always welcome new members and we hope that other donor 
agencies will join in this alliance. We have been active in 23 projects and in 18 countries  over the 
years. We are currently implementing in over 10 countries under the Alliances for Trade Facilitation. 
The projects are a bit focused on the Africa region where we have a total of six projects. Africa is 
also one of Germany's regional focus areas.   
14.359.   Looking at the ac hievements in the Alliances For Trade Facilitation projects, in Montenegro 
the number of express shipments which were released within one hour of arrival rose from 25% to 
53%. In Indonesia, we had a strong improvement in processing time, which was reduced by 
four days on average. In Serbia, we have a similar, very good result, where we were able to reduce 
clearance for duty -free shipments by over an hour. And in North Macedonia, we have reduced 
customs storage time by 15%.  
14.360.   The other two projects, in Ecuador  and Jordan, are still being evaluated but we project a 
saving of 67% in processing time and a saving of USD 14 to USD 20 per e -phyto certificate. It is 
projected that Jordan will make annual savings of 75% through reduction in processing time and 
USD 15 per unit saving.  
14.361.   We try to take those successful projects that have been implemented and replicate these 
success models in other countries. So those successful projects in Montenegro and Serbia on 
pre-arrival processing for express shipments also led to other countries taking on and expressing 
interest to replicate these success models which  were adapted to their own country situations. 
Montenegro and Serbia experiences led to an uptake of these trade f acilitation measures in other 
countries in the Western Balkan and Asia region. We were able to extend the pre -arrival processing 
for postal shipments to other models of transportation, for example, maritime transportation. This 
demonstrates the organic gro wth of how we work – when we see a successful implementation, we 
try to replicate it.  
14.362.   We have learned some lessons in terms of project prerequisites. We have seen that 
successful change management requires a lot of time to build relationships and establis h mutual 
trust. This is also the case in terms of collaboration between agencies, the basis of which is always 
having a good relationship and trusting each other. This is also true for these trade facilitation 
projects.  
14.363.   We also need the buy -in of the publi c sector and the line ministries because without those, 
we cannot successfully complete projects. There must also be ownership. If we have implemented 
an information technology system, for example, and no one is using it in the end, then that system 
is relatively useless. Therefore, we need to have that engagement and buy -in at the beginning so 
that these systems can then be implemented successfully.  
14.364.   In our experience, interagency cooperation is one of the main challenges which needs to 
be addressed thoroug hly. It will gain even more relevance in the future with upcoming topics such 
as green Customs and sustainable value chains, for example. Looking beyond the project G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  prerequisites, I would agree with the World Bank Group that we need a very extensive prepar ation 
process for projects in order to have a successful project outcome in the end.  
14.365.   Project design is also important and we have learned that the solutions that are limited in 
their complexity, that have interoperability of digital solutions, are key. We need to limit the 
complexity so that we can replicate them. This has especially been successful in the area of e -phyto 
and pre -arrival processing, which is why we focus on those areas as well.  
14.366.   Regarding the interoperability of digital solutions, we are lo oking at benefiting from existing 
standards and modules. Finally, at the same time, we need to take into account the institutional and 
IT environment and so we are also looking at customizing our solutions to the local requirements.  
14.367.   The representative  of Uzbekistan  indicated the following:  
14.368.   I would like to thank the German Government, for supporting the implementation of trade 
facilitation measures in Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz  Republic, 
and Tajikistan. We have a gener al trade facilitation project in Central Asia.  
14.369.   The representative of Cambodia  indicated the following:  
14.370.   I would like to thank the EU and Germany for the presentation. As a beneficiary of the 
ARISE Plus Cambodia projects, I would like to take this opportunit y to acknowledge the technical 
programme in Cambodia. It has been beneficial to the country and we were able to identify the early 
completion of two category C provisions as a result of this support. I understand that the ARISE Plus 
Cambodia project is soo n to be finished , and I would like to know if the project will be continued , 
and if so, if it  will have flexibility regarding the IT solution compared to the last project.  
14.371.   The representative of Jordan  indicated the following:  
14.372.   On behalf of my delegation, I would like to thank all donor countries and the international 
community for valuable, insightful presentations. Jordan highly appreciates their continued support, 
which helped Jordan to sustain its open economy as cemented in many aspects, including our 
commitment to the TFA.  
14.373.   Jordan's success was already highlighted in the presentation, especially the adoption of an 
e-phyto Trade Facilitation Portal, which was implemented in cooperation with ITC, GIZ, the Global 
Alliance for Trade Facilitation and UNCTAD. T he Jordan National Single Window is fully operational 
in cooperation with USAID, African  Development Bank, GIZ, World Bank, WCO, and other partners 
from the international community.  
14.374.   We would like to stress the importance of sustaining these projects, which  are related to 
Jordan's economic modernization vision . In addition to current efforts in cooperation with Germany 
and UNCTAD, which are targeted to upgrade Jordan's custom operation system and focus on 
digitalization of pre -arrival and the pre -departure p rocedures. Jordan is one of the pilot countries 
with support from the ECE.  
