G/TFA/W/41/Rev.5  
 
11 November 2021  
(21-8544) Page: 1/48 
Committee on Trade Facilitation    
 
 
FIRST REVIEW OF THE OPERATION AND IMPLEMENTATION  
OF THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
Revision1 
Contents  
 
1   INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
2   SECTION I OF THE TFA  ................................ ................................ ...............................  4 
A  FACTUAL  INFORMATION  ................................ ................................ .............................  4 
2.1   Notifications under Section I of the TFA  ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
2.2   Experience sharing exercise/thematic discussions  ................................ ..........................  8 
2.3   Written submissions by Members regarding Section I  ................................ ...................  12 
2.4   Experience sharing by Members on trade facilit ating measures taken to mitigate the  
COVID -19 Crisis  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  13 
2.5   Specific Trade Concerns ................................ ................................ ...........................  15 
Kazakhstan – Border Restrictions of Goods in Transit – Request from the Kyrgyz Republic 
(G/TFA/W/20; G/TFA/W/20/Corr.1; G/TFA/W/20/Add.1)  ................................ .....................  15 
2.6   Involvement of the private sector  ................................ ................................ .............  15 
B  MEMBERS' PROPOSALS UNDER SECTION I OF THE TFA UNDER CONSIDERATION  
BY THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  ................................ .............................  16 
3   SECTION II OF THE TFA  ................................ ................................ ...........................  17 
A  FACTUAL INFORMATION  ................................ ................................ ...........................  17 
3.1   Notifications under Section II of the TFA  ................................ ................................ .... 17 
3.1.1   Notifications by Members under Articles 15 and 16  ................................ ...................  18 
3.1.2   Status of Notifications under Articles 15 and 16  ................................ ........................  19 
3.1.3   Rate of implementation commitments  ................................ ................................ ..... 22 
3.1.4   Requests for extension of the deadline for the notification of definitive dates for  
category B measures by LDC Members  ................................ ................................ ..............  27 
3.1.5   Notifications on technical assistance and capacity building support for category C 
designations ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  28 
3.1.6   Notifications under Article 17  ................................ ................................ .................  30 
3.1.7   Notifications under Article 19 of the TFA  ................................ ................................ .. 31 
3.1.8   Notifications under Article 22 of the TFA  ................................ ................................ .. 32 
3.2   Experience sharing exercise/thematic discussions  ................................ ........................  32 
 
1 G/TFA/W/41/Rev.5 reflects the Committee's discussions during the Committee on Trade Facilitation's 
meeting 5 November 2021 and subsequent communications received from Members.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  3.3   Article 21:4: Dedicated Sessions  on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building  ...............  33 
3.4   Written submissions by Members regarding Section II  ................................ .................  35 
B  MEMBERS' PROPOSALS UNDER SECTION II OF THE TFA UNDER CONSIDERATION  
BY THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  ................................ .............................  35 
4   SECTION III OF THE TFA  ................................ ................................ ..........................  36 
A  FACTUAL INFORMATION  ................................ ................................ ...........................  36 
4.1   Ratifications  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  36 
4.2   Article 23 Institutional Arrangements  ................................ ................................ ........  37 
4.2.1   Article 23.1 Committee on Trade Facilitation  ................................ ............................  37 
4.2.2   Rules of procedure of the Committee on Trade Facilitation  ................................ .........  38 
4.2.3   Annual reports by the Committee to the Council for Trade in Goods  ............................  38 
4.2.4   Other business  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 39 
4.2.5   Article 23.2 National Committee on Trade Facilitation  ................................ ................  39 
4.3   Written submissions by Members regarding Section III  ................................ ................  40 
B  MEMBERS' PROPOSALS UNDER SECTION III OF THE TFA UNDER CONSIDERATION  
BY THE CTF  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  40 
5   REPORTS TO THE COMMITTEE BY THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
FACILITY AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS PLUS THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE ON TRADE 
FACILITATION ON THEIR ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT MEMBERS IN THE  
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TFA  ................................ ................................ .....................  41 
TFAF Operation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  42 
6   DATABASE AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENTS SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE  
TF COMMITTEE  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  43 
7   MEMBERS' GENERAL PROPOSALS  ................................ ................................ .............  43 
8   RECOMMENDATIONS AND DECISIONS RESULTING FROM THE REVIEW  ....................  44 
ANNEX 1  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  46 
ANNEX 2  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  47 
 
