RESTRICTED  
  
G/TFA/M/14  
 
9 June 2021  
(21-4716) Page: 1/28 
Committee on Trade Facilitation   
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  
26-27 JANUARY 2021  
AD HOC  CHAIR: HE MR MIK AEL ANZEN (SWEDEN)  
Contents  
1   ELECTION OF INTERIM CHAIR  ................................ ................................ ....................  2 
2   MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  ................................ ................................ .................  3 
NOTIFICATIONS BY MEMBERS  ................................ ................................ ........................  3 
Notifications under Articles 15 and 16 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................  3 
Notifications under Article 17 of the TFA  ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
Notifications under Articles 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2  and 12.2.2 of the Trade Facilitation  
Agreement  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
Notifications under Article 22 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  ................................ ..........  10 
STATUS OF RATIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION PROCESS  ................................ ............  11 
Update by the WTO Secretariat  ................................ ................................ ..........................  11 
3   EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  ................................ ....................  13 
Presentation by the European Union: "Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 Crisis" 
(G/TFA/W/31/Rev.1)  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  14 
Presentation by the World Customs Organization (WCO): The Work of the WCO in Response  
to the COVID -19 Pandemic  ................................ ................................ ................................  14 
Presentation by Sri Lanka: "The Effective Interventions by The Department of Customs of  
Sri Lanka During The COVID -19 Outbreak" (G/TFA/W/30)  ................................ .....................  15 
Presentation from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation  ................................ ....................  16 
Declaration on Micro, Small and Medium -Sized Enterprises (MSMES) – Annex 3:  
Recommendation on Trade Facilitation and MSMES contained in document INF/MSME/4  ...........  16 
4   REQUEST FROM THE GLOBAL EXPRESS ASSOCIATION TO ADDRESS THE TRADE 
FACILITATION COMMITTEE  ................................ ................................ ...........................  18 
5   REVIEW OF THE OPERATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT IN 
ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 23.1.6 OF THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  .........  20 
Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 Crisis (G/TFA/W/31/Rev.1) – proposal by the 
European Union  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  25 
6   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 25 
e-Agenda  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  27 
Dates of meetings  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  28 
Invitation to Annex D partner organizations  ................................ ................................ ........  28 G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  1  ELECTION OF INTERIM CHAIR  
1.1.  The Chair of the Council for Trade in Goods , in his capac ity as Ad Hoc  Chair, welcomed 
delegations to the meeting of the Trade Facilitation Committee (TF Committee, Committee, or TFC). 
The proposed agenda had been circulated in WTO/AIR/TFA/14/Rev.1.  
1.2.  He updated the Committee on the process he had undertaken to appoint a new chairperson to 
the TF Committee for the remaining period of the 2020 -2021 chairpersonship , following the 
departure of Ambassador Naut of the Dominican Republic.  
1.3.  He had sent communications dated 22  December 2020, 12 January, 20 J anuary, and 22 
January 2021 updating Members on progress being made.  
1.4.  He had indicated in his communication of 20 January that the GRULAC Group Coordinator, 
Ambassador Cheryl Spencer (Jamaica), had informed him that GRULAC had not proposed a 
candidate for C hairpersonship. He invited the Group Coordinators of the African Group, the Asian 
Group, and Developed Members to propose a suitable candidate chosen from among their 
constituencies to serve as Chairperson by cob on Friday, 22 January 2021.  
1.5.  He did not rece ive any nominee from any of the other three Regional Groups within that 
deadline. He therefore addressed a new communication to all delegations informing them about the 
situation and indicating the process that he intended to follow subsequently, including  consultations 
with the all Group coordinators and delegations.  
1.6.  However, on 25 January he received a communication from the Group of Developed Members 
proposing the candidature of Mr Marcel VERNOOIJ, the D eputy Permanent Representative  of the 
Netherlands, to chair the Committee for the remaining period.  
1.7.  Consequently, he addressed a communication to all delegations, copied to the Group 
Coordinators, informing them about this nomination, and in the hope that all Members would look 
positively on this candidatu re in order to allow the work of the TFC to continue running smoothly 
until the appointment of the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies of the Goods Council for the period 
2021–2022.  
1.8.  In his communication he had also indicated that, unless he received any commen t on the 
candidature of Mr VERNOOIJ by 26 January at 10 am, he would propose to the TF Committee to 
elect Mr VERNOOIJ as its new Chair at the end of the meeting.  
1.9.   However, in the meantime and within the deadline established in that communication, he had 
received another candidature from the same Group  also within the deadline.  
1.10.   In light of the above, he was not in a position to submit a sole candidature to chair the  TF 
Committee for the remaining 2020 -2021 period. He therefore proposed that he would continue 
consultations with the Group that had now proposed two candidates in line with the deadlines and 
the procedures indicated in his communications dated 20 and 22 J anuary 2021. He would keep all 
delegations informed about the consultation process in due time.  
1.11.   He reiterated his call to the Group Coordinators and all delegations to finalize the process as 
expeditiously as possible so as to allow the work of the TF C to continue to run smoothly.  
1.12.   As indicated in his communication dated 22 January 2021, he proposed that in order to 
facilitate today 's meeting he, in his capacity as Chair of the CTG, would chair this meeting on an 
ad hoc basis.  
1.13.   It was so agreed . 
1.14.   The delegate from the United States requested to provide Members with an update on 
document G/TFA/W/25/Rev.2, a communication titled "Supporting The Timely And Efficient Release 
Of Global Goods Through Accelerated Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement " 
under "Other Business".  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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1.15.   The Chair added three items: (1) a presentation by  the Trade and Environment Division  on 
their use of an eAgenda;  (2) the dates for the Committee 's meetings in 2021; and (3) inviting 
Annex  D partners and the Global Alliance for Tra de Facilitation to the next meeting of the Committee.  
1.16.   The agenda was adopted  with the proposed changes.  
2  MATTERS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRADE 
FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
NOTIFICATIONS BY MEMBERS  
2.1.  The Chair informed the Committee that a total of 16 new notifications had been received since 
the Committee 's meeting on 20-22 October  2020. All notifications had been issued as documents in 
the G/TFA/N / series.  
Notifications under Article s 15 and 16 of the Trade F acilitation Agreement  
2.2.  The Chair turned to a notification from Guyana  (G/TFA/N/ GUY/4). 
2.3.  The delegate of the United States  thanked Guyana  for the notification . 
2.4.  The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
2.5.  The EU congratulate s Guyana for its effort to update the Committee on the state of 
implementation of category C commitments and the areas where they saw gaps regarding required 
assistance. Notifications such as Guyana 's are absolutely crucial to allow th e TF Committee to have  
a clear view of the situation of developing countries and LDCs regarding category C commitments 
for which they require intervention by donors . 
2.6.  The EU takes due note of th e very useful information and invite s Guyana to get in touch with 
the EU  delegation a ccredited to Guyana to share such information and to inform them about their 
needs so that the EU delegation could  be better informed. The EU stress es the crucial role of 
coordination, in particular, with the main donors on the groun d. 
2.7.  The Chair  drew the C ommittee 's attention to a corrigendum relating to a notification from the 
Kyrgyz Republic which was circulated in document G/TFA/N/KGZ/2/Add.1/Corr.1. The corrigendum 
rectified a clerical error in the original notification.  
2.8.  The delegate of the United State s thanked the Kyrgyz Republic for its notification.  
2.9.  The delegate of the European Union  said that they would revert to the notification on a bilateral 
basis.  
2.10.   The Chair  informed the Committee that a notification had been received from Ecuador after 
the agenda had been issued and it  would be on the agenda of the next regular Committee meeting.  
Notifications under Article  17 of the TFA  
2.11.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Peru which was circulated in 
document G/TFA/N/PER/1/Ad d.1. 
2.12.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
2.13.   Regarding Peru 's notification, the E U has two remarks regarding the request for extension of 
its initial date for implementing its category B provisions on advance rulings. The explanation no tified 
is that more time is needed to "make the necessary arrangements to issue the regulatory provisions" 
so as to implement Peru 's commitment. The EU would like to ask Peru to further explain and detail 
its situation regarding advance rulings and also in form why the notification was made almost a year 
after the initial timeline set for implementation.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  2.14.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
2.15.   The United States thank s Peru for its notification and note s its use of Article  17, the Early 
Warning Mechanism, to extend the definitive implementation date for Article  3, citing the need to 
coordinate the legislation to implement this commitment.  
2.16.   In order to utilize the Early Warning Mechanism, Article  17 provides that developing country 
Members must submit their notification to the Secretariat 120 days prior to the original definitive 
implementation date. It appears that Peru submitted its notification 11 months after its original 
implementation date, which means Peru 's request for an extens ion under Article  17 is untimely.  
2.17.   As such, the United States is not in a position to accept this notification.  
2.18.   Nevertheless, can Peru elaborate on how it plans to ensure that it will meet the new deadline 
it has set for itself?  
2.19.   The delegate of Peru indicat ed the following:  
2.20.   Peru would like to thank the EU and the US and takes note of the ir statements. We would like 
to note that the consultations that we have had in regard to the implementation of th ese provisions 
have been slowed down because of the COVID -19 situation . Peru is deploying its best efforts to 
ensure it can implement these provisions, particularly in regard to advance rulings, in line with the 
proposed deadline. With regards to details and the progress that has been made in terms of meeting 
the goal, this is something that we will have to come back to as soon as is possible.  
2.21.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
2.22.   The EU are satisfied if we come back to this notification next time, but to react to the US 
statement that they can not accept the notification , we would like to recall Article  17.2 which says 
that "Where a developing country Member 's request for additional time for implementation does not 
exceed 18 months or a least  developed country Member 's request for additional tim e does not exceed 
3 years, the requesting Member is entitled to such additional time without any further action by the 
Committee". So, in our view, we note that the notification was late. We take note of Peru 's difficulties 
and we are all aware of the COVID -19 situation, but we think that the extension does not have to 
be discussed by the Committee. I would be happy to hear the views of other Members and the 
Secretariat  on this.  
2.23.   The Chair  said that there was no t a consensus on how to address Peru 's notification. He 
proposed that the Committee take note of the notification and statements made and revert to it at 
the next Committee meeting. He also proposed that Members consult amongst themselves in order 
to find a way forward.  
2.24.   It was so agreed . 
2.25.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Ukraine which was circulated 
in document G/TFA/N/ UKR/1/Add.3.  