14.375.   These initiatives and joint efforts will facilitate trade by enhancing the efficiency and 
effectiveness of receiving and processing customs transaction data, minimizing the time and  cost of 
trade, and accelerating the operation of electronic custom systems.  
14.376.   The representative of Germany  indicated the following:  
14.377.   In response to Cambodia's questions, the EU and Germany together will be funding a 
follow -up to the ASEAN regional integrati on support, trade -related technical assistance with 
EUR 10 million, comprising EUR 7 million from the European Union, and around EUR 3 million from 
Germany. The technical aspects are still being planned and so it is not possible to provide information 
regarding the IT element at this time.  
14.378.   The CEO of Trademark Africa  indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.379.   Trademark Africa works very closely with the Netherlands and Denmark and eight other 
partners, to invest in taking practical measures to reduce the barriers to trade across Africa. For 
those who do not know Trademark Africa, we are a leading aid for trade organization. We were 
created to increase sustainable and inclusive intra -African trade and its exports to the rest of the 
world. We have invested around USD 1 billion in East, West and Southern Africa over the last decade 
and a half, working with client countries, the private sector and international partners to help make 
progress against the provisions outlined in the TFA.  
14.380.   With a focus on East Africa, although now with an expanding geographical remit across the 
continent, we have seen serious results across a number of outcome areas that closely correspond 
with TFA requirements, as well as learning lessons from what has worked well and equally 
importantly, what has not. It is always useful to keep in mind the reasons why we are trying to close 
the gap on category C commitments. I believe that the Cambodian delegation summed this up very 
well in talking to the real world benefits of taking some of these actions.  
14.381.   Trademark's overarching metric is to reduce the cost and time of trading across borders, 
the achievement of which is predicated on supporting client countries to tackle TFA priorities but 
conversely, the implementation of which must also lead to concrete o utputs. As a result of 
investments in physical infrastructure, in particular 15 one -stop border posts within Eastern Africa 
and the ports of Dar es Salaam or Mombasa, we have seen the time taken to cross selected borders 
reduced by 70% on average, dwell ti mes at Mombasa halving in 10 years, and the time taken to 
transport a container from Mombasa to Kampala reducing by a third in just four years.  
14.382.   Driving digital solutions across the region has also resulted in successful single windows, 
integrated customs m anagement systems and regional electronic cargo tracking that has slashed 
the time taken to complete trade processes. In Kenya, for example, the average time to gain 
agricultural certificates has dropped from nine days to two on installation of the system.  Securing 
customs documentation for air freighted exports has dropped from two days to just two hours. And 
in Uganda, the cost of securing export documentation has fallen by half on installation of the single 
window. We have seen similar outcomes from the single windows we have jointly implemented with 
clients in Rwanda and Tanzania as well.  
14.383.   Standards and adjusting SPS measures are obviously a key part of this, and harmonization 
of 66 standards across the East African community has reduced the testing time by three quarters 
within four years.  
14.384.   I want to highlight two lessons. The first is that such traction is very possible if the right 
support is in place. And the second is that perhaps we need to look more deeply about how we are 
financing and focusing the  support if we want to continue to make progress on the harder elements.  
14.385.   We have already heard of progress being made in a range of areas. I would like to 
compliment the discussion also of the lessons learned and one of the lessons has been particularly 
salient for us in delivering real and concrete results for trade, and this is critically that any progress 
is and can only be delivered through an integrated approach. What do I mean by that? There are a 
couple of aspects here. Critically, progress must be i ntegrated between the national level, the 
regional level, and, if appropriate, the continental. We have seen many agreements founder because 
member States did not have the support to domesticate well -crafted policies, and there are many 
high-quality trade instruments on the continent that failed to have teeth as a result.  
14.386.   We believe the advent of the A fCFTA is a strongly positive move, both because it brings 
serious political momentum to drive trade integration, but also because it can take best practice 
from one region and apply it to others and facilitate progress between regions. The second aspect 
of integration is integration between the private and the public spheres. Trade markers, for example, 
have seen serious movements made on reducing non -tariff ba rriers only when functioning structures 
are set up that are founded on high -quality data and on corporate representation, both from the 
private sector and the institutions responsible for erecting and removing these barriers.  
14.387.   In the East African community,  for example, the time taken to resolve non -tariff 
barrier -related cases has now reduced from an average of 34 months to only 8 months in the last 
few years. And in a particular case study, when we supported the East African business community 
to successfu lly engage the Kenyan Government to increase staff and aflatoxin testing capacity for G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  grains at the border with Uganda, we saw an average of USD 120 million a year of increased revenue 
that was possible as delays and post -harvest losses were removed.  
14.388.   The last aspect of integration is to put in place the full package of measures to address the 
barriers to trade. Intervention in one area alone is unlikely to bear lasting fruit. Trademark practices 
integrated border management, for example, whereby physical in frastructure interventions are 
layered into efforts to increase digital interoperability combined with institution building and putting 
in place the dialogue structures that create the incentives to maintain progress. This virtuous cycle 
is what leads to t he real gains that we see in reducing the cost and time of trade, which builds the 
positive political pressure for further progress and so on.  