  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  The First Review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA, the Agreement, TF Agreement) is 
being carried out in 2021 in accordance with the mandate under Article 23.1.6 of the Agreement. 
Article 23.1.6 provides that "[t]he Committee shall review the operation and implementation of this 
Agreement four years from its entry into force, and periodically thereafter".  
1.2.  While the mandate in Article 23.1.6 stipulates that the review period starts from the entry into 
force of the Agreement, in order to capture all notifications submitted by Members, the notification 
data contained in this factual report covers the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 October 2021.  
1.3.  Otherwise, this report covers the period from 22  February 2017 to 31 October  2021.  
1.4.  At its meeting of 3 March 2021, the Committee on Trade Facilitation (TF Committee, 
Committee, TFC, CTF) adopted a calendar and procedure to undertake the First Review.2 A first draft 
factual section of the review, which provided information regarding the implementation and 
operation issues of the Agreement, as determined by Members during the review period, was 
circulated in document G/TFA/W/41. A number of written textual edits on the draft factual report, 
as well as new  proposals, were received from Members and were circulated in the G/TFA/W/ 
document series. These communications were incorporated in draft form into the draft Secretariat's 
factual report and this document formed the basis of the draft review and was circ ulated as document 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev.1. The Committee reviewed the document at its meetings of 20 July 2021 and 
22 September 2021. Following the September meeting, a further revision was circulated in 
document G/TFA/W/41/Rev.2 which was reviewed at a Committe e meeting that took place on 
13 October 2021. Following the Committee meeting of 19 –21 October, the Secretariat circulated 
document G/TFA/W/41/Rev.3, which reflected the outcome of the discussions at the 13 October and 
19-21 October meetings.    
1.5.  The draft review document is structured according to Sections I, II and III of the Agreement. 
It also includes quantitative information on the submitted notifications, a description of the thematic 
and experience sharing sessions, written submissions by Members and other issues relevant to each 
Section of the Agreement.  
1.6.  The TFA entered into force on 22 February 2017; developing Members and least -developed 
country Members have used the  flexibilities that this Agreement provides. By and large, Members 
concerned (except  a few that have not yet ratified the Agreement) notified their categorization of 
commitments in a timely manner. This is a remarkable achievement, given the very specific and 
new modalities of Section II of the Agreement. It is worth noting the specific c hallenges faced by 
LDC Members.3 Developing Members also notified the definitive deadlines for their category B and 
C commitments - while LDC Members have until 22 August 2022 to notify their definitive dates for 
implementation of their category C commitments. Based on the timelines noti fied by Members, at 
the time of the finalization of this report, about 70.5% of the provisions of the Agreement are 
implemented.  
1.7.  The next challenge that several Members stressed during the meetings is to find the 
appropriate means to review and monitor the  implementation of the commitments of category A, B 
and C that are already due for implementation (notably, but not only on transparency) and those 
that will be due in the years to come. To facilitate this monitoring of the commitments that are due 
this ye ar (2021) and next year, the WTO Secretariat has produced a document ( G/TFA/INF/1 ) that 
lists all definitive implementation dates until the end of 2022. It is understood that the WTO 
Secretariat will keep updating this documen t. 
 
 
 
 
2 G/TFA/1 . 
3 This is a placeholder for LDC Members to insert their input as suggested during the informal TFC 
meeting of 22 September 2021 and based on their contributions such as G/TFA/W/58 and G/TFA/W/59/Rev.1.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
Insert the following text:  
The COVID -19 pandemic has represented an unprecedented challenge for all Members' Customs 
procedures that had to be adjusted to ensure in particular a smooth flow of the goods that are 
essential to address the pandemic   that is still ongoing at the time of the finalization of this report. 
The EU proposal, submitted in December 2020 in document G/TFA/W/31, that the WTO Secretariat 
prepare a c ompendium of the measures presented by Members and International 0rganisations 
during the informal sharing of experiences on COVID, was endorsed by Members through a silent 
procedure on 9 April 2021, and with the mandate received in document G/TFA/W/31/Rev .4. 
The COVID -19 pandemic has represented an unprecedented challenge for all Members'  Customs 
procedures that had to be adjusted to ensure in particular  a smooth flow of essential /critical  goods. 
The pandemic in several instances led to  advancing the digitization of forms, certificates and 
documents  required for customs, it showed the importance of measures like reduction of fees and 
charges, e -payments, clearance procedures to facilitate trade, risk management, ease of transit,  
and high lighted the importance of cooperation among border agencies and between Members' 
customs , as well as the need for transparency regarding custom procedures and rules, tariffs and 
other trade measures be they temporary or permanent . These elements are only a n illustration of 
the many tools needed to cope with the crisis, which were presented by Members, international 
organisations and observers, who shared their experiences during the informal sessions of the TFC 
(see the compendium of measures – document G/TFA/W/40 /Rev.[x] ). One key finding, stressed 
by several Members  is that COVID -19 led to an acceleration of TFA implementation for a large 
number of Members ( see document series G/TFA/W/25),  and that the TFA implementation has 
become even more important to h elp Members address the challenges brought by this pandemic, 
as well as the needs arising from new means of trading (such as e -commerce)."  
G/TFA/W/65  and G/TFA/W/ 73 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Present comparative trade (export and import) data based on the different groups of Members 
such as developed, developing, LLDCs and LDCs from the year 2017 to 2020. This would be 
essential for the general understanding of the relation between TFA implementation and a global 
trade scenario in different groups of Member s. 
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 1 and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
Presenting comparative trade (export and import) data based on the different groups of Members  
such as developed, developing, LDCs and LLDCs from the year 2017 to 2020 would be helpful in 
providing general understanding of the relationship of TFA implement ation and global trade 
facilitated across different groups of Members.  
G/TFA/W/59/Rev.1 , para 2.6  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
2  SECTION I OF THE TFA  
A  FACTUAL INFORMATION  
2.1  Notifications under Section I of the TFA  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
The addition of a brief analysis of tables would further add value.  
G/TFA/W/59/Rev.1 , para. 2.2 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from Turkey  
The First Review Report of the Operation and Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement 
should include a "cumulative breakdown" section for all notifications made by Members with 
relation to all technical provisions of TFA. In doing so, the Report would show current 
implementation status of Section provisions at the end of first four -year period and would all ow 
Trade Facilitation Committee (TFC) to plan its work in the next four -year. Such information would 
also help realizing and scheduling technical assistance -capacity building missions more effectively.  
 