2.26.   The delegate of Ukraine  indicated the following : 
2.27.   As of 1 January 2021, Ukraine had already imple mented 70% of the provisions of the TFA. 
Pursuant to its notification (document G/TFA/N/UKR/1/Add.2) in 2020 , Ukraine committed to 
implement 10 provisions, eight of which had been implemented by the end of the year. Two 
commitments (post -clearance audit an d freedom of transit) notified as category C are being currently 
implemented.  
2.28.   Ukraine would like to highlight that implementation process of these provisions was started 
under the program EU4PFM  (EU Public Finance Management Support Programme for Ukraine) . A lot 
has been done since the arrangement of support for capacity building was concluded with the EU. 
Thus, some laws ' amendments have been made, and a successful pilot NCTS (New Computerised 
Transit System) programme took place at the end of 2020. A significant progress in the 
implementation of one of the final phases of this programme  should be noted . G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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2.29.   All these gains would not have  been possible without the broad support which secured 
significant contributions for us in terms of funding and technica l expertise from EU partners, to whom 
we reiterate our gratitude.  
2.30.   But the COVID -19 pandemic has gravely wounded the world economy with serious 
consequences impacting all communities and individuals. Lockdown early in the spring of 2020 partly 
suspended the  implementation processes in Ukraine. Thus, some procedures were delayed, e.g. the 
purchase of post -clearance audit ITC system, training courses of experts for the application of NCTS,  
implementing NCTS at the national level , and integration with the EU tr ansit system.  
2.31.   Ukraine is aware of the importance of fulfilling its WTO obligations and makes every effort to 
comply with them. But in the meantime, the reality of 2020 is that not everything is under human 
control and contingencies mentioned above should b e taken into account.  
2.32.   Ukraine would like to mention again that we have to stick to our international commitments 
but at the same time a comprehensive implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement , even a 
little behind , is crucial.  
2.33.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following : 
2.34.   The EU w elcome s Ukraine 's statement which gives a full explanation as to the delay for 
implementation, in particular to the COVID -19 pandemic. The EU mentioned during its intervention 
at the Dedicate d Session on Tech nical Assistance and Capacity Building Support last October , that 
in fact COVID -19 has created difficulties to implement aid, and the EU will come  back on this issue 
at the WTO Aid -for-Trade seminar planned for  the end of March  2021. We repeat that in our view 
Article  17.2 does not require any action by the Committee on this request because the extension 
requested is of less than 18 months (i.e. 12 months) and , therefore , the Committee has no action 
to take. We support Ukraine 's statement.  
2.35.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following : 
2.36.   The US thank s Ukraine for your notification and note s your use of Article  17, the early warning 
mechanism, to extend the defini tive implementation date for Article s 7.5, 11.3 -11.8 and 11.10, 
citing the need to develop IT equipment and train staff.  
2.37.   In order to utilize the early warning mechanism, Article  17 provides that developing country 
Members must submit their notification to the Secretariat 120 days prior to the original definitive 
implementation date. It appears that Ukraine submitted its notification 50 days before its original 
implementation date, which means Ukraine 's request for an extension under Article  17 is untimely.  
2.38.   As such, the United States is not in a position to accept this notification.  
2.39.   Nevertheless, can Ukraine elaborate on how it plans to meet the new self -identified deadline?  
2.40.   The delegate of Ukraine  indicated the following : 
2.41.   Ukraine t hanks the US and EU for the ir comments. We will convey this information to our 
capital, and would propose to discuss this issue bilaterally with the delegations that raised their 
comments.  
2.42.   The Chair said that there was not a consensus on how to address th e notification, therefore 
he propose d that the Committee take note of the statements made and revert to it at the next 
Committee meeting. In the meantime, he encouraged Members to consult amongst themselves in 
order to find a way forward.  
2.43.   It was so agreed . G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  Notifications under Article s 1.4, 10 .4.3, 10 .6.2 and 12 .2.2 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement  
2.44.   The Chair  moved to the "transparency" notifications, mandated by Article s 1:4, 10:4:3, 
10:6:2 and 12:2:2 of the TFA. They all had the objective of providing tra nsparency, either in a 
broader context , providing information on publication sources, or providing information on specific 
items, such as a single window operation, the use of customs brokers, and customs cooperation.  
2.45.   Since the last meeting, nine transpare ncy notifications had been received from nine Members.  
2.46.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to the first notification which was from Argentina 
(G/TFA/N/A RG/3).  
2.47.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Argentina for its notification.  
2.48.   The Chair  drew the  Committee 's attention to a notification from Barbados.  
2.49.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated as follows : 
2.50.   The EU would like to make a general statement of principle and may comment on some 
specific notifications that are on the agenda.  These transparency notifications are a priority as we 
have constantly stated. Transparency of the measures at the border are key to facilitate trade and 
in particular for small and medium and micro sized enterprises. These notifications became even 
more im portant due to COVID -19. The situation is that several countries that had committed to 
implement, either under category A or B (when the deadline for implementation passed) are not yet 
complying. We call on these Members to proceed without any delay and if  they have specific 
difficulties, we strongly invite them to report to this Committee . 
2.51.   We note that many developing countries and LDCs have put these provisions under category 
C commitments and requested assistance for implementation of these transparency measures. It 
would be good to have a picture of what the situation is in this area. We could invite Members to 
update on their situation in this regard as well and not wait for the dedicated session.  
2.52.   Regarding the Barbados notification, we welcome it. Was there  any information that Barbados 
could report as regards its commitment on consultation of stakeholders as notified in category B 
with a deadline on December 2020? Have there been any consultation s with business and 
stakeholders on measures to adopt?  
2.53.   The delegate of the United States  thank ed Barbados for their notification.  
2.54.   The delegate of Barbados  indicated the following : 
2.55.   We would like to thank the US and EU for their comments. We do take note of the question 
that has been raised by the EU and we will c onsult with capital and revert as necessary.  
2.56.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Dominica.  
2.57.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following : 
2.58.   The US thanks Dominica for its notification.  We note that Dominica 's Article  1.4 notification is 
missing important information.  In our reading, Dominica has only listed the homepages for the 
websites of major government agencies but does not provide specific webpages to access 
information for items in subparagraphs 1.1 (a) through ( j). For example, a trader looking for 
Dominica 's fees and charges would have to search through the website for Dominica 's Bureau of 
Standards, Environmental Health Division.  Could Dominica provide the direct locations for the 
individual items in sub -paragr aphs (a) through (j) of Article  1, indicating import, export and transit 
requirements ? For example, could Dominica provide the direct location for the procedures to repeal 
or review a customs decision, penalty provisions, and fees and charges ? In addition, could Dominica 
provide the description or practical steps needed for importation, exp ortation, and transit?  Ease and 
accessibility in the publication of this information and locations of necessary forms to complete will 
assist small businesses in fully benefiting from the agreement.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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2.59.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the followin g: 
2.60.   The EU would like to support the US remarks on Dominica 's information provided so far. It is 
absolutely crucial to get all detailed information that has been spelled out in TFA Article  1.4. We note 
that this is not an easy business, but it is crucial to  help facilitate trade and get small entities to 
reduce their costs of trading with the WTO Members. We welcome future work in this area as 
promised.  
2.61.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from the European Union.  
2.62.   The delegate of the United States  thanked the EU for its notification.  
2.63.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from the Kyrgyz Republic . 
2.64.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
2.65.   The US thank s the Kyrgyz Republic for the n otification.  We note that the Kyrgyz Republic 's 
Article  1.4 notification is missing important information.  In our reading, the notification has only 
listed the homepages for the websites of major government agencies but does not provide specific 
webpages to access information  for items in subparagraphs 1.1 (a) through (j). For example, a 
trader looking for the Kyrgyz Republic 's penalties would have to search through the website for the 
Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Economy.  
2.66.   Could the Kyrgyz Republic provide the direct  locations for the individual items in sub -
paragraphs (a) through (j) of Article  1, indicating import, export and transit requirements? For 
example, could the Kyrgyz Republic provide the direct location for the procedures to repeal or review 
a customs deci sion, penalty provisions, and fees and charges ? In addition, could the Kyrgyz Republic 
provide the description or practical steps needed for importation, exportation, and transit?  Ease and 
accessibility in the publication of this information and locations of necessary forms to complete will 
assist small businesses in fully benefiting from the agreement.  
2.67.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following : 
2.68.   As detailed by the US, we think that further improvements should be made to the notification 
as it is not sufficiently comprehensive to help traders, in particular on Article  1.4, items (a) to (j). 
We look for complementary information to be provided by the Kyrgyz Republic.  
2.69.   The delegate of the Kyrgyz Republic said that the K yrgyz Republic ha d taken note of the 
comments and he thank ed the EU and US for the ir useful comments to improve the notification. 
They would revert back in due course.  
2.70.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from  Malaysia.  
2.71.   The delegate of the United States  thank ed Malaysia for their notification.  
2.72.   The delegate of the European Union indicated the following : 
2.73.   We are very grateful to Malaysia for this notification that we were looking forward to very 
impatiently. The notification  provides relevant links to customs tariffs (both preferential and applied), 
valuation, classification, rules and regulations, fees and charges, tariff rate quotas and review and 
appeal processes We would have one remark, which is that there are no direct links provided for 
import processes for animal -based products, requirements for halal certification or other products 
subject to import licensing requirements such as approved permits for imports of vehicles. Relevant 
information does exist on -line in vari ous authorities ' websites (see as an example the enclosed 
Guidance document on Halal import requirements). To further help traders, a suggestion is that the 
links to Customs pages and relevant Guidance could be broadened to provide further information to 
traders on import requirements.  
2.74.   On fees and charges, it is not always easy to grasp the level of fees that may be applied for 
the import of a specific product. Regarding Article  1.1(j) on procedures relating to the administration G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  of tariff quotas , the link lists applicable tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for agricultural products but it would 
be useful to get more information on the administration of these TRQs.  
2.75.   Finally, the link on Article  10.6.2 does not seem to work (something that happened to several 
Member States as well as in the EU). We apologize if we expanded on this notification; this should 
not be seen as a deterrent to notify, on the contrary, it is an indicat ion of our interest in ensuring 
that traders have all pertinent information to trade , and that SMEs , in particular can manage through 
the complex procedures in place. The EU itself had to review its notification recently and this is a 
never -ending process that all of us have to go through.  
2.76.   We hope that this is not a deterrent to anybody. We understand it is complex, but it is 
important to keep transparency measures. We hope that in a friendly and constructive man ner we 
can help each other in doing those reviews so that the ben efit will go to the traders and the econom ic 
community.  
2.77.   The delegate of Malaysia  thank ed the US and EU for the ir comments. They would revert back 
to the Committee . 
2.78.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Tanzania.  