14.389.   Finally, to offer a couple of thoughts on the future. The world is changing, providing new 
opportunities and new challenges in the trade facilitation space. I know that many of you will have 
debated and discussed the impact of climate adaptation measures at length in these buildings. We 
are strongly interested in how enhanced trade facilitation can ease some of the i nevitable pressures 
on developing countries that will come from increasingly stringent regulations and even how we can 
help provide leapfrog technologies to put clients at the front of the queue. One such issue is around 
the confluence of changing customer  preferences in parts of the world with the opportunities inherent 
in new technologies. While the requirements imposed by formal obligations will come with transition 
periods and transitional support as well to countries less able to adapt, the imposition of voluntary 
standards by parts of the private sector is both less predictable and more rapid.  
14.390.   We see here an advert from Lidl Sweden from last year. I think it is a fantastic advert, but 
it has potentially major consequences if you have more off -takers ta king this route. Essentially, the 
message is that air -freighted horticulture will no longer be accepted and sold in those supermarkets. 
The impact on East Africa is potentially very large if it cannot adapt. Half a billion flowers leave 
Kenya each year, 95 % of them by plane. On the positive side of the ledger, the technology is in 
place and a coalition of development partners, private sector players in both production and 
transport and state institutions is gearing up to tackle this challenge.  
14.391.   At the core o f this is trade facilitation as we move to more complex and more fragile supply 
chains requiring technological solutions and enhanced coordination of export players. The EU 
delegation spoke eloquently this morning about the programming that they are puttin g in place for 
this and those coalitions that are already gearing up to make the shift from air freight to sea freight.  
14.392.   I have spoken a little also of digitization. Digital solutions offer equally powerful 
opportunities. The arrival of artificial intellige nce and Openledger technologies is coming at a time 
when the ability to take advantage of them is increasingly democratized. It is not only the larger 
economies and more embedded regulatory systems that will necessarily be the first movers in this 
world. T rademark has, for example, been working with the Kenyan Government, the IOTA10 
Foundation and other partners on a blockchain -based trade logistics information platform that will 
provide an integrated framework for information exchange across borders, so al lowing both the 
visibility of goods and services on transit, and crucially creating non -falsifiability and complete 
accuracy within that chain. We see this as a public good and these sorts of solutions can be applied 
across the world.  
14.393.   So without denying th e need to complete the nuts and bolts of trade facilitation, and this 
is Trademark's core business as for many of the Annex D organizations, there is an imperative to 
support developing countries to implement these, surely. But it is also the case that by early adoption 
of innovation it will be possible to proactively level the playing field in some areas.  
14.394.   The delegate  of Nigeria  indicated the following:  
14.395.   Thank you, Trademark Africa, for that presentation. I would appreciate clarification with 
regard to the  move from air  freight to sea freight. Is it because of the cost involved in terms of the 
movement by air, and also the nature of the concept? Is it on a cold chain provision basis or 
aggregation zone?  
14.396.   The presenter of Trademark Africa  indicated the follo wing:  
 
10 Internet Of Things Application.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.397.   Essentially, much of this move is driven by climate concerns themselves and consumer 
preferences and retail companies attempting to respond to those preferences. What is interesting, 
and we would love for this to be a conversation as part of COP28, i s that adapting and providing 
lower carbon solutions for trade is not necessarily more expensive. So sea freight options, including 
for high margin and fragile horticulture, are significantly cheaper than air freight options. They are 
more difficult. And a s you rightly say, the cold chains are more complex and more fragile and harder 
to make work. And that is where the risk of losing margins for producers and transporters exists. If 
we can reduce that risk, we are also offering a much lower cost option for those businesses. Often, 
the climate change dilemma is presented in a cost versus benefit ratio. Sometimes, we can create 
these win -win solutions.  
14.398.   The delegate  of Mali indicated the following:  
14.399.   According to the presentation, the duration of the trip between  Mombasa and Kampala, for 
example, is now 3.1 days. Is that period of time just because of the time at the border, or is it really 
the time between the port and the point at which the goods are going to be offloaded in Kampala?  
14.400.   Has Trademark Africa looked  at the interconnection of the custom services in the various 
countries? Have these services been interconnected or not? And if not, how were they able to reduce 
the times in that way with the creation of a climate of trust and good cooperation between the  
different customs services to speed up transit between the countries? What precisely was done to 
be able to achieve this?  
14.401.   The presenter  of Trademark Africa  indicated the following:  
14.402.   It is always important to look at where the real challenges and the real b lockages are. And 
for that, we start with the analysis to identify where the time is being lost. On the northern corridor 
from Mombasa through to Uganda and onwards, originally much of that time was being lost in 
Mombasa port itself. And therefore, we dire cted our investments to reducing the challenges within 
the port. Sometimes that is simply the last mile, the last five miles of a road, where you lose eight 
hours in traffic jams. Sometimes it is offloading ships. The time taken to the dwell time in Mombas a 
port is reduced by half in the last decade due to some of those interventions.  