The information has been added in paragraph 3.9.  
G/TFA/W/62 , para. 2.1  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
2.1.  The TFA requires Members to notify the Committee of the following: the publication of 
information for governments and traders on import, export and transit procedures (Article 1.4); the 
details of operation of their single window (Article 10.4.3); the use of customs brokers 
(Article  10.6.2); and details of the contact point f or the exchange of customs information 
(Article  12.2.2).  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
Insert the following text:  
These obligations that are called "transparency obligations" under Article 1.4 de facto  have to be 
regularly updated for the parts of these provisions that consist in notifying the websites where 
information is - if/when websites of administrations or contact points change. Several developing 
and LDC Members have notified these commitments a s category A or as category B. Many 
developing and LDC Members have categorised these commitments as category C. Regarding LDC 
Members, the definitive date for implementing category C commitments is August 2022, but in 
some cases, Members accelerated imple mentation and notified.  
EU comment : Regarding LDC and LLDC Members, in this paragraph there may be room 
for adding specific lessons learnt as to the value and importance of transparency 
notifications and the challenges to do these notifications. LDC Member s could provide 
additional comments based on their contribution in document G/TFA/W/58, in 
particular.)  
At the time of finalising this report, the situation is as follows:  
EU comment: to insert a table or text, as Members prefer, and the Secretariat would  insert the 
latest figures available  
[x] Developing Members category A commitments for the provision 1.4 are to be notified  
[x] Developing Members category B commitments whose date passed for the provision 1.4 are to 
be notified  
[x] Developing Members cate gory A commitment for the provision 10.4.3 are to be notified  
[x] Developing Members category B commitments whose date passed for the provision 10.4.3 are 
to be notified  
[x] Developing Members category A commitments for the provision 10.6.2 are to be notif ied 
[x] Developing Members category B commitments whose date passed for the provision 1.0.6.2 
are to be notified  
[x] Developing Members category A commitment for the provision 12.2.2 to be notified  
[x] Developing Members category B commitments whose date p assed for the provision 12.2.2 
have to be notified  
It is worth noting that the CTF regularly reports to the CTG on the state of implementation of these 
above mentioned "transparency" notifications (C/L/223/Rev.28). In order to facilitate Members' 
review of  their commitments regarding these notifications, the Russian Federation proposed in 
document G/TFA/W/47 an initiative which is embodied in document G/TFA/W/47/Rev.1 following 
co-sponsorship by the EU.  
G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
 
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Chart 1: Status of Transparency Notifications by Article  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database  (http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
Chart 2: Status of Transparency Notifications by Article and Category  
 
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  2.2.  Chart 3 shows the number of notifications received per calendar year over the period from 
01 January 2016, (when the first transparency notification was made) to 31 October  2021.4 In total, 
257 transparency notifications were submitted  over this period.  
EU comment : The EU is of the view that such information may be confusing or misleading as 
what matters is what has been done compared to what Members committed to.  In addition, such 
a chart does not separate amendments and updates of notifications to new notifications. This 
comment also applies to Table 1 and Chart 2 below . 
G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Chart 3: Number of transparency notifications received per year  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
2.3.  The cumulative distribution of the transparency notifications submitted by Members is 
displayed in Table 1.  
Table 1: Cumulative break -down of transparency notifications submitted by percentage  
EU comment : See comment in paragraph 2.2 above.  
G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Article  Notification  Percentage  
Article 1.4  Publication of information for governments and traders on 
import, export and transit procedures  27% 
Article 10.4.3  Details of operation of the single window  22% 
Article 10.6.2  Use of customs brokers  26% 
Article 12.2.2  Contact point for the exchange of customs information  25% 
2.4.  Chart 4 shows the percentage of transparency notifications submitted per Member grouping 
per year.  
 