2.79.   The delegate of th e United States  thank ed Tanzania for its notification.  
2.80.   The delegate of the European Union indicated the following : 
2.81.   The EU congratulate s Tanzania for its notification. We must confess that we will probably have 
a bilateral talk because in some cases we did not understand the construction of the notification. For 
example, procedures for import are subject to a specific web -link under the "trade information 
module" and there are many links on export, import and transit procedures. Regarding import, we 
did not manage to open the link notified. The web -link regarding standards refers also refers to 
import procedures so we are not very clear as to where import procedures can be found in full? 
Regarding fees and charges, could Tanzania explain its policy and whethe r port authorities have a 
leverage in this domain given that there are two links notified , including one specific link regarding 
ports, for the aspect of fees?  
2.82.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Trinidad & Tobago . 
2.83.   The delegate of Trinidad and Tobago  indicated the following:  
2.84.   Trinidad and Tobago welcome s the opportunity to contribute to the discussions at this 
meeting, regarding its implementation of the WTO Agreem ent on Trade Facilitation. Trinidad and 
Tobago acknowledges the unprecedented disruptions to the global economy brought about by the 
COVID -19 pandemic, which has underscored now more than ever the importance of the 
implementation of trade facilitation refo rms, to not only ensure business continuity and economic 
progress, but to also enable small countries like ourselves to facilitate access for essential food and 
health supplies.  
2.85.   It is against this backdrop, that Trinidad and Tobago through its National Tra de Facilitation 
Committee and alongside its wider CARICOM counterparts continues to actively pursue 
implementation of the TFA and associated Projects. As such, Trinidad and Tobago is pleased to 
submit its transparency notification under Article  10.4.3 rega rding the operation of its Single 
Electronic Window – TTBizLink.  
2.86.   Trinidad and Tobago 's Single Window was established in 2009 and its development has been 
ongoing, with the introduction of services on the system utilizing a phased approach. Trinidad and 
Tobago is currently undertaking a Project for the Strengthening of its Single Electronic Window for 
Trade and Business Facilitation by way of a USD 25 million country loan. In addition to advancing 
development of the TTBizLink system, this loan is also being utilized to fulfil approximately 50%  of 
Trinidad and Tobago 's Category C commitments, where there have been difficulties in securing donor 
support. Trinidad and Tobago anticipates that matters such as these will be discussed at the 
upcoming Global Review o n the Operation and Implementation of the Agreement, in accordance with 
Article  23.1.6 of the TFA.   G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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2.87.   Trinidad and Tobago also wishes to take this opportunity to report that it has met its definitive 
dates notified to the WTO for implementation of its catego ry B commitment on Article  5.2 (Detention ) 
and category C commitment on Article  7.1 (Pre-Arrival Processing ), which were due for 
implementation by 31 December 2020.  
2.88.   Accordingly, Trinidad and Tobago wishes to reiterate its commitment to implementation of 
the TFA, and acknowledges the challenges that small island developing states may face during this 
time. Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the experience sharing/ thematic discussions in the Committee 
on measures taken by Members to mitigate the COVID -19 pandemic. However, Trinidad and Tobago 
extends support and encourages WTO Members to also give due consideration to those countries 
who may have invoked Article  17 of the TFA – Early Warning Mechanism  - to seek an extension of 
their implementation dates for either c ategories B or C commitment, as a result of difficulties brought 
about by the COVID -19 pandemic.  
2.89.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following : 
2.90.   The EU would like to commend Trinidad  & Tobago for the comprehensive  notification, for the 
update to the Committee on its situation and we would like to state again that we welcome such 
interventions from Members where they  state where t hey stand with regard to the implementation 
of its category B and C commitments. This i s absolutely needed for donors to have a clear view of 
where the gaps remain in providing assistance in category C commitments.  
2.91.   In addition, we would like to say and recall that by next February, to our understanding, LDCs 
should inform about their arrange ments and indicative dates for category C commitments. We are 
well aware of the difficulties created by COVID -19 but referring again to Trinidad & Tobago 's 
statement, we should not wait for the Dedicated Session to get an updated view of the situation of 
the countries needs and situation regarding category C commitments because waiting for too long 
is a waste of time. The sooner we are informed of difficulties in capacity the easier it is to revert to 
our colleagues in the area o f aid and to see how things can develop. I would like to state again that 
the EU is currently preparing its programming on aid for the period 2021 -2028. We are not in a 
capacity to notify our commitments, nor to give an idea of the general amount that will be allocated 
to TF and Aid -for-Trade, nor geographical distribution . We will probably have the capacity to do so 
in October but because we are doing this internal work of programming, the earlier we get an update 
on category C commitments of LDCs and developing countries and where t he gaps are , the better 
equipped we will be for the dedicated session.  
2.92.   The delegate of the United States  thanked Trinidad and Tobago for its notification and its 
statement.  
2.93.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from the United Kingdom.  
2.94.   The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following : 
2.95.   As Members will no doubt be aware, the United Kingdom ceased to be a Member State of the 
European Union on 31 January 2020.  Following that date, the UK and the EU entered into a time -
limited tran sition period. This meant that the UK remained a member of the EU 's customs union and 
single market, and, subject to certain exceptions, EU law continued to apply to and in the United 
Kingdom. During this transition period, we duly notified the Trade Facil itation Committee of our 
transparency measures as part of EU notifications.  
2.96.   The transition period came to an end on 31 December 2020. We then deposited our 
instrument of continued acceptance for the Trade Facilitation Agreement on 1 January 2021, 
demonstra ting our commitment to all aspects of the Agreement and to working with Members 
towards its full implementation worldwide.  
2.97.   The United Kingdom looks forward to continued collaboration with Members and playing a 
strong role within this Committee.  
2.98.   At the heart of trade facilitation is the need for global trade to be predictable, consistent and 
transparent. The United Kingdom is, therefore, delighted to contribute to the ongoing transparency 
efforts of this Committee with this notification under Articles 1.4, 10.4.3, 10.6.2 and 12.2.2. This G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  notification seeks to offer clear, simple and comprehensive guidance to traders in the United 
Kingdom and other customs territories. Where appropriate, step -by-step guidance has been 
provided.  
2.99.   We remain at the disp osal of Members for any enquiries that they might have.  
2.100.   The delegate of the United States  thank ed the United Kingdom for its notification.  
2.101.   The delegate of the European Union  thanked the United Kingdom and welcome d their 
notification , which ha d a particular interest for EU bilateral trade.  
2.102.   The Chair  informed the Committee that Myanmar ha d submitted a notification  after the 
agenda had been issued . It would  be included on the agenda of the next regular Committee meeting.  
Notifications under Articl e 22 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
2.103.   The Chair drew the Committee 's attention to the notifications under Article  22 of the TFA. 
There were three separate notifications identified under Article  22 - Article  22.1, notifications by 
donor Members on their recent capacity building activities , Article s 22.2 and 22 .3, notifications from 
information on contact points. Since the meeting of 20-22 October 2020, 16 Members had provided 
18 notifications under Article  22. 
2.104.   He turned to the notification from the  United Kingdom under Article  22.1 and 22.2.  
2.105.   The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following : 
2.106.   The United Kingdom has been a strong supporter of building capacity in developing country 
partners to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
2.107.   Our n otification today shows this continued commitment in 2020, when the UK provided 
over GBP 50 million over 10 programmes. Some key Aid for Trade programmes were pi loted this 
year to provide support to developing countries to assess and mitigate the impacts o f COVID -19 on 
trade, including providing logistical support for the smooth movement of critical goods across 
borders.  
2.108.   Trade facilitation efforts will be critical to ensure strong flow s of goods and services 
throughout this ongoing pandemic, and onwards , when we enter a period of global economic 
recovery.  
2.109.   We would like to take this moment to highlight a few programmes that illustrate the depth 
and quality of support that the UK is providing around the world.  
2.110.   In 2020, the UK continued to contribute to the Wor ld Bank 's Trade Facilitation Support 
Programme. This initiative is improving border processes and removing the red tape which make it 
harder to trade.  
2.111.   Our Trade Facilitation Capacity Building programme operates in partnership with the World 
Customs Organis ation and UNCTAD. In the last twelve months, it has delivered technical assistance 
across several areas of the TFA to beneficiaries including Eswatini, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi and 
Zambia, in particular on National Trade Facilitation Committees.  
2.112.   Members se eking further information on these and other UK programmes are advised to 
contact their local UK embassy in the first instance.  
2.113.   The UK looks forward to continuing to work with partners around the world to identify 
capacity building needs and strengthen the  global capability to implement the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement.  
2.114.   The delegate of the United States  thanked the UK for its notification.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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2.115.   The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a notification from Madagascar.  
2.116.   The delegate of the United States  thanked M adagascar for its notification.  
2.117.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following : 
2.118.   We thank Madagascar for its notification and we call on other Members that are yet to make 
their notification under this Article  to do so, so that we can coordinate  assistance on the ground.  
2.119.   The Chair  informed the Committee that Cuba submitted a notification  after the agenda was 
issued . It would  be included on the agenda of the next regular Committee meeting.  
2.120.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following : 
2.121.   Japan welcomes all the notifications made by Members to date.  We note that some LDC 
Members have not notified the Committee of definitive dates for implementing provisions they have 
designated in Category B. Since the extended not ification deadlines that they requested respectively 
in February last year are approaching, we are looking forward to receiving the notifications before 
their respective deadlines, which are 21 and 22 February.  
2.122.   We also recognize that some developing countr y Members failed to provide certain 
notifications within the relevant deadlines. Japan encourages those Members to submit notifications 
as soon as possible, and if they are having difficulties, to explain the reason why in the Committee.  
2.123.   The delegate of Tanzania  indicated the following : 
2.124.   I am taking the floor to thank the EU for the questions that they have raised against the 
notification made by Tanzania. I want to inform that we have taken notes of the questions  and we 
will refer to capital and get the res ponses. We would appreciate if you could share the questions 
with us  in writing  to so that we can communicate clearly what is required.  
2.125.   The Committee took note  of the notifications addressed under agenda items A, B and C and 
of the information contained therein , as well as the statements made . 
STATUS  OF RATIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION PROCESS  
Update by the WTO Secretariat  
2.126.   At the request of Members, the WTO Secreta riat provided an update on the status of 
ratifications and notifications covering implementation, transparency and technical assistance and 
capacity building.  
2.127.   Since the meeting  of 20-22 October , the United Kingdom had notified its acceptance of the 
Protoco l of Amendment.  The overall rate of ratification stood at around 93%, with 153 Members 
already having ratified.  