14.403.   We then look at borders, in particular. Much of the time is lost through having border 
processes, and this is not always infrastructure that have a low level of interoperabili ty between two 
countries and two systems, but also sometimes a low level of interest from individuals to prioritize 
speed. Often, the completeness of checks can be the most important incentive for officials until the 
messaging and those incentives are chan ged. 
14.404.   For us, integrated solutions is particularly important. While there are certain areas that can 
create the highest level of blockages, integrating an institutional solution, a digital solution and 
physical infrastructure solutions is, we believe, the w ay to drastically reduce this time and cost and 
what we have certainly seen in the last decade and a half in our areas of operation.  
14.405.   I very much agree with you on the question of trust and cooperation. Often we look at the 
things that we can see, and the IT systems or the buildings or the roads, but it is those institutions 
that will really drive this progress. And an approach that works on both sides of borders, not just 
with one country but between two countries and then working at that regional level is  far more likely 
to succeed.  
14.406.   The representatives  of the Kyrgyz Republic  indicated the following:  
14.407.   Being in the centre of the Eurasian region, the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as other Central 
Asia countries, bridge over land the dynamically growing China with other markets of the Eurasian 
region and Europe. With a young population and abundance of natural resources and strategic 
location connecting East Asia, Russia n Federation , and Europe, the Central Asian countries should 
have a great potential for trad e not only among each other, but also beyond the region.  
14.408.   In this regard, the Kyrgyz Republic shares the view that due to time -consuming border 
procedures, however, the countries already reliant on overland transport due to our landlocked 
status do not effe ctively benefit from integration into the regional and the global markets.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.409.   Therefore, in order to support all Central Asian countries with advisory services on 
processes and capacity building of cross -border trade in various important aspects of trade 
facilitation, a one -region and one -objective Trade Facilitation Central Asia project has been launched 
with the assistance of the Government of Germany, BMZ, and is run by GIZ.  
14.410.   There are five countries in Central Asia, three countries are Members of WTO and 
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are WTO Observers. There is good regional cooperation among the its 
NTFCs of the countries.  
14.411.   And as these countries are located along the ancient Silk Road in the center of trade routes, 
this region became very important now for different alternative corridors, such as the Transkaspian 
corridor.  
14.412.   The three WTO Members have their own NTFCs, while at the same time, there are also 
technical groups in other countries like Uzbekistan. As trade growth is slow among the five  count ries, 
and the Central Asian countries do not have any intergovernmental regional integration bodies, 
especially any that could discuss trade issue, the NTFCs initiated cooperation between the countries 
. And it is also quite necessary to focus on the regional coop eration between these countries as trade 
is growing but not so fast.  
14.413.   The NTFCs initiated some networking between each other and one of the ideas was to 
strengthen cooperation and try to have a platform for exchanging experiences and discussing the 
best int ernational experience. Since 2019, there have been nine meetings of the NTFCs where they 
discussed different topics related to regional trade.  
14.414.   As a result of these meetings, the countries of Central Asia signed a statement for 
cooperation among the NTFCs i n April 2023 which provides an opportunity for further official 
discussions on regional topics. This is a very good example of how a region promoted cooperation.  
14.415.   One of the main objectives of the regional cooperation is to strengthen the public -private 
dialogue. The regional meetings are not only attended by the public sector, there is also very active 
participation of the private sector from all the Central Asia countries. This provides a forum where 
the private sector from one country could mention the b arriers or problems which they face within 
another country and gives them an opportunity to solve the problems on trade issues faster.  
14.416.   Different initiatives were raised by partners in the various meetings, including the 
simplification of trade procedures a t the borders of Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz  Republic . Today, we 
are quite proud that a lot of topics which were raised in the regional meetings are followed up and 
taken seriously by the governments.  
14.417.   The regional forum of NTFCs is a very effective tool to a ttract technical assistance. The 
NTFCs want to integrate assistance from the different donors and development partners in order to 
take a regional approach.  
14.418.   Currently, there are a number of development organizations and donors supporting this 
regional pla tform, Germany through the GIZ projects, the United States through the USAID projects, 
and the European Union through the ITC project which was just presented. The regional platform is 
now open for discussions on assistance and cooperation and all other or ganizations who are 
interested to work in Central Asia region are welcome to engage with it.  
14.419.   The delegate  of Japan  indicated the following:  
14.420.   In terms of synergy with other organizations, Japan would like to share the support 
initiatives that we are taking i n cooperation with the WCO. As we briefly introduced at the official 
meeting on Tuesday this week, Japan Customs Technical Corporation works with the WCO and JICA 
to provide effective support by utilizing each other's resources, knowledge, and experience.  
14.421.   Japan implements technical cooperation through the WCO. We recognize that WCO has 
excellent resources for the implementation of technical cooperation, such as WCO accredited experts 
in addition to the Secretariat staff. We voluntarily contribute funds to t he CCF every fiscal year and 
in 2021 we contributed approximately EUR 5 million.   G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.422.   By dispatching staff to workshops and other events organized by the WCO, Japan shares 
the knowledge and experience of its customs officers with the target customs officers, together with 
the excellent human resources of the WCO, aiming for synergistic effect and raising the level of 
supported customs offices to the international standard.  