4 The data reflects t he total number of transparency notifications received, including notifications to 
update information previously submitted, and not the number of Members that submitted transparency 
notifications.  1 12 56 
49 81 
58 
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Chart 4: Percentage of transparency notifications received per Member grouping per year  
EU comment : See comment in paragraph 2.2 above.  
G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
2.5.  The information in Chart 4 reflects the implementa tion of the TFA by developed Members upon 
entry into force of the Agreement, and the implementation of the Agreement by developing Members 
and least developed country Members between 2017 and 2021 in accordance with their 
self-determined categorization and  deadlines. Consequently, the percentage of notifications received 
per Member per year reflects Members' self -determined dates for implementation of the 
transparency notifications.  
2.2  Experience sharing exercise/thematic discussions  
2.6.  The first experience -sharing exercise/thematic discussion took place during the fourth meeting 
of the Committee, held on 2 -3 May 2018. Thereafter, it remained as an agenda item for each 
subsequent Committee meeting. During the review period, a total of 14 experience -sharing exercises 
took place in relation to provisions under Section I of the TFA. The sharing of experiences by 
Members took various formats: thematic discussions, cross -cutting issues, and presentations on 
specific TFA provisions.  
2.7.  The COVID -19 pandemic prompted Members to intensify their experience sharing on this 
particular challenge that customs had to face during 2020 and most of 2021. The EU proposal that 
the WTO Secretariat prepare a compendium of the reported experiences was adopted. The 
compendium (document G/TFA/W/40/ Rev.[ 2]) is attached as Annex 1. 50%63%
4%46%57%
0%50%38%
86%49%31%
100%10%5%
12%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Developed Country Developing Member Least Developed CountryG/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
Section I should elaborate further about the impact of COVID -19 on implementation and measures 
taken to facilitate trade.  
G/TFA/W/59/Rev.1  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
2.8.  The experience -sharing sessions included the participation of the following international 
organizations, which comprise some of the so -called "Annex D+ partner organizations": the World 
Bank Group (WBG), World Customs Organization (WCO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation 
and Development (OECD ), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and 
the International Trade Centre (ITC). The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), a 
public -private partnership dedicated to international trade facilitation5, and the Standards Trade and 
Development Facility (STDF) a multi -partner initiative6, also participated in the experience -sharing 
sessions. The list of presentations is contained in Annex 2, Table 1.  
 
2.9.  In total , 29 Members shared their implementation experience with regard to six TFA articles as 
follows: Article 1: Publication and Availability of Information ( 5 Members); Article 2: Opportunity to 
Comment, Information Before Entry Into Force, And Consultations ( 3 Members); Article 3: Advance 
Rulings ( 6 Members); Articl e 7: Release and Clearance Of Goods ( 13 Members); Article 10: 
Formalities Connected With Importation, Exportation And Transit (10 Members); Article  11, and 
Freedom of Transit ( 2 Members). See Table 2. A number of Members also made presentations on 
cross-cutting issues, which are listed in Table 3.  
2.10.  Article 23.2 of the TFA requires each Member to establish and/or maintain a National 
Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) or designa te an existing mechanism to facilitate both 
domestic coordination and implementation of the provisions of the TFA. Seventeen Members took 
the opportunity to share with the Committee their experiences in both the development and 
operation of their NCTFs, ei ther through oral presentations or written submissions. Further details 
regarding experience -sharing on NCTFs are contained in section 4.2.5 of the report entitled "Article 
23.2 National Committee on Trade Facilitation".  
Table 2: Experience -sharing present ations and written communications by Members on 
Section I provisions  
Member  Title Committee 
meeting  Document 
Symbol  
Article 1: Publication and Availability of Information   
Ecuador  Publication and availability of 
information  (in Spanish only)  11 February 2020   
Eswatini, 
Kingdom of  Trade Facilitation Programme and 
Trade Facilitation Information Portal 
ETIP 20-22 October 2020   
Jamaica  Jamaica's Trade Information Portal  
Jamaica's Trade Facilitation 
Programme  15-16 October 2019   
Tajikistan  Implementation of the TFA measures  
Tajikistan trade portal video  22 -23 June 2021   
United States  Developing the Article 1.4 notification  25-26 June 2019  G/TFA/W/13  
Zambia  Launch of the Zambia Trade 
Information Portal   G/TFA/W/34  
Article 2: Other Measures to Enhance Impartiality, Non -discrimination 
and Transparency   
European Union  EU implementation of Article 2 of the 
TFA 26 June 2018   
 