2.128.   Turning to notification s of category B commitments, 84% of LDCs (26 Members) that had 
designated their category B commitments had also notified their category B definitive dates ahead 
of the deadline.  
2.129.   Nine LDCs had requested an extension of the deadline to notify these dates , for varying 
amounts of time. Four of those Members, Afghanistan , Lao PDR, Senegal and Solomon Islands ha d 
already provided the ir dates  ahead of their requested deadline . 
2.130.   The remaining five Members  - Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Mauritania and Sierra Leone 
were required to notify the ir definitive B dates by 21 February 2021.  
2.131.   The forthcoming deadline, which was c oming up  on 22 February 2021, was for the 
notification by  LDCs of their category C indicative dates  as well as the notification of their donor 
arrangements for technical assistance and capacity -building support . Of 32 LDC Members that ha d G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  notified Category  C designations to date, 75% (24 Members) ha d already notified category C 
indicative dates ahead of the deadline.  
2.132.   So far, one LDC, Bangladesh, ha d already informed the Committee of its donor arrangements 
and progress in the provision of technical assistanc e in advance of the 22 February 2021 deadline.  
2.133.   With regard to earlier deadlines between  2017 and 2020, six Members were yet to submit 
their ABC categorization notification.  Two M embers were yet to notify their category B indicative 
dates  and one Member had  yet to notify its  category B definitive dates . 
2.134.   The deadline for notification by developing countries of their category C definitive dates  had 
also passed. Three Members were yet to submit th eir notification s. 
2.135.   Regard ing the notification by developing country Members to notify their technical assistance 
arrangements for provisions in category , 13 Members had yet to submit  their notifications . 
2.136.   Moving on to implementation notifications , 28% of LDCs had notified under cat egory A, 20% 
in category B and 43% in category C . There remained 9% of LDCs that had yet to do so. Regarding 
landlocked LDCs, 35% ha d notified in category A, 26% in category B and 39% in category C.  
2.137.   For developing countries 60% of them had notified under c ategory A, 17% had notified under 
category B, and 22% had notified under category C . There remained 2% of developing countries 
that had not yet notified.  
2.138.   The overall rate of implementation commitments stood at  69.5%. The rate of TFA 
implementation commitme nts of developing and LDC Members  stood  at 60.3%.  
2.139.   According to the notifications received, the TFA would be more or less fully implemented  by 
2028, with a small number of provisions to be implemented by some Members beyond 2028 . 
2.140.   Since the Committee meeting  of 20 -22 October , 10 transparency notifications  had been 
submitted . Two notifications of technical assistance arrangements had also been submitted.  
2.141.   The delegate of Nepal , as a focal point of the LDC Core Group on Trade Facilitation  deliver ed 
a statement on behalf of the LDC Group : 
2.142.   First, my delegation would like to extend sincere appreciation to the Secretariat for providing 
updates on the ratification and notification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
2.143.   We LDC Members are well -aware of various  notification obligations under the TFA and most 
Members have fulfilled their notification obligations in a timely manner. However, because of various 
constraints and limitations including insufficient skills and capacity and resource constraints, some 
of us are still in the process to notify, and all Members of the Group are working hard towards 
meeting the upcoming deadline in February.  
2.144.   It is also observed that few LDC Members have yet to notify the provisions that already 
passed  the deadline. For instanc e, capacity building requirements for category C measures has not 
been notified by some Members yet. Such technical assistance is linked with the implementation of 
category C measures. In this context, notification of indicative and definitive dates of cat egory C 
without notifying capacity building requirements may be difficult as implementation is linked with 
the support from donor Members.  
2.145.   Additionally, the COVID -19 pandemic has impacted LDCs most severely and their focus is 
fully concentrated to combatin g the pandemic . Therefore, they have not been able to consult among 
the agencies concerned and stakeholders in the matter of TFA notification s. In this context, those 
LDC Members may need some additional time to fulfil the notification obligations.  
2.146.   As the entire state mechanism is fully engaged with the fight against the COVID -19 
pandemic, we will be able to fulfil our notification obligations under the TFA once the COVID -19 
situation becomes normal.  Additionally, notification of category C measures is not only related to 
the commitment of LDC Members, but also highly rely on the additional commitments and G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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disbursements of assistance by the donor Member countries and other international organizations 
to effectively implement the category C measures.  
2.147.   Fixing t he dates of category C provisions seems much more challenging for us due to 
resource and capacity constraints.  Therefore, we sincerely urge all donor Members to join hands to 
effectively implement the category C measures of the TFA in LDCs from the very be ginning with 
need based additional supports.  
2.148.   The delegate of Chad indicated the following : 
2.149.   Chad supports the statement made by Nepal on behalf of the LDC group. It is true, we must 
remember that the TFA does have provisions that aim to accelerate the movement of goods without 
undue delays , including goods in transit. Likewise, it has provisions to ensure affective cooperation 
between customs authorities and other relevant authorities when it comes to trade facilitation . There 
are provisions on technica l assistance  on customs issues  which  contribute to improving transparency 
by strengthening possibilities in global value chains. The TFA is , therefore , very important when it 
comes to support granted to ensure LDCs integrate into global trade , and our Focal Point has very 
clearly highlighted the very large constraints that are faced by the majority of LDCs.  
2.150.   COVID -19 had devastatingly affected LDCs and al most wiped out the authorities ' ability to 
promote trade development and economic growth. The impact of the pandemic and various 
lockdowns ha ve had a huge impact on services in LDCs . It had a devastating effect , also,  on the 
exports of LDCs which are , of course , a very important revenue source. It has slowed and halted  
goods in ports and other places , and LDCs are therefore unable to export them.  
2.151.   In the light of this, LDCs have encountered great difficulties when it comes to meeting their 
deadlines. Efforts  are being made, as the Focal Point has said. LDCs are working as hard as they can 
to ensure that they respect the deadlines  when possible, but we do believe that an extension of the 
deadlines with regard to our notifications is essential for us at this st age. 
2.152.   As a group of countries , we find it very difficult given the financial and resource constraints 
we face . Therefore , we hope that the Membership will be able to show some flexibility when it comes 
to LDCs . If there happen s to be a case where an LDC doe s not meet its deadline, then at least the 
Members will take note of the very vulnerable situation that LDCs find themselves  in, particularly in 
light of the global health crisis , and where possible , will take measures to facilitate the LDCs and 
maybe find  some way to extend the deadlines as appropriate.  
2.153.   COVID -19 is, of course , something that we will hear more about later on from the EU but 
we do think it is relevant that the LDCs in the coming meetings of the Committee share their 
experience of how the hea lth crisis has impacted them, particularly how it has impacted the economic 
fabric of our societies as well as what it has done in other areas of life . We agree with what has been 
said by the Focal Point and we call on Members to show flexibility with rega rd to LDCs in case s where 
they are unable to respect the notification deadline.  
2.154.   The Committee took note  of the information and of the statements made  under items A, B, 
C and D of this agenda item . 
2.155.   That conclude d Agenda Item 2. 
3  EXPERIENCE SHARING/THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS  
3.1.  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://tfadatabase.org/trade -facilitation -committee/meeting/2021 -01-26 with related links also 
being included in the minutes of the meeting. If a delegation requested it, their intervention would 
also be recorded in t he minutes of the meeting . G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  Presentation by the European Union:  "Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 
Crisis" (G/TFA/W/31/Rev.1)  
3.2.  The Chair  drew the Committee 's attention to a communication from the European Union 
contained in document G/TFA/W/31/Rev.1, entitled "Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 
Crisis"  as follows: The EU proposal invites the WTO secretariat to compile all the presentations made 
by Members and international organizations on the trade facilitation measures that  they have taken 
in relation to COVID -19 during the period covering the informal meeting of September 2020 up to 
the conclusion of the four year review of the TFA.  
3.3.  Subsequently, f ollowing an initial discussion of the item  in informal mode , it was agreed to  
revert to the discussion in the formal mode of the meeting , to allow for discussions to taken place 
between the proponents and Members that had expressed concerns . 
3.4.  In the formal mode, t he Chair proposed that a revised proposal would be circulated on 1 
February and in the absence of any further comments, the proposal would be deemed to have been 
accepted by the Committee.  
3.5.  It was so agreed . 
Presentation by the World Customs Organization (WCO): The Work of the WCO in 
Response to the COVID -19 Pandemic  
3.6.  The repr esentative of the World Customs Organization  made  the following  presentation : 
3.7.  I would like to start my intervention on a light note. Today is the International Customs Day. 
This year we celebrate it under the theme "Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience 
for a sustainable supply chain ". 26 January commemorates the inaug ural session of the Customs 
Cooperation Council held on this day back in 1953 (68 years ago). Happy International Customs Day 
to all colleagues with a Customs background.  
3.8.  Members might remember that in my presentation to the informal TFC Meeting on 30 
September 2020, I informed the Committee that the WCO has compiled a repository of 115 
Members ' practices, which is available on the dedicated section of the WCO website. The information 
on our website is organized per Member.  
3.9.  The WCO Secretariat studie d and a nalysed these practices and issued a Secretariat Note on 
"What Customs can do to Mitigate the Effects of the COVID -19 Pandemic ". The Secretariat Note 
highlights measures in four categories: (i) facilitating the cross -border movement of relief and 
essential  supplies; (ii) supporting the economy and sustaining supply chain continuity; (iii) 
protecting staff and (iv) protecting the society. In the Annex to the Secretariat Note, the four 
categories are illustrated by selected Members ' practices. The information  provided by WCO 
Members and the Secretariat Note are available on the WCO website as well as in the COVID -19 TF 
Repository which is hosted by the TFA Facility.  
3.10.   As everybody knows , the WCO has a Working Group on the WTO TFA (TFAWG). This Working 
Group  will hold its next meeting on 8 -9 March 2021. For this forthcoming Meeting, we have outlined 
the TFA Article s and the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) provisions that can support the 
implementation of the measures in one of the se four categories – the category o f facilitating the 
cross-border movement of relief and essential supplies. We encourage Members to attend the 
forthcoming TFAWG Meeting of the WCO in March 2021.  
3.11.   Under the COVID -19 project funded by the Government of Japan, based on the practices 
submi tted by our Members , the WCO is developing guidelines on disaster management and supply 
chain continuity. The preliminary draft of these guidelines was presented to the WCO Permanent 
Technical Committee (PTC) in October 2020. The guidelines are grouped in three sections linked to 
different phases of the disaster management cycle – preparedness, response and recovery. The 
guidelines provide a combinati on of recommendations and best practices and are illustrated by 
specific Members ' practices. The project team is currently organizing  a series of regional workshops . 