14.423.   To give an example, Japan dispatched customs experts to the diagnostic mission on 
post-clearance audit organized by the WCO for Mongolia in August 2022. Together with WCO officials 
and WCO accredited experts, the mission analysed the gap between the operational status of 
post-clearance audit in Mongolian customs and international standards, t hen made 
recommendations to improve operational practices.  
14.424.   To follow up on the mission, a workshop for Mongolia was held in April 2023 to provide 
support on further knowledge acquisition for post -clearance audit. These CCF -based technical 
cooperation proje cts of Japan through the WCO are decided after coordination with the WCO based 
on the results of a needs assessment jointly conducted by Japan and the regional office of capacity 
building.  
14.425.   Furthermore, in cooperation with WCO and JICA, we are conducting a master trainer 
programme, which aims to develop master trainers who will play a leading role in the target regions 
and to support the preparation of the training materials and training programmes based on regional 
characteristics. For this programme, Japan  Customs has sent two project managers to the WCO as 
well as sending staff to the workshops as lecturers.  
14.426.   The programme is currently being implemented in the area of customs valuation and 
classification for the Pacific Island region and in the area of rule s of origin for the African region. 
Teaching materials including explanations of international standards and case studies are being 
developed in the programme. Next year, master trainers in both regions will be accredited in their 
respective fields. By mak ing use of these master trainers for staff training in the target countries 
and regions, it is expected to further improve the capacity of the target regions as a whole.  
14.427.   The presenter  of the International Trade Centre (ITC)  indicated the following:  
14.428.   Now, I  can only join my previous speakers and peers to say what an immense pleasure it 
is to be here to discuss and hear from you delegates and capital -based officials directly about the 
latest progress and needs. And at the same time, please let me thank you fo r your trust, for our 
beneficiaries who have worked with us, and also for your tenacity in staying here at this late hour. 
I would like to acknowledge and thank our partners, as well as the donors, including the 
European  Union, Germany, United Kingdom, Swi tzerland, and Japan for their support and 
commitment in our work together in the past few years. I would also like to thank our beneficiaries 
who have worked with us for their trust.  
14.429.   Over the past decade, our programme has supported 80 countries across fiv e continents in 
all facets of trade facilitation support. We have a track record in supporting the implementation of 
the majority of TFA articles. For now, we have supported over 20 countries in implementing over 
50 reforms on TFA obligations.  
14.430.   My presenta tion will focus on an important pillar of our work, namely the implementation 
of digital learning  reforms and our experience in making trade paperless, that has become an 
essential part of the technical assistance that we have been delivering recently. It will describe 
four specific illustrations and experiences that will demonstrate how we approach the work that we 
do together with our partners and beneficiaries, and also how specifically they can contribute directly 
or indirectly to the implementation of category  C measures.  
14.431.   We have worked on digitizing the certificate of origin in Sri Lanka. Certificate of origin, 
preferential or non -preferential, is pretty much one of the most used documents in international 
trade. So by definition, removing the complex ity related to its issuance really impacts basically all 
shipments. We aim to remove this complexity in Sri Lanka, where we supported the Department of 
Commerce, who is responsible of issuing all the preferential certificates of origin, in completely 
digitizing the process, all the way from the application, processing to issuance from A to Z.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.432.   Over the past months, since its initiation, over 17,000  certificates of origin have been 
issued online instead of paper, and among those, 6,000 are going to India under the India -Sri Lanka 
Free Trade Agreement. The key message here is that while focusing on the beginning to end of 
digitizing your trade document, it is also good if you do it at the domestic level. But it is only part of 
the story. If you do not make sure that it is recognized across the border, you will still need to print 
the document, give it to your transporters, brokers, whoever is completing the formality, and you 
are not fulfilling the full impact of the reform that you are aiming to achieve. So  this was a challenge 
that was overcome during the process of digitization.  
14.433.   We have carried out work in the Kyrgyz Republic, which is essentially an already partially 
paperless environment, but we tried to understand what the missing links were and bring t hem into 
a digital format. We found that certificates of conformity assessment had been digitized, but there 
were two issues. Firstly, the laboratory results that prove that goods are compliant with your SPS 
and other requirements, were paper based; and se condly, the accreditation body had no real online 
way to verify that the results came from an institution that was accredited to do the testing.  
14.434.   We took these two gaps and tried to digitize them directly. The guiding point was that 
whatever we do, the syst ems that we would aim to establish are interoperable with the existing 
single window in the Kyrgyz Republic. So in this case we piloted a new model that digitized all the 
laboratory processes from beginning to end. At the same time, we are supporting the a ccreditation 
body in making sure that they can also link to the single window and now reconcile what the labs 
are doing and that they have accreditation. In this way, it more trust is created in the overall system 
through this transparency provided and lin kage to the single window.  