5 The Global Alliance is led by the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Chamber 
of Commerce and the World Economic Forum, in cooperation with Gesellschaft für Internationale 
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It is currently funded by the gove rnments of the United States, Canada, Germany, 
Denmark and Australia.  
6 The STDF grew out of a joint communiqué issued by the Heads of FAO, OIE, WBG, WHO and WTO at 
the Doha Ministerial Conference in November 2001. It is hosted by the WTO Secretariat, supp orting increased 
capacity of developing Members  to implement international SPS standards, guidelines and recommendations.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Member  Title Committee 
meeting  Document 
Symbol  
Paraguay  Implementation of Article 2 of the TFA 
and update of progress on TFA 
implementation  19-21 October 2021   
United States  The Role of Notice and Comment and 
Related Administrative Procedures in 
Trade Facilitation Implementation  
GTFAW6  26 June 2018  G/TFA/W/6  
Article 3: Advance Rulings   
Australia  Australia Advance Rulings - 
Presentation  
GTFAW11 - Australia's experience 
with Advanced Rulings  12-13 February 
2019 G/TFA/W/11  
Bahrain, Kingdom 
of on behalf of 
Kingdom of 
Bahrain, State of 
Kuwait, Oman, 
Qatar, Kingdom 
of Saudi Arabia 
and United Arab 
Emirates  Experience with Advance rulings   G/TFA/W/61  
Japan  Advance Rulings - Japan's experience  12-13 February 
2019  
Madagascar  Madagascar's experience with 
implementation of Article 3 of the TFA 
and implementation of the e-Phyto 
solution  19-20 July 2021   
Singapore  Singapore - Advance Rulings  9-11 October 2018   
Ukraine  Advanced rulings  
Advanced rulings - key points  11 February 2020   
United States  Speaking points - The role of advance 
rulings and administrative procedures 
in TFA implementation  
GTFAW7 - The role of advance rulings 
and administrative procedures in TFA 
implementation  9-11 October 2018  G/TFA/W/7  
Article 5:  Other Measures to Enhance Impartiality, Non -Discrimination and Transparency  
United States  The role of second test procedures in 
trade facilitation   G/TFA/W/48  
Article 7: Release and Clearance of Goods   
Australia  Australia's Authorized Economic 
Operator (AEO) Program - Australian 
Trusted Trader GTFAW9  
Video: Australian Truste d Trader - an 
overview  9-11 October 2018  G/TFA/W/9  
Brazil Brazil's AEO programme  9-11 October  2018  
Time release study  22-23 March 2021  G/TFA/W/33  
Cambodia  Shifting Category C to B - Article 7.9 
Perishable goods  22-23 April 2021   
China  China's AEO programme  9-11 October  2018  
European Union  The EU Authorised Economic Operator 
AEO Programme  9-11 October 2018   
Guatemala  Guatemala's AEO programme - 
Presentación del programa de 
operador económico autorizado en 
Guatemala  9-11 October 2018   
Estudio de tiempos de despacho  20-22 October 2020   
Hong Kong, China  Implementation of the AEO 
Programme in  Hong Kong China  9-11 October 2018  G/TFA/W/8  
Korea, Republic of  Korea AEO programme  15-16 October 2019   
Sri Lanka  WCO Time Release Study - Sri 
Lanka's experience  11 February 2020   G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Member  Title Committee 
meeting  Document 
Symbol  
Tonga  Implementation of TFA Article 7.8 
expedited shipments for the 
importation of Covid -19 vaccine  19-21 October 2021   
United States  GTFAW21 - US Cargo time release 
study  phase two executive summary  11 February 2020  G/TFA/W/21  
Uruguay  GTFAW12 - Plazos medios de levante 
y programa de Operador Económico 
Autorizado en aplicación del AFC  25-26 June 2019  G/TFA/W/12  
Zambia  Authorised Economic Operators AEO - 
Customs Accredited Client 
Programme  9-11 October 2018   
Article 8: Border Agency Cooperation  
Chile, Ecuador, 
Costa Rica, 
Mexico, Paraguay, 
Uruguay  Border Agency Cooperation   G/TFA/W/22  
Article 10: Formalities Connected with Importation, Exportation and 
Transit   
Brazil  Single window implementation in 
Brazil  9-11 October 2018   
TFA implementation in Brazil through 
Public -Private Partnership   
China  Single Window in China  15-16 October 2019   
European Union  Special procedures processing and 
temporary admission  
Room document  12-13 February 
2019  
Kazakhstan  Implementation of the TFA using the 
example of single window for import 
and export operations  19-21 October 2021   
Korea, Republic of  Single Window in Kore a 9-11 October 2018   
Malaysia  ASEAN statement - Discussions on 
single window  9-11 October 2018   
Rwanda/  
UNCTAD  UNCTAD Compendium of Good 
Practices UNCTAD and Rwanda  15-16 October 2019   
Saudi Arabia, 
Kingdom of  Overview of Trade Facilitation 
Initiatives in Saudi Customs  9-11 October 2018   
The Separate 
Custom s Territory 
of Taiwan, 
Penghu, Kinmen 
and Matsu  CPT Single Window  15-16 October 2019   
Vanuatu  Vanuatu Electronic Single Window  19-21 October 2021   
Article 11: Freedom of Transit   
European Union  EU Customs Transit Procedures 
Including Arrangements with a 
Number of Neighbouring Countries 
Under the Common Transit 
Convention  
EU Non Paper - European Union 
Customs Transit including 
arrangements with neighbouring 
countries under the Common Transit 
Convention  2-3 May 2018   
Kyrgyz Republic  Provision on the national transit 
coordinator   G/TFA/W/16  
Mongolia  Provision on the national transit 
coordinator   G/TFA/W/18  
Switzerland  Implementation of National and 
International Transit Procedures  9-11 October 2018   
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Table 3: Experience -sharing presentations and written communications by Members on 
cross -cutting issues  
Member  Presentation  Committee 
Meeting  Document 
Symbol  
China  Approaches to Planning for Future Experience 
Sharing among Members  26 June 2018   
 Implementation of WTO TFA by China Customs  2-3 May 2018   
 Accelerated Implementation of the WTO Trade 
Facilitation Agreement Through China’s Smart 
Governance in Customs Ad ministration  
 