The Asia Pacific region and the Africa regions have been completed. The workshop on the Am ericas 
will start on 1 February  to further collect Members ' practices and discuss the draft guidelines with G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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the WCO Members. The final draft of the guidelines will be presented to the PTC in May 2021. As 
soon as this draft is issued to the WCO Members, we can share it with the WTO Secretariat. This 
final draft is expected to be available in March 2021.  What is now available is the preliminary draft.  
3.12.   In December 2020, the WCO Council issued a Resolution on the Role of Customs in Facilitating 
the Cross -Border  Movement of Situationally Critical Medicines and Vaccines . It contains 
recommend ed measures to be implemented by Customs and by the WCO Secretariat. As a follow -
up to the Resolution, the WCO Secretariat started collecting Members ' practices on facilitatin g the 
cross-border movement of the COVID -19 vaccines. We have already uploaded t wo Members ' 
practices to the website,  and they have already been uploaded on the dedicated section of the WCO 
website.  
3.13.   We stand ready to cooperate with the WTO Secretariat and, if necessary, deliver a more 
detailed presentation at a future meeting of the TFC.  
Presentation by Sri Lanka: "The Effective Interventions by The Department of Customs of 
Sri Lanka During The COVID -19 Outbreak"  (G/TFA/W/30 ) 
3.14.   The Director General  of Customs Sri Lanka  indicated the following : 
3.15.   By now Sri Lanka has undergone two episodes of pandemic situations ; one was in March 2020 
when the country was completely locked down for a couple of months. During the current second 
episode o f the pandemic situation , the country was partially locked down.  
3.16.   In the October  2020 meeting , we shared some of the measures that were taken by Sri Lanka 
Customs in particular, and by the Department of Commerce and other departments , in general. I 
will now present the interim measures that have been taken by Sri Lanka Customs and the 
Department of  Commerce during this episode of the pandemic situation.  
3.17.   During the first phase of COVID -19, Sri Lanka Customs managed to release  the majority of 
essential items. They were exempt ed from physical examinations but were subject to random 
inspections through  enhance d scanning . We improved the process during the second phase of 
COVID -19. 
3.18.   Currently we cover approximately 40% of low risk import containers without any physical 
examination.  
3.19.   Compared to previous years,  especially before the first episode of the pandemic in Sri Lanka 
when C ustoms physically examined 95% of import consignments , this is outstanding progress as far 
as the facilitati on of trade  is concerned . During the first outbreak of COVID -19, the online submission 
of customs declaration s was limited to the import sector but necessary arrangements were made to 
expand that capacity to the export and the industry and service sector s as well. Even with t he 
greatest challenge s faced by Sri Lanka Cu stoms , we were able to launch a pilot project of Authorized 
Economic Operators  as required under TFA Article  7.7, which was a category C commitment . The 
validation  process will be started very soon.  
3.20.   Very recently the Government took a decision to open the Bandaranayake I nternational 
Airport and it has commence d operation for international pass engers ' movements . It has established 
proper procedures to ensure the safety of pass engers and staff. The most important part , as 
highlighted in ma ny of the WCO and WT O forums , is managing COVID -19 vaccines that are due to 
be imported . The proced ures that we have ad opted are provision al clearance procedure s that have 
been formatted to import with zero  taxes and without insisting  on other regulatory control . That was 
mainly to facilitate the import ation of vaccines into the country.  
3.21.   Sri Lanka  Customs established an enquiry point in January 2020 as required under Article  1.3 
of the TFA which is in operation 24/7 and provides excellent  contribution to the public and other 
stakeholders . We are planning to strengthen  it to provide increase d facilitation for stakeholders.  
3.22.   The streamlin ing of a trade information portal in terms of the step by step process is being  
progress ed under the donorship of the EU which is managed by ITC Geneva.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  3.23.   As the key administer that provides the political will for the implementation of the TFA , the 
Secretary to the Ministry of Finance has appointed a study  group to commenc e a prelim inary study 
on the single window . The group h as started its work. For convenience, most of the details are 
published on the Customs website  http://www.customs.gov.lk . 
3.24.   The first meeting of the NCTF for 2021 has been scheduled for February . 
3.25.   The Ambassador of Sri Lanka  indicated the following:  
3.26.   Though Sri Lanka is a small developing country having capacity and financial resource 
constraints, it attaches very high significance towards introducing innovative and sue generis  
systems to enhance trade facilitation measures in general and in times of the current pandemic.  The 
presentation made by Sri Lanka Customs and the document circulated amply highlight this 
commitment.  
3.27.   I also wish to inform this Committee  of yet another set of initiatives implemented by Sri Lanka 
Ports Authority. This initiative can be seen as a step in realizing the optimal goal of establishing a 
Single Window System in the future.  
3.28.   In his presentation today, the Director General of Customs said that Sri Lanka is working 
towards this goal, and ha s already untaken certain technical evaluation . The main concern we have 
in that regard is funding and the lack of availability of funds. We have requested funding from donors 
in order to realise the optimum goal of establishing a single window system, which is still pending.  
3.29.   The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA)  has taken steps towards the clearance of all imports at 
the Port of Colombo through electronic payments via the Internet.  This allows port users to make 
payments from their homes or offices to clear goods from the Port of Colombo.  This special facility 
will enable port users to make their port payments easily without hassle.  
3.30.   In the face of the COVID -19 pandemic, all terminals of the Port of Colombo have been made 
readily available with necessary arrangements towards required services for all stakeholders. At 
present, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and all other terminals of the Port of Colombo have 
also maintained all port operations with the implementation of a strategic crisis management plan.  
3.31.   Accordingly, complying with the Government Health Regula tions, steps have been secured to 
protect port employees and port users from the pandemic by facilitating the payment of imported 
goods through the internet efficiently and expeditiously.  
3.32.   Together w ith such extensions, facilities have been offered by the SLPA with three payment 
methods for the clearance of FCL and LCL cargo through respective clearance agencies via web site 
www.s lpa.lk . 
3.33.   I think the Sri Lankan intervention during the last agenda item indicate s that Sri Lanka 's 
measures are WTO consistent, and actually are WTO plus arrangements. We will continue to maintain 
such measures at times of pandemic because those favourable  to other traders and exporters in 
generating the most secured income for the country.  
Presentation from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation  
Information  on the presentation can be found under the following  link: 
https://tfadatabase.org/uploads/thematicdiscussiondocument/Global_Alliance_20200126_WTO_TF
A_Meeting_ -_GATF_Vaccine.pdf . 
Declaration on Micro, Small and Medium -Sized Enterprises (MSMES) – Annex 3: 
Recommendation on Trade Facilitation and MSMES contained in document INF/MSME/4  
3.34.   The delegate of Uruguay , in its capacity as Coordinator of the MSME Group, made the following 
statemen t: G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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3.35.   The purpose of including this item on the agenda is to highlight the recent adoption of the 
Recommendation on Trade Facilitation and MSMEs last December by the Informal Working Group 
(IWG) on MSMEs.  
3.36.   We are all aware that burdensome customs procedures are a key challenge faced by MSMEs. 
The 2016 World Trade Report showed that one of the main obstacles encountered by MSMEs 
interested in trade is the burden of customs and regulatory procedures. Bureaucra tic delays and 
"red tape " pose a burden for moving goods across borders. Trade facilitation – the simplification, 
modernization and harmonization of export and import processes - has therefore emerged as an 
important issue for the world trading system and particularly for MSMEs.  
3.37.   Acknowledging that the benefits of implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which 
entered into force in 2017, accrue particularly to MSMEs, Members of the IWG on MSMEs call for the 
full implementation of the TFA and invites WT O Members, the WTO Secretariat and donor 
organizations to work together in order to design and provide MSME -related capacity building and 
technical assistance. The recommendation also emphasizes the importance for MSMEs of the 
effective application of trad e facilitation disciplines that contribute to reducing transit times and 
costs, and calls upon the constructive cooperation between Members with a view to enhancing 
freedom of transit. Likewise, in view of speeding up customs procedures, Members will agree  to 
endeavour to identify opportunities to adopt digital solutions.  
3.38.   Furthermore, better supporting MSMEs through implementation of the TFA is of utmost 
importance to our Group. Our objective is not to advocate for changes to the TFA, but rather to 
explore good practices, engage with the private sector on the design of trade facilitation measures, 
and develop possible recommendations that could help promote MSME -friendly implementation of 
the Agreement – so that the TFA provisions are implemented by WTO Members in a way that takes 
into account the needs of MSMEs.  
3.39.   We will continue to highlight MSME -related considerations in Committee discussions into the 
future.  
3.40.   The delegate of Canada  indicated the following:  
3.41.   As our friend from Uruguay has pointed out, our pu rpose to include this item on the agenda 
today is to bring the attention of all TF Committee delegates to the recent and ongoing efforts of the 
Informal Working Group on MSMEs. Among the package of recommendations and declarations 
adopted by a number of the Group 's participants last December, the "Recommendation on Trade 
Facilitation and MSMEs " highlights certain aspects in the context of the Trade Facilitation Committee 
and our implementation of the Agreement.  
3.42.   I join Uruguay  in stating Canada 's belief tha t the benefits of the Trade Facilitation Agreement 
accrue particularly to MSMEs. In that context, the MSME Working Group saw value in exhorting all 
Members to do all that is possible to make the TFA a success in all our jurisdictions.  
3.43.   Our former Director -General,  Mr Roberto Azevêdo, highlighted the importance of this 
Committee 's work during his remarks on MSMEs Day in 2018. And his remarks continue to ring true 
today. For example, he argued that "[B]y streamlining, simplifying and standardising customs 
procedures the TFA will help to cut trade costs and alleviate administrative burdens. And because 
these costs and burdens weigh most heavily on MSMEs, they stand to benefit the most from their 
removal. " He also noted that "the new national trade facilitation committees can provide a useful 
line of communication for MSMEs to give their views on a range of trade facilitation issues. "  
3.44.   I recall that several of the experience sharing presentations the Committee has seen over the 
past couple years attest directly t o the value Members place on reaching out and including their 
MSMEs in their NTFC work. Finally, the D irector -General  observed in his remarks that the TF 
Committee provides a useful forum to raise MSME related issues and that there was "…huge energy 
behind this discussion – and huge interest as well, especially from the private sector. " 
3.45.    Once again, our discussion earlie r today reveals that continued interest from the private 
sector. So, please do have a look at the MSME Declaration and the TF related recommendations. We 
will continue to promote them in our work in this Committee.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  3.46.   The Committee took note  of the informatio n shared.  