14.435.   The key message here is that you do not necessarily need to start big. Yes, we all want 
operating single windows, but you might actually look into the gaps in the process and make sure 
that one formality is truly fully online and  paperless. To do that effectively, you need to do look at 
the interoperability of the existing system with the single window and if possible, use standards that 
are applying to these measures.  
14.436.   Another example of our work is our project to remove lines of trucks in Central Asia, 
whereby we have introduced what we call an electronic queue management system. In essence, it 
moves physical queues of trucks online. The border agency gives the facility for the trader to book 
a slot as it starts moving towards the  border. And then the border agency operating the EQMS, 
depending on the type of product that it is dealing with. For example, perishable products gives 
priority to those products that need to facilitate movement faster. Finally, the border also contacts 
the trader or trucker specifically when it can arrive at the border, when there is capacity to clear and 
release the cargo. In this way and through coordination, ideally among border agencies, the 
procedures at the border are streamed and cut the lines that  the truckers face.  
14.437.   While this is an IT solution, IT was not the problem. It potentially was the easiest part in 
the implementation. What you need to look at are all the other factors that ensure that this system 
operates. For example, it is necessary to l ook at coordination and collaboration among the border 
regulatory agencies, both at the national level, and also across the border. You need to look at your 
governance model, your funding model, review the regulatory frameworks. And finally, the key 
messag e here would be to look at the IT solution and look at the best practices, and the best available 
technologies out there. Also consider the localized solution whereby you can bring the border 
agencies and the private sector into the design process, and als o ensure that the usability and its 
operations are tailored to the needs of the specific border crossing, if not the whole country.  
14.438.   The more we work on these topics, we realize that we are lacking huge amounts of 
information in what we are doing and where investments are needed. One of the reasons is that the 
digitalization efforts often have been disjointed or fragmented, and each agency is doing its own IT 
system on the side without having the full vision of where the gaps are. Because of this, there are 
lots of opportunities and gaps that remain untapped, unseen by Government or even the 
international organizations.  
14.439.   This is why under this same Central Asia project, we launched a new methodology on how 
we map the IT systems, each formality, where the document is paperless, where are the payments 
online, why does it include the processing, both back office and front off ice, what data is needed to 
actually complete the full digitalization process. By doing this exhaustive mapping we can now 
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  opportunities, what we can bring on line, and how we can support government to government data 
exchange, for example, through electronic ledgers, which also facilitates the trader's work in not 
inputting information time and time again in the same way.  
14.440.   One of the key lessons and guiding prin ciples from this work include localized solutions for 
local problems. You might buy your solution off the shelf but it may not always be the most 
sustainable way. Most countries might actually have the ability to develop the IT system to tailor it 
to their  needs and ensure sustainability in the long run, since you might have more access to the 
software and its updating and connections with the developer.  
14.441.   A second lesson is that any IT solution needs to take into account the business. The better 
the IT solut ion, the more efficiency we are looking at for the business community. Also, paperless 
solutions are not IT problems per se, they are global policy reforms that need to be addressed from 
all facets. The more the systems can also leverage any existing stand ards or recommendations, the 
more chance there is to ensuring that the digitalization process can happen on both sides of the 
border and also among the many players in the trading arena. Otherwise, the paper will just come 
back to haunt us time and time ag ain. It is only when we work together on both sides of the border 
that the real impact happens.  
14.442.   The delegate  of Kyrgyz Republic  indicated the following:  
14.443.   The Kyrgyz Republic takes this opportunity to express our gratitude to the International 
Trade Center as well as to the European Union for a significant contribution aimed at developing 
interregional and international trade in the Kyrgyz Republic and for providing support in the 
implementation of the initiatives within the framework of the Ready for Trade Central Asia project.  
14.444.   The Kyrgyz Republic closely and very effectively cooperates with the ITC. With the support 
of ITC and the European Union, we created and launched an information trade portal, which is a 
unique platform that provides potential entrepre neurs and exporters with the opportunity to deeper 
understand the rules of international trade and the practical application to enhance their business 
and enter new foreign markets.  
14.445.   We are impressed by the results of the e -commerce work led by the ITC, whi ch has helped 
Kyrgyz small and micro enterprises improve their sustainability and income. In addition, it should 
be noted that the Kyrgyz Republic is currently working to join the Framework Agreement on 
Facilitating Cross -Border Paperless Trade in the Asia  Pacific Region. Also, with the support of the 
Ready for Trade Central Asia project, an initiative was launched to map the original digital services 
of government agencies regulating foreign trade activities and the flows of interdepartmental 
interaction.  
14.446.   This initiative will allow regulators to determine how foreign trade participants and 
government agencies exchange information to obtain services, review existing information systems 
and ICT platforms of government agencies, and visualize the flows of inte rdepartmental and 
interstate information exchange. This initiative will make it possible to take a significant step in the 
development of electronic services for foreign trade participants and reduce digital gaps between 
government agencies.  