Explanation of powerpoint presentation  
G/TFA/W/44  22-23 June 2021  G/TFA/W/44  
Costa Rica  Costa Rica statement  11 February 2020   
Ecuador  Global Alliance cooperation to strengthen the 
implementation of the TFA with public -private 
participation  19-21 October 
2021  
El Salvador  Central American Trade Facilitation and 
Competitiveness Strategy with Emphasis on 
Coordinated Border Management (in Spanish only)    
Guatemala  Trade Facilitation Through a Regional Lens  26 June 2018   
Jordan  Elimination of the consularization requirement   G/TFA/W/23  
Moldova, 
Republic of  Moldova's Nat ional Action Plan on Trade 
Facilitation  2-3 May 2018   
Mongolia  Information on Articles 5.1, 5.3, 7.2, 9 and 10.5   G/TFA/W/32  
Morocco  Implementation of the TFA through a public -
private partnership  11 February 2020   
Multiple 
(United States 
and Norway)  Revisiting the need for global action to eliminate 
consularization requirements   G/TFA/W/38  
Nepal  Implementing the TFA – shifting 11 provisions 
from category C to category B  22-23 June 2021   
North 
Macedonia  Trade Facilitation Agreement Implementation - 
Some Practical Aspects  2-3 May 2018   
United States  G/TFA/W/19 - Communication from the United 
States - Sharing of experiences  11 February 2020  G/TFA/W/19  
Opportunities for MSMEs - Statement by The 
United States  
 
The Trade Facilitation Agreement: A World of 
Opportunities for MSMEs  22 April 2021 - 23 
April 2021   
 
2.3  Written submissions by Members regarding Section I  
2.11.  In addition to presentations, a number of Members also circulated their implementation 
experience through written submissions. Table 4 below compiles the list of written submissions from 
Members circulated in the G/TFA/W/ document series as part of the experience -sharing  exercise.  
Table 4: Written Submissions by Members regarding Section I  
Article  Member  Subject  Document Symbol  
Implementation of Section I of the TFA  
Article 1  United States  Developing the Article 1.4 notification  G/TFA/W/13  
Article 1  Zambia  Launch of the Zambia Trade 
Information Portal  G/TFA/W/34  
Articles 1 
and 2  United States  The role of "notice and comment" and 
related administrative procedures in 
trade facilitation implementation  G/TFA/W/6  
Article 3  Bahrain, Kingdom of on 
behalf of Kingdom of 
Bahrain, State of 
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, 
Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia and United Arab 
Emirates  Experience with Advance rulings  G/TFA/W/61  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 13 - 
 