3.47.   That concluded  agenda item 3. 
4  REQUEST FROM THE GLOBAL EXPRESS ASSOCIATION TO ADDRESS THE TRADE 
FACILITATION COMMITTEE  
4.1.  The meeting revert ed to formal mode . 
4.2.  The Chair recalled the request from the Global Express Association  (GEA, which represents 
DHL, FedEx and UPS)  to address the Trade Facilitation Committee . He went on to indicate the 
following:  
4.3.  The request was raised at the Committee meeting of 20 October 2020 . Following the Committee 
meeting, the GEA sent a letter to the Chair of the TF Committee outlining their request in more 
detail. This letter was circulated to the Committee on 9 December 2020.  
4.4.  It was agreed at the October 2020 meeting that the Chair would carry out consultations with 
the Committee in order to have an exchange of view s on how to engage with the private sector, 
taking into consideration that they were not part of the Annex D partner  organization s. 
4.5.  Accordingly, an informal meeting was convened on 13 January 2021 to hold a first consultation 
on the request. As had been pr oposed at the October meeting, the Secretariat outlined the practice 
in other Committees regarding their engagement with the private sector. There followed an 
exchange of views and it was my impression that that there was interest in the Committee to 
accom modate the request. There were different suggestions of how that might be done including 
through thematic sessions. There were also views expressed that the engagement should not be too 
narrow in focus regarding, for example, hearing the views of only one sector.  
4.6.  My conclusion at the end of the discussion was that further consultations were required in order 
to articulate more precisely such participation. Such consultations have not as yet been organized.  
4.7.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the fol lowing:  
4.8.  We support the participation of the private sector addressing the TF Committee. Associations 
like the GEA possess a global visibility of Members ' practices and unique perspective of the 
functioning of the TFA that Members lack.  
4.9.  We believe this type  of intervention by the private sector with regional and global perspective 
should be welcomed on an ongoing basis and ensures our Committee work is operationally effective.  
4.10.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
4.11.   The EU is very favoura ble to hearing business ' views on the implementation of the TFA  and 
hopes that the Committee will have further opportunities to hear from business and from a wider 
sector than the GEA. Perhaps it is good to start with one . Why not have GEA start with their  
presentation ? We hope that we get a broad  view from business regarding  the implementation of the 
TFA as well as their recommend ations. This would be a sort of reality check that would be very much 
welcomed. We took note that the WCO has regular possibilit ies to hear from business and maybe if 
the WCO would share with us how they proceed , particularly in terms of the type of associations 
that the WCO consult with so that the Committee  enlarge s the spectrum of business entities that 
may be welcomed to report  in an informal manner.  
4.12.   The delegate of Brazil  indicated the following : 
4.13.   We agree with the US and EU and support the request of GEA to address the TFC.  
4.14.   The delegate of Chinese Taipei  indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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4.15.   His delegation  also favours  the Committee hav ing a dialogue with business sectors. Their 
feedback on how the TFA is working will help Members deliberate the implementation of the TFA in 
the Committee. Therefore, we welcome the request from the Global Express Association to address 
the Committee in an  appropriate way that is acceptable to all Members.  
4.16.   The delegate of Turkey  indicated the following:  
4.17.   Turkey would like to support the idea of the private sector directly engaging with the 
Committee and would like to support GEA 's intervention in this regard . The p rivate sector 's input 
into the Committee would allow both private sector and policy makers to ensure that the TFA is 
implemented in a way that covers all parts of the global supply chain and different sectors within 
international trade.  
4.18.   The delegate  of Norway  indicated the following:  
4.19.   Norway already said in the informal discussion that we are very favourable to having the 
private sector also sharing experiences with the TFC. What strikes me is that whereas we are very 
clear in the TFA on our cooperati on with other international organizations, we left out the private 
sector as such . On the other hand, we have pointed in the Agreement to the need for each and every 
one of us to have consultations with the private sector and interested parties . In additio n, when 
each Member was crafting its NTFC the private sector was one of the parties which clearly had a role 
in it. So, we need to find an efficient way of opening up the Committee for more direct discussions 
with the private sector but not only with the G EA which represents three large companies . All other 
companies could be represented in some  way in discussions in the Committee , as well  other 
interested parties.  
4.20.   The delegat e of Singapore  indicated the following:  
4.21.   Singapore would like to support the request of GEA to address the Committee and generally  
is in support of greater engagement with the private sector.  
4.22.   The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
4.23.   Echoing what was said before, i t is important  to recognise the fundamental role that the 
private sector played in the development of the Trade Facilitation Agreement itself and, since then, 
in informing the discussions in capital and here in Geneva regarding its implementation, including 
through cont inued engagement within National Trade Facilitation Committees.  
4.24.   The United Kingdom has worked with business stakeholders in our own NTFC to find shared 
priorities for trade facilitation, particularly in light of the pandemic response. The voice of the priv ate 
sector has helped us as we delivered policy measures to ensure supply chain resilience over the 
course of what has been a very difficult year. 
4.25.   The United Kingdom accepts that there is a clear role for the private sector in our discussions 
but it is imp ortant to consider first who participates, how they participate , and on what matters they 
participate. There are useful precedents for this in other WTO Committees , which may or may not 
be appli ed in our situation . 
4.26.   We support further work taking place to d etermine best practice across other Committees 
before we take a decision on this matter.  
4.27.   The delegate of Japan  indicated the following:  
4.28.   We believe the importance of the role of the business sectors in the implementation of the 
TFA, and welcome its further participation.  
4.29.   The delegat e of South Africa  indicated the following:  
4.30.   We would like to know why agenda item 3, the request for GEA to address the Committee , is 
not put under "experience -sharing ". We would like to know if  when  they come to address the 
Commit tee will they then be put under experience -sharing rather them having an agenda item that G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  is a stand -alone because we believe they cannot make proposals to the WTO Members  - Members 
can make proposals . However, GEA can share their experience , which her del egation welcomes.  
4.31.   The Chair  indicated the following:  
4.32.   Right n ow, we are just discussing if we can invite GEA and if we do invite them, it will be 
under experience -sharing. Like other delegations said, it would under an informal setting . We heard 
comments that we might invite other private sector  entities  to participate as well , having to come 
back to the modalities . 
4.33.   The representative of the World Customs Organization  made the following presentation, at 
the request of the European Union:  
4.34.   The WCO w ould like to thank the EU for inviting us to comment on our Organization 's 
cooperation with the private sector.  The WCO has have a longstanding tradition of cooperation with 
the private sector through its working bodies ' structure. We have priv ate sector o bservers which are 
mainly associations that are observers in many of our committees and working bodies. This is not 
the case for all bodies. Working bodies, such as those enforcement -related bodies that deal with 
sensitive information, are closed for priva te sector participation.  
4.35.   The WCO also has in place for already 15 years its Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG), 
consisting of 27 Members from private sector associations and individual companies, covering 
diverse sectors and all six WCO regions. Some  of the current Members are the GEA, ICC, IATA, IRU 
and many  more. The role of the PSCG is to advise the WCO Secretary General, the Policy 
Commission, Council and other WCO bodies on cross -border trade related matters from a private 
sector perspective. The  PSCG played a critical role during the COVID -19 pandemic when it met on a 
weekly basis together with the WCO Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General and the 
Council Chair to share updates on issues occurring on the ground, which were then communic ated 
to the Customs community more widely, towards mitigating the disruptions at the borders.  
4.36.   The WCO stands ready to provide more information on this as and when required.  
4.37.   The Chair  said he underst ood that the Committee look ed positively on the GEA request and 
the question of how to invite them could probably be sorted out before the next committee meeting 
on 2 and 3 March.  
4.38.   If was so agreed . 
4.39.   This concluded  agenda item 4 . 
5  REVIEW OF THE OPERATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEME NT IN 
ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE  23.1.6 OF THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
5.1.  The Chair  recalled that Article  23.1.6 states that "The Committee shall review the operation 
and implementation of this Agreement four years from its entry into force, and periodicall y 
thereafter". The Trade Facilitation Agreement entered into force on 22 February 2017, therefore, the 
first review of the Agreement was required to be carried out this year.  
5.2.  He went on indicate the following:  
5.3.  Given the importance and significant of the TF A, particularly in this challenging period of 
COVID -19, this review is a first milestone in the Committee 's work to oversee the implementation 
of the Agreement. These first four years have allowed a significant period of time for the Agreement 
to mature to a certain degree. It has been a challenging period, in light of the complexities of the 
Agreement itself and in terms of the implementation of the Agreement utilizing the flexibilities 
provided in the Agreement for implementation by d eveloping and least developed countries. The 
four years have covered the majority of deadlines provided in the Agreement for the application of 
the flexibilities. There remain two implementation deadlines for least developed countries – 22 
February 2021 fo r indicative dates and 22 August 2022 for definitive dates for the implementation 
of category C provisions.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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5.4.  Therefore, I believe that the Committee is in a position to have a significant review of the 
operation and implementation of the Agreement this year . The first step in this exercise, in my 
opinion, is for the Committee to agree on the modality for the review.  
5.5.  The delegate of Nepal  on behalf of the LDC Group/Core Group indicated the following:  
5.6.  First, I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the Sec retariat and you for the brief overview 
of the periodic review of the operation and implementation of the Agreement as provisioned in the 
Article  23.1.6 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).  
5.7.  The TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, rel ease, and clearance of goods, 
including goods in transit.  
5.8.  It has rules of ensuring freedom of transit where governments are encouraged to improve 
transit of goods to other countries, including providing dedicated transit lanes, minimizing transit 
documenta tion requirements, and allowing advance filing for processing of documents.  
5.9.  It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.  
5.10.   It had been estimated that the full implementation of the TFA would reduce trade costs b y an 
average of 14.3%  and boost global trade by up to USD 1 trillion per year, with the biggest gains in 
the poorest countries.  
5.11.   While going through the implementation status of the Agreement, it makes clear that LDCs 
are only concentrated on and worried ab out fulfilling the TFA obligations rather than benefiting from 
it by effective implementation of the provision s. For instance, they have been facing various 
difficulties even to notify their different obligations of the Agreement and some LDCs have not even 
been able to notify their technical assistance requirement to implement the Category C measures.  
Hence, benefiting from the implementation of the Agreement as envisioned during the negotiation s 
seems far below the expectation and thinking of LDC Members at this moment.  
5.12.   Developed and some developing country Members have already implemented all the 
provisions of the Agreement. However, LDCs have not been able to harness possible benefits from 
the implementations of the TFA provisions in developed and develo ping country markets. This may 
be mainly due to their insufficient capacity. Our trade supportive institutions are not sufficiently 
capable to serve our business communities and exporters by disseminating relevant and sufficient 
information of destination markets.  