14.447.   Over the past three years, ITC has worked closely with national partners and relevant 
stakeholders to identify key barriers to cross -border trade that affect business in the region, and to 
develop and support the implementation of tailored reforms to address them. ITC a greed to also 
support the pilot implementation of the EQMS (E lectronic Queue Management System)  at the 
Dostuk -Dostlik border checkpoint between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan in 
order to optimize the movement of vehicles between the spe cified checkpoints. This is a very good 
example  of joint collaboration. It should be noted that this initiative, if the pilot project is successfully 
implemented, will be the first in Central Asia.  
14.448.   We take this opportunity to once again express our sincer e gratitude and hope for continued 
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  14.449.   The delegate  of Sri Lanka  indicated the following:  
14.450.   Sri Lanka appreciates and values the support received from the ITC in the introduction of 
digitaliza tion of certificates of origin, which had provided much relief to exporters in Sri Lanka.  
14.451.   The ITC has been instrumental in providing assistance in the establishment of an electronic 
payment gateway at the National Plan t Quarantine Service in the Ministry of Agriculture which 
digitalized the registration and monitoring of organic agriculture -related stakeholders at the Export 
Development Board. It also provided assistance with the development of a monitoring tool of the 
TFA at the NTF C increased the user -friendliness of the Sri Lanka Trade Information Portal (SLTIP). 
It further provided assistance with mapping the processing of additional agricultural products in the 
step-by-step functioning and simplification of export procedures of selected products in Sri  Lanka. 
And also, very recently, they have just provided assistance in preparing a gap analysis of remaining 
category C provisions to be implemented and in providing a report in that regard.  
14.452.   So Sri Lanka is thankful to ITC for their support and is also gr ateful to other donor agencies, 
such as the World Bank, the G IZ, the EU, the Australian Government, who have also been 
instrumental in helping to make implementation of the TFA a reality in Sri Lanka.  
14.453.   The delegate  of the Philippines  indicated the following : 
14.454.   The Philippines wishes to express our appreciation for the experience sharing by 
international and regional organizations in supporting the TFA implementation. We also thank TFAF 
for providing this opportunity to hear the views of these organizations and  understand how their 
grants operate, as well as their experiences in working with implementing agencies.  
14.455.   We further wish to echo some observations on working with international partners. 
Considering that donors are usually foreign based, working at the lo cal level, as was emphasized 
earlier, is a big factor in achieving the desired results.  
14.456.   In particular, the Philippines considers that projects or programmes with national -level 
expert counterparts are easier to implement since the re can be immediate commun ication. The 
presence of national experts also builds stronger relations since collaboration is seamless and 
tailor-made, or as ITC mentioned earlier, it is localized based on the needs of the specific country. 
We hope that this approach will be considered  by other organizations and donors. This practice is 
being observed by most of our international partners, including the EU through the ARISE project 
and the ITC. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank them for extending their technical 
suppo rt in various areas to implement our TFA commitments and other selected customs reforms.  
14.457.   In particular, the Philippines is working with ARISE through ITC in implementing the AEO 
programme. Support is also provided on e -commerce, clearance process and taxation, as well as 
integrated risk management and the NTFC.  
14.458.   Similar to Cambodia's experience, considering that the project is scheduled to end in 2024, 
we would like to know if there is a possibility to extend this assistance and to expand the support to  
other areas, such as systems development.  
14.459.   The presenter  of the International Trade Centre (ITC)  indicated the following:  
14.460.   Thank you very much, and I acknowledge Kyrgyz Republic, Sri Lanka and Philippines for 
your words. I would simply like to underscore the two factors that you mentioned that have been 
fundamental to your achievements: coordination among the partners and dono rs in implementing 
the web of different trade facilitation activities in all of those countries ; and also the very strong 
grounding of local experts, without whom none of this work would have taken place.  
14.461.   This concluded  agenda item 14.2.  G/TFA/M/27  
 
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  14.3  Report by Internat ional and Regional Organi zations and other agencies  supporting 
the implementation of the TFA on the activities that they have delivered in the period 
October 202 2 to October  2023 (G/TFA/TFAF/W/2 ) 
14.462.   The delegate  of Samoa  indicated the following:  
14.463.   In respect of collaboration at the regional level, we support the implementation of the TFA 
through a regional approach that is effective, and not duplicated, and in line with Members' priorities. 
At the same time, we underscore the importance of addressing tr ade impediments at the national 
level. If we are to consider a regional approach, it is critical that our trade facilitation challenges at 
the national level are taken into account and fully addressed.  
14.464.   The delegate  of Botswana (on behalf of the LLDC Group)  indicated the following:  
14.465.   The LLDC Group wishes to thank the Chair for convening this session and the Secretariat 
for the organization. There has been a rich exchange of information during the discussions by the 
WTO Secretariat, the donor agencies, i nternational and regional organizations, and we believe the 
material in the discussions is an effort to reinvigorate the trade facilitation work programme and, in 
particular, expedition of the implementation of the TFA.  
14.466.   The LLDC Group appreciates the work of the WTO TFAF in assisting Members to find the 
support they need to implement the TFA. We are grateful to the WTO for its convening role, as well 
as having reached out to other important institutions in recognition of their own mandates to assist 
LLDCs.  