  Article  Member  Subject  Document Symbol  
Article 3  Australia  Australia's experience with Advance 
rulings  G/TFA/W/11  
Article 3  United States  The role of advance rulings and 
administrative procedures in TFA 
implementation  G/TFA/W/7  
Article 5  United States  The role of second test procedures in 
trade facilitation  G/TFA/W/48  
Articles 5, 7, 
9 and 10  Mongolia  Information on Articles 5.1, 5.3, 7.2, 9 
and 10.5  G/TFA/W/32  
Article 7  Australia  Australia's Authorized Economic 
Operator (AEO): Australian Trusted 
Trader  G/TFA/W/9  
Article 7  Brazil  Time release study  G/TFA/W/33  
Article 7  Hong Kong, China  Implementation of the Authorised 
Economic Operator programme in Hong 
Kong, China  G/TFA/W/8  
Article 7  United States  US cargo time release study phase two 
executive summary  G/TFA/W/21  
Article 7  Uruguay  Plazos medios de levante y programa de 
Operador Económico Autorizado  G/TFA/W/12  
Article 8  Chile, Ecuador, Costa 
Rica, Mexico, 
Paraguay, Uruguay  Border Agency Cooperation  G/TFA/W/22  
Article 11  Kyrgyz Republic  Provision on the national transit 
coordinator  G/TFA/W/16  
Article 11  Mongolia  Provision on the national transit 
coordinator  G/TFA/W/18  
Other topics  
 Jordan  Elimination of the consularization 
requirement  G/TFA/W/23  
Multiple (United States 
and Norway)  Revisiting the need for global action to 
eliminate consularization requirements  G/TFA/W/38  
United States  MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium 
Enterprises)  
 Opportunities For 
MSMEs - Statement by 
The United States  
The Trade Facilitation 
Agreement: A World Of 
Opportunities For 
MSMEs  
 
2.4  Experience sharing by Members on trade facilitating measures taken to mitigate the 
COVID -19 Crisis7 
2.12.  Following the outbreak of the COVID -19 pandemic in 2020, the TF Committee held an informal 
Committee meeting on 30 September 2020 to provide an opportunity to Members to inform the 
Committee of trade facilitating measures that they had adopted in response to COVID -19. The 
meeting started with updates from the ITC, the WBG, the WCO, UNCTAD and GATF on their work in 
this area. The organizations presented their work under the following headings: ITC - "Continuing 
TACB during the times of pandemics - ITC experi ence"; WBG - "The World Bank Group response to 
trade facilitation during the COVID crisis "; WCO - "What Customs can do to mitigate the effects of 
the COVID -19 pandemic "; World Economic Forum (GATF) " COVID impact on trade facilitation – 
observations, challe nges and opportunities "; and UNCTAD " Easing global trade and transport during 
COVID -19". 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
 
As stated in para 1.7, and in accordance with the decision reached in the Trade Facilitation 
Commi ttee following an EU proposal that was agreed to by Members through a silent procedure 
 
7 A compendium document of the contributions of COVID -19 responses that the TFC Members and 
Observers have provided to the TFC is avai lable in document G/TFA/W/40 /Rev.[2]. The compendium also 
includes presentations made to the Committee by a number of Annex D+ partner organizations. Li nks to the 
presentations made by Members and Annex D+ partner organizations are included in the compendium.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 14 - 
 
  on 9 April 2021 (G/TFA/W/31/Rev.4), the Secretariat issued a compendium document of the 
contributions of COVID -19 responses that the Committee on Trade Facilitation Memb ers and 
Observers informally reported during the sessions on sharing of experiences. This document can 
be found in Annex 1.   
G/TFA/W/73  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
Insert the following text:  
Subsequently and as stated in paragraph 2.5, the WTO Secretariat has prepared a compendium 
(G/TFA/W/40/Rev.[x]) attached in annex [x]. It is a compilation of the  presentations that 
Members, international organizations and other o bservers made informally during these TFC 
meetings.  The measures are compiled  under the articles of the TFA that are reproduced under 
specific headings. When a measure does not relate to an Article of the TFA, it is called "other 
measure". It is important to recall that those measures are only some of the whole ranges of 
practices and rules that were adopted. The Articles of the TFA that have been most relevant to 
cope with the COVID -19 pandemic are: Article 1.4, (Transparency including availability of the 
measures on websites, information on measures that are duty reduction for example), Article 2 
(consultation with business), Article 5 (testing of goods in particular), Article 6 (fees and charges 
that were temporarily suppressed), Article 7 regarding e -payment, Article 7.3 risk management, 
clearance of goods, but also Authorized Economic Operators Article 7.4, Article 8 on border 
cooperation, Article 10 (digitization, simplification), Article 11 (transit), and Article 12 (contact 
points for customs cooperat ion. 
G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
2.13.  The following seven Members reported to the Committee on the trade facilitating measures 
that they had undertaken: the Dominican Republic; the European Union; Guatemala; Japan; Nepal 
(as a focal point of the Core Group on Trade Facilitation of the LDC Group); Switzerland; and the 
United States.  
 