5.13.   Most LDCs are in the process of notifying the indicative and definitive dates of category C 
measures. Furthermore, effective implementation of category C measures has a strong connection 
with significant additional supports from our development pa rtners in terms of resource, 
technological, institutional , and human capacity building so as to strengthen and reconnect our 
domestic supply chain through development and utilization of ICT and e -commerce.  
5.14.   Hence, there is a long way to go until the effective implementation of the category C measures 
in most LDC Members.  
5.15.   Additionally, some importers in developed and developing markets may also have insufficient 
information about the benefit that goods from the LDCs have in market access. This indicate s a need 
for further interventions in raising awareness among importers in developed and developing 
countries of the needs of  the LDCs. Capacity constraints, technology constraints, and limited 
awareness, among others are hindering implementation of TFA in  most LDCs.  
5.16.   Additionally, landlocked least  developed countries have further difficulties, especially within 
their territory, to develop and maintain sufficient trade infrastructure including digital infrastructure, 
without which reforms at border administr ations may only facilitate import s rather than export and 
productivity.  
5.17.   Trade facilitation for LDC Members requires good integration of the entire domestic business 
with ICT system s and e -commerce so that the domestic supply chain could be made operational  and G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  linked with cross -border trade. On top of that, bridging a huge digital divide among and within the 
countries has become urgent in the current context of the COVID -19 pandemic.  
5.18.   In this context, the periodic review may need to cover all these aspects w here an evidence -
based assessment of different levels of benefits from the implementation of the TFA, gaps in 
harnessing potential benefits and possible way s out could be wisely laid down. Such benefit s may 
need to link with export competitiveness and prod uctivity enhancement of LDCs.  It would help carry 
out a fair judgement of the achievement s in comparison with the expected one s while concluding 
the TFA negotiation s. This would be highly supportive to ensuring need s-based additional supports 
in capacity b uilding in LDCs.  
5.19.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
5.20.   We are very gratified to be in the position to undertake the four -year review of the operation 
of the TFA. From our perspective, it 's been a rewarding four years, and we are encouraged by the 
cooperative atmosphere of the TF Committee and the successful operation of the unique approach 
of the TFA.  
5.21.   Over the past four years, we have had informative and helpful experience -sharing by a wide -
array of Members, guests, and observers.  We have had thoughtful interventions and reports on 
progress and metrics about how implementation has worked on the ground. We look forward to our 
work continuing and accelerating over the next four years.  
5.22.   Looking forward to this year, we have undertaken some initial discussions in Capital and with 
other Members about what is practical and possible as an outcome of our four -year review. Some of 
our initial thoughts include updating the standing items on the Committee agenda, as we initially 
proposed in Oct ober 2020, as well as thinking about the possible role and contribution of the private 
sector to the TF Committee, as we already discussed under the GEA agenda item. As we also 
communicated to the Committee in February 2020, we are interested in leveraging  the valuable 
experience sharing from the Committee into some concrete Committee recommendations and 
practices.  
5.23.   Finally, we are interested in exploring ways of discussing updated technical assistance needs 
as we prepare to plan for the next four to ten yea rs of assistance planning and commitment.  
5.24.   Starting discussions with Members early this year, and having regular meetings devoted to 
an outcome on the four -year review, will help us achieve an outcome at the end of the year we can 
present to Ministers.  
5.25.   We look forward to hearing other Members ' thoughts on the four -year review and areas of 
interest, and we st and ready to work with all Members . 
5.26.   The delegate of Norway  indicated the following:  
5.27.   I would like to give some preliminary views on the up -coming review.  The TFA entered into 
force on 22 February 2017 – we have in principle one month to get the review going.  
5.28.   Although we can make use of the experience of other committees ' reviews, it is important to 
reflect on what we want to review, as the wording o f Article  23.1.6 is relatively general.  
5.29.   Focus of the work for the first four years of operation of the TFA, both in the WTO and of each 
individual Member, has been the implementation of the Agreement  - putting in place National T rade 
Facilitation  Committee s, making sure commitments have been enforced and that plans and programs 
for implementation have been made and followed. A review should reflect this joint effort, where we 
were at the start and how far have we come. The building blocks we have for such a  review is each 
Article  and what we each have done to implement each one.  
5.30.   But implementation of commitments is only one part of the story. What have been the effects 
of our implementation? It would be useful to include in the review the economic benefits o f the 
Agreement. How trade costs have been reduced, what this has added to the global economy and to 
each of our countries . The WTO estimates , at entry into force were that if all WTO Members G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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implemented both commitments and best endeavours  obligations the  reductions in trade costs could 
on average be mo re than 14%, with an annual increase in global exports of 2 .7% and of global GDP 
of more than 0 .5%. The benefits for developing Members were supposed to be much greater than 
for developed Members. Should  we not get figures on the table from the WTO Secretariat, the OECD, 
UNCTAD and the World Bank to enlighten us and the general public on this ? 
5.31.   The operation of the Agreement could also include a review of what we have done within the 
TFC to increase our understanding of best practices, of implementation challenges and possibly of 
new problems. In that vein, it would be hard not to reflect this past year with the pandemic and the 
positive implications of trade facilitating procedures.  
5.32.   Norway looks forward to the review, based on informative submissions from all Members on 
their implementation. With facts in place, the review should also give us a good basis to improve 
the operation and implementation of the Agreement (perhaps through the formulation of cert ain 
recommendations).  
5.33.   The delegate of the United Kingdom  indicated the following:  
5.34.   The United Kingdom recognises the importance of the review mechanism in Article  23.1.6 in 
successfully driving forward the operation and implementation of the Trade Facilitat ion Agreement.  
5.35.   Ensuring the success of this Agreement is of great interest to other Committees within the 
WTO, observers , and of course Members of this Committee.  
5.36.   We would welcome further discussion in the immediate term to allow Members to design the 
process and set out the substantive items forming part of this review. We think it would be beneficial 
to work towards a one -year model for this review.  
5.37.   The review process should be Member -driven and, at the very least, cover core commitments 
from within the A greement, particularly those in Section 1 and the implementation of National Trade 
Facilitation Committees.  
5.38.   Consideration should be given to the inclusion of broader quantitative and qualitative analysis 
of the positive impacts of the implementation of the  Agreement on global trade facilitation, as well 
as who should provide that analysis.  
5.39.   In light of time constraints, the United Kingdom supports scheduling future meetings on this 
topic based on the assumption of continuing restrictions in light of the pand emic.  
5.40.   The delegate of Switzerland  indicated the following:  
5.41.   Switzerland welcomes this first opportunity to discuss the review of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement. At the outset, we would like to encourage all Members to come forward, share their 
views in a  constructive spirit , and contribute to make sure this review will be successful.  
5.42.   Since this is the first review of the Agreement, it will be particularly important to give enough 
time to Members to define the issues that should be discussed in this review . In this light, we 
encourage you, Chair, or your successor, to keep this item on the agenda for the next meeting, 
since Members may need some time to discuss and sort out their thoughts on what should be 
reviewed, before actually carrying out the review.  
5.43.   For Switzerland , first and foremost, the review should help us establish a clear picture of 
where  Members have come since the Agreement was signed, and the road ahead of us. As we know, 
implementation is still incomplete and this review provides an opportu nity to dig deeper and 
understand better the challenges that remain.  
5.44.   One aspect that sets the TFA apart from other WTO Agreements are the Special and 
Differential Treatment provisions. Switzerland would be particularly interested in reviewing this part 
of the Agreement and discuss its implementation and operation with Members.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  5.45.   Of course, we remain open to discuss other issues  and we support the items that have been 
brought forward by previous speakers . 
5.46.   The delegate of the European Union  indicated the following:  
5.47.   The EU welcomes previous speakers ' interventions. In fact, this is the first time we have a 
first tour de table of Members ' views on the scope and modalities of the review and implementation 
of this agreement. The EU is of the vie w that the process should be gradual with the objective to 
lead to a comprehensive and detailed and consensual report by the end of the year  
5.48.   The review objective in our view should be to give a comprehensive and realistic image of 
where we stand in terms of implementation of the Agreement four years after entry into force. And 
it would also be the opportunity to understand better how COVID -19 has impacted and continues to 
impact on operations of customs globally.  
5.49.   In order to  start the process  and following w hat Switzerland mentioned in particular , we are 
of the view that it would be very useful that developing countries and LDCs continue informing us 
about their needs for assistance . As well as the state of play of their implementation and the related 
implementation challenges. That would be very crucial. The Agreement provides for Members to 
address the problems that emerged during the review period so we will welcome Members ' 
suggestions in this area . 
5.50.   This exercise should al so be the opportunity to consider how we can improve our common 
work. The review could contain a formal aspect referring to the work done by the Committee . I know 
that different Members have expressed a very clear appreciation of the challenges that this 
innovative Agreement contains. We are also of the view , as other Members mentioned , to have a 
reality  check , as much as possible , as to implementation . If possible , we could have the views of 
business , with the modalities to be agreed within this Committee.  
5.51.   I think that the other issue we should mention , as has already been supported by other 
speakers , is that we probably need additional meetings this year to conclude our review . We stand 
ready to work with all the Members to achieve something satisfactory a nd which can highlight the 
benefits of the implementation of the Agreement and could be accessible to a wider audience.  
5.52.   The delegate of Cote d 'Ivoire  indicated the following:  
5.53.   Our delegation is pleased to see this item on the agenda and we would like to endorse the 
statement that was made by the representative of the LDCs. We believe that the two main items 
that the review would focus on – the implementation and functioning of the Agreement - are very 
important . With regard to the item on implementation, we need a lot of details about the measures 
to enable Members to properly identify the difficulties and challenges they ha ve encou ntered , 
especially the LDCs and developing count ries. Furthermore , the review should enable us to see what 
the benefits have been for developing countries and LDCs of implementing this Agreement . This is 
very important since developing countries and LDCs engaged in the negotiation and implementation 
of this Agreement because of the expected benefits in terms of the reduction of trade costs and the 
resulting trade gains. From this point of view, our delegation supports the statement to this effect 
made by Nepal on behalf of the LDCs . 
5.54.   The review should not  be superficial. We should have quantifiable, measurable  figures and 
statistics to identify what difficulties have been encountered by LDCs. We must be able to see if the 
commitments undertaken by the developed countries in terms of technical assistance  for developing 
countries and LDCs  have been respected. We ne ed to focus on work ing out in a clear way everything 
that should be included in the review to ensure that after its completion , we see an improvement in 
the implementation of the TFA .  