14.467.   In accordance with MC12 Ministerial Decision, Para. 9, which directed Members to hold 
dedicated sessions on transit issues to allow for focused discussions addressing the limitations and 
difficulties encountered by all landlocked WTO Members and the opport unity to share best practices, 
the LLDC Group, in collaboration with the WTO, has convened two dedicated sessions and a training 
workshop on transit issues for LLDC capital -based experts. Concrete solutions were developed at 
the workshop and presented to t he dedicated session for further discussion.  
14.468.   The discussions highlighted challenges relating to customs formalities, transit guarantees, 
container seals, and tracking transit corridors and improving support to WTO Members in TFA 
implementation relevant to  transit activities. The importance of infrastructure development, 
digitalization, the streamlining, and transparency of procedures, as well as collaboration between 
landlocked and transit countries, could not have been overemphasized. During the last dedi cated 
session on transit issues, which was held in June, LLDCs stressed the need for support in conducting 
needs assessments for implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, especially the category 
C measures.  
14.469.   The LLDC Group continues to support the  inclusion of the dedicated sessions on transit for 
LLDCs and on the assistance and capacity building in the agenda for the committee meetings. Both 
sessions are relevant and timely for the LLDCs in implementing the TFA. We remain open to future 
cooperatio n and collaboration in implementing other trade facilitation articles relevant to LLDCs.  
14.470.   The delegate  of the Kyrgyz Republic  indicated the following:  
14.471.   The Kyrgyz Republic gives great importance to the experience sharing mechanism in the 
TF Committee. They p rovide a platform where Members, especially the landlocked countries and 
countries highly dependent on international trade such as the Kyrgyz Republic, can learn and absorb 
valuable recommendations from the best practices around the world to facilitate exp ort-import 
procedures both at national and regional levels. Accordingly, we would like to thank very much all 
the Member s and all the international organizations which have presented examples of best practice.  
14.472.   That concluded  agenda item 14.3.  
14.4  Draft Workplan of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility for 2024 
(G/TFA/3 , Para. 7 ); (G/TFA/TFAF/W/3 ) 
14.473.   The Chair drew the Committee's attention to the TFAF Work Plan for 2024, which was 
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  14.474.   The delegate of Brazil  indicated the following:  
14.475.   The regional meeting of Latin American NTFCs is a successful product of TFAF's work plan. 
Countries from the region have attended in great number in diversity. As we have seen from the 
presentations and comments yesterday, the regional meeting is highly valued and has greatly 
contributed for the countries  to identify good practices and challenges where they can focus.  
14.476.   With the support of the Latin American Integration Association, countries have also been 
able to produce a detailed report with the conclusions made at the meeting. The work done at the 
regional meeting has also contributed to the whole membership of the WTO by sharing of 
experiences in this Committee and by circulating the report adopted at the regional meeting.  
14.477.   Chair, the regional meeting in Latin America has been possible thanks to the fina ncial 
support received from the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility, and we are very grateful to the WTO 
Members and to the Secretariat for this. Brazil suggests that the fourth edition of the regional 
meeting of National Trade Facilitation Committees of  Latin America to be included in paragraph  3.5 
of the work plan as an activity to be held in 2024 in line with the priority support for regional 
coordination.  
14.478.   The delegate of Colombia  indicated the following:  
14.479.   In accordance with Brazil's proposal, w e suppor t including these regional workshops in the 
2024 Work Plan.  
14.480.   The delegate of Peru indicated the following:  
14.481.   Peru would also like to specify or propose the continuity of capacity building to strengthen 
national committees. It is extremely important, given tha t particularly in our countr ies, members of 
the national committee s might change. I t is important that training of the national committees and 
participating  entities be a topic  which is included in the Committee's agenda . 
14.482.   The delegate of Chile indicated the following:  
14.483.   As we expressed yesterday, the importance of having these meetings  is quite clear . 
Personally, I was able to participate in three past events, two in person and one  remotely. You can 
perceive the progress made in methodology and c ontent, as well as the difference that exists 
between the national committees between 2019 and now.  
14.484.   To cut these meetings would not be a good signal because we want to make progress on 
the issue. We endorse the inclusion of this event in the 2024 TFAF Work  Plan. 
14.485.   The Chair requested Members to submit their comments on the 2024 Work Plan in writing 
to TFAF as soon as possible. He also recalled that an external assessment report on TFAF was issued 
in November 2022. In principle, Members had an exchange on vari ous recommendations of this 
report. He suggested continuing the discussion on the report with a view to future activities by TFAF.  
14.486.   That concluded  agenda item 14.  
14.5  Conclusion  
14.487.   The Chair thanked all Members for their very interesting presentations and exchan ges, 
which generated very rich discussions and were appreciated by all Members. In particular, he 
thanked capital -based officials for their active contribution which added much value to the meeting. 
He also thanked the interpreters for all their support.   
14.488.   The meeting was adjourned . 
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  ANNEX 22 
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