5.55.   The delegate of Chad indicated the following:  
5.56.   Chad endorses the statement made by Nepal on behalf of the LDCs  which clearly 
demonstrates the concerns and other problems encountered by developing countries  and LDCs . 
Thank you to the European Union for havin g carefully listened to the concerns of the developing and 
LDCs when it comes to the implementation of the TFA. This Agreement contains certain benefits with G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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regard to technical assistance which enables developing countries and LDCs to decide at which poin t 
they will implement the various provisions of the Agreement and to identify which provisions they 
cannot implement until they have received technical assistance and support t o reinforce capacity . 
The TFA special and differential treatment  provisions are very crucial for us and so this must be 
taken into account for LDCs and developing countries.  We also agree with Switzerland to keep this 
item on the agenda for the next meeting.  
5.57.   The delegate of Japan  asked the Secretariat or Members that any documents to be prepared 
for the review, if any, be circulated well in advance, so that Members can make good use of them.  
5.58.   The Chair propose d that while awaiting the selection of the Chair for the remaining period of 
2020-2021 term , he would hold consultations to see h ow best to conduct th e review. The Committee 
would revert to this issue at its next formal meeting.  
5.59.   It was so agreed . 
5.60.   The Committee took note  of the information and of the statements made.  
Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 Crisis (G/TFA/W/31/Rev. 1) – proposal by 
the European Union  
5.61.   The Chair reverted to the EU proposal "Sharing Experiences Related to the COVID -19 Crisis" 
(G/TFA/W/31/Rev.1). Following discussions that had taken place between the proponents and 
Members that had expressed concerns regarding the proposal, the Chair proposed that  a revised 
proposal would be circulated on 1 February and in the absence of any further comments, the proposal 
would be deemed to have been accepted by the Committee.  
5.62.   It was so agreed . 
5.63.   That concluded  agenda item 5. 
6  OTHER BUSINESS  
6.1.  The delegate of the United States  indicated the following  regarding "Supporting the Timely and 
Efficient Release of Global Goods Through Accelerated Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation 
Agreement " - Communication from Australia; Brazil; Colombia; European Union; Iceland; Japan; 
Norway; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; and the United 
States (G/TFA/W/25/Rev.2) . 
6.2.  On behalf of the co -sponsors , we are pleased to inform Members that Mexico and Thailand 
have joined the communication as co -sponsors. We welcome all Members to join the communication 
which supports the accelerated implementation, where possible, of the TFA. I welcome any Members 
with qu estions about this communication to please do not hesitate to contact me and I thank you 
for your attention this afternoon.  
6.3.  The delegate of the Republic of Korea  indicated the following:  
6.4.  The Republic of Korea is happy to co-sponsor this communication. Unde r the COVID -19 crisis , 
accelerating the implementation of the TFA  has great importance in terms of access to essential  
medical supplies . We would like to appreciate the US for this initiative and the Republic of Korea will 
continue to double its efforts to  implement the TFA.  
6.5.  The delegate of Brazil  indicated the following:  
6.6.  Brazil reiterates that it is committed to the full implementation of the TFA and takes this 
opportunity together with the other cosponsors to invite other Members to endorse the 
communicat ion supporting the timely and efficient release of global goods through accelerat ed 
implementation of the WTO TFA.  
6.7.  The delegate of Thailand  indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  6.8.  Thailand would like to thank the US for the initiative shown in the communication , and it is 
pleased to inform the meeting that we have joined as a cosponsor to the communication. We believe 
that the proposed action as stated in the communication can be an effective means for supporting 
the global COVID -19 response by ensuring the smooth and continuous trade in goods and facilitating 
the movement of essential goods and vaccines . 
6.9.  The delegate of Norway  indicated the following:  
6.10.   Norway is really happy to co -sponsor this communication. COVID -19 has brought to the 
forefront the positive impacts of trade facilitating  measures that limit physical, person to person 
contact, including through electronic payments and submission of documents through electronic 
means.  
6.11.   We want to address specifically one of the elements in our communication. An important trade 
facilitative measure which was focused on long before the WTO trade facilitation  negotiations , as 
well as during those negotiations , was the elimination of consular  transactions, also called 
legalization. Such elimination did not achieve consensus during the negotiations themselves, even 
though many Members pointed to the increased costs and delays, not least for SMEs, and for little 
or no real purpose other than as income for those Members that apply the legalization. With the 
pandemic, a new argument has arisen regarding the need to eliminate this practice and with the 
WTO focus on SMEs, an older argument has been reinforced because legalization particularly does 
hurt the small trade. So, we think that it is about time that we act upon this issue.  
6.12.   The delegate of Turkey  indicated the following:  
6.13.   Turkey would like to support the communication co -sponsored by several Member countries . 
6.14.   We agree that Article s contained wi thin the communication are important for realizing benefits 
of trade facilitation and helping Member countries to battle COVID -19 on customs procedures. 
Turkey would like to underline the importance of coordination and cooperation among all government 
agencies and between private sector stakeholders  in COVID -19 times . The TFA provides a great 
opportunity under  Article  8 and Article  23.2. Under Article 8, the c oncept of border agency 
cooperation allow s Members to coordinate better on their border controls and facilitation measures 
between government agencies. Article  23.2 brings the private sector into the picture and the COVID -
19 crisis showed us that well -functioning NCTFs are not only bodies for impl ementing trade 
facilitation reforms but also allow countries to overcome great crises in international supply chain s. 
6.15.   The delegate of Chinese Taipei  indicated the following:  
6.16.   As we know, the TFA plays a critical role in keeping goods moving across borders i n a smooth 
manner. The benefits of TFA implementation not only improve transparency and customs practice, 
but also becomes a crucial component of export opportunit ies. 
6.17.   It has been nearly four years since the TFA enter ed into force on 22 February 2017. Due to 
the COVID -19 pandemic, it gives us the opportunity to review the efficiency of implementation of 
the Agreement.  
6.18.   In this regard, we  would also like to thank the US and related cosponsors for their 
communication which offers views on how to continuously m ove the TFA forward under the current 
pandemic crises.  
6.19.   The delegate of South Africa  indicated the following:  
6.20.   Since this item has been raised under AOB, we will not read a statement but we just want to 
indicate that we do have issues that we would like to f ollow up on and we will try to contact our 
colleagues from the US or any other cosponsor and follow up with them.  
6.21.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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6.22.   I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Members who have intervened this afternoon  
in support of our efforts and , in particular , I would like to thank the Republic of Korea for its notice 
that it is also joining as a cosponsor . I look forward to following up with South Africa.  
e-Agenda  
6.23.   The Chair recall ed that at the October meeting of the Committee it was agreed to ask the 
Secretariat to make a presentation on current use of an eAgenda by a Committee. The Committee 
on Technical Barriers to Trade ha d an established practice of using an eAgenda. The Secreta riat 
made a presentation on  its use of the eAgenda.  
6.24.   The delegate of the Russian Federation  indicated the following:  
6.25.   Specific trade concern s (STCs) are the main focus  of the work of the TBT and SPS Committees. 
The agenda should be specifically tailored for each Committee. When we look at the agenda of the 
Committee on Trade Facilitation, we have different topics of discussion mainly on the review of 
notifications and e xperience sharing. Therefore, we consider that introduction of e -Agenda for the 
TFA is preliminary. We should come back to the topic of the e -Agenda when we will have trade 
concerns included into the charge of the Committee on Trade Facilitation.  
6.26.   The deleg ate of Canada  indicated the following:  
6.27.    I think the spread of eAgenda through the organization is a good thing. The take -up has been 
quite significant and helpful for Members . Speaking as a formal TBT delegate , the access to 
statements probably helps all o f us to become familiar with  the concerns raised within those 
committees. Re garding  the differences between the Committees, I agree  that t his is something we 
would need to take into account. The Market Access Committee will have a mock -up of an e -Agenda 
system which takes into account all of the Committee 's processes. The one aspect of the e -Agenda 
that seems to be most useful, at least from my perspective, is the advance notice of agenda items, 
be they STCs or notifications for review , or experience -sharing presentations , or even indications 
that Members wi ll be providing some experience -sharing at the next Committee meeting. The sooner 
we know about something happening the sooner we will be able to ask questions during the 
Committee , which enriches the discussion . Potentially , we can  provide our own experie nce-sharing 
by adding an agenda item ourselves to what is already there. Canada encourages the Secretariat to 
continue its work in this regard. I hope that the e -Agenda can be adapted to the needs of the TF 
Committee and look forward to being able to use t hat system in planning our meetings.  
6.28.   The Chair  said that he underst ood the e-Agenda  to be a transparency tool enabling delegates 
to see the points on the agenda . In this committee, STC s were not a big issue but the e-Agenda 
could be  useful for the TF  Commi ttee. 
6.29.   The delegate of the United States  indicated the following:  
6.30.   The US requests that if a Member wishes to add this item to the next committee meeting, 
that the Member do so given that this organization is a member -driven organization.  
6.31.   The delegation of t he European Union  indicated the following:  
6.32.   The issue was under AOB and we were not aware  of it. I nformally, this is a very interesting 
presentation. It is always useful to learn from other Committee 's functioning , even though t here are 
differences in the T BT and SPS committees ' work as was previously mentioned.  
6.33.   The delegate of Brazil indicated the following : 
6.34.   We do  not have a formal position. We believe that the e -Agenda is a good goal in the future . 
6.35.   The Chair proposed  that if a Member so request ed, the item would be put on the agenda of 
the next Committee meeting.  G/TFA/M/1 4 
 
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  Dates of meetings  
6.36.   The Chair  indicated the following:  
6.37.   You will recall that at the meeting of 20 October 2020, the following dates were identified for 
3 subsequent meetings of the Committee  in 2021: 2 and 3 March; 27 and 28 July; and 19 to 21 
October.  
6.38.   Based on the discussions held this morning and in light of the four-year review of the 
Agreement to be undertaken this year, it appears to me that there is quite an amount of work to be 
carried  out by the Committee. I therefore propose that the Committee hold an additional meeting in 
April and I can propose the dates of 22 and 23 April . There is also another slot for an additional July 
meeting but we can revert to that at a later stage.  
Invitati on to Annex D  partner organizations  
6.39.   Members agreed to invite the partners from the Annex D organizations, as well as the Global 
Alliance on Trade Facilitation, as observers to the next Committee meeting.  
6.40.   The Committee took note  of the information and of the statements made  under the agenda 
item. 
6.41.   That concluded  agenda item 6. 
6.42.   The mee ting was adjourned .  
 
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