2.14.  The Ottawa Group, which includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the European Union, Japan, 
Kenya, Republic of Korea , Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland, introduced a 
communication circulated in document G/TFA/W/24 which compiled the COVID -19 measures taken 
by its members. Brazil, Colombia and the United States , introduced a joint communication entit led 
"Supporting the Timely and Efficient Release of Global Goods Through Accelerated Implementation 
of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement" which was circulated in document G/TFA/W/25.  
2.15.  Members continued to share information on the trade facilitating measu res that they had 
taken to mitigate COVID -19 at the Committee meetings of 21 -22 October 2020, 
26-27 January  2021, 3 March 2021, 22 -23 April 2021, 22 -23 June 2021, and 19 -21 October 2021.  
2.16.  At the meeting of 21 -22 October 2020, the following Members informed the Committee of the 
trade facilitating measures that they had taken to mitigate COVID -19: the European Union 
"Paper -based proofs of Preferential Origin under Covid -19 crisis"; the US updated the Committee on 
the communication entitled "Supporting The Time ly And Efficient Release Of Global Goods Through 
Accelerated Implementation Of The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement" ( G/TFA/W/25 ); Paraguay 
"Ventanilla única del exportador – medidas en época de pandemia "; Nepal "Trade and Transit 
Facilitation – Nepal's experience; Canada "e -Longroom: an Emerging Digital Customs Strategy"; 
Afghanistan "Status and challenges of Trade Facilitation Agreement Implementation i n Afghanistan"; 
Mongolia "Implementation of the TFA by Mongolia"; Japan "Japan Customs' Response to COVID -19; 
the Dominican Republic " Medidas temporales adoptadas por la República Dominicana en respuesta 
al COVID -19", and India introduced its communication  entitled "Intimation to the Committee on 
Trade Facilitation about India's COVID -19 Trade Facilitation Measures" circulated in document 
G/TFA/W/26 .  Saint Lucia, The Netherlands, and the EU provided additional information.  
2.17.  At the meeting of 22 -23 April 2021, the following Members informed the Committee of the 
trade facilitating measures that they had taken to mitigate COVID -19: Cambodia "Mitigating 
COVID-19 – Article 10.4 Single Window"; and Turkey "Outcomes of Turkey's electronic customs 
procedures in line with TFA on international supply chains during the COVID -19 pandemic".  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 15 - 
 
  2.18.  At the meeting of 19 -21 October, Tonga informed the Committee of its experienc e in 
implementing A rticle 7.8 expedited shipments to facilitate the importation of COVID -19 Vaccine.  
2.19.  A number of Annex D+ partner organizations made presentations to the Committee during 
these meetings regarding the support that they were providing to Mem bers during the COVID -19 
pandemic. The presentations are listed in Annex 2, Table 2.  
2.5  Specific Trade Concerns  
Kazakhstan – Border Restrictions of Goods in Transit – Request from the Kyrgyz Republic 
(G/TFA/W/20; G/TFA/W/20/Corr.1; G/TFA/W/20/Add.1)  
2.20.  The Committee addressed one matter concerning a specific trade concern that was raised at 
its meeting of 11 February 2020.8 The Kyrgyz Republic raised a concern regarding Kazakhstan's 
treatment of its goods transiting to the Russian Federation. Kazakhstan con sidered that the issue 
should be addressed within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, to which they both are 
members.  
2.6  Involvement of the private sector  
2.21.  On 22 April 2021, at the margins of the meeting of the TFC, the Global Express Association 
(GEA), which represents DHL, FedEx and UPS, organized a webinar to which the Committee was 
invited.  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from China  
China suggests to delete the following item from the First Review of the Operation and 
Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Factual Report contained in document 
G/TFA/W/41:  
"2.6 Involvement of the private sector  
2.19 On 22 April 2021, at the margins of the meeting of the TFC, the Global Express Association 
(GEA), which represen ts DHL, FedEx and UPS, organized a webinar to which the Committee was 
invited."  
The subject of the report is the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. This particular 
activity is not an official activity of the Committee, and not covered by t he Agreement. So far, how 
the private sector can be involved in the committee is still under discussion by Members, so it has 
no relevance to the subject of the report.  
EU comment : Discussions in the CTF meeting of 22 September 2021 could lead to a 
merged text integrating comments made with the view to reach compromise.  
G/TFA/W/52  and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from Norw ay 
"Stakeholder consultations and engagement are important for the well -functioning of the 
Agreement within each member’s territory.  If and h How the private sector can be involved in 
the Trade facilitation Committee is still under discussion by Members. However, on 22 April 2021, 
at the margins of the meeting of the TFC, the Global Express Association (GEA), which represents 
DHL, FedEx and UPS, organized a webinar to which the Committee was invited."  
G/TFA/W/69  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
 
 
  
 
8 G/L/1375  and G/TFA/M/10 . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 16 - 
 
  B  MEMBERS' PROPOSALS UNDER SECTION I OF THE TFA  UNDER CONSIDERATION BY THE 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  
Proposed on chapeau text from the United Kingdom for this section  
The proposals under this section were submitted by Members during the first review of the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement.  At the time of concluding the review, consensus had not yet been 
reached by the Committee on the proposals included in this section. To allow for further 
conside ration and possible adoption of these proposals by the Committee, Section 8 of this report 
includes a decision that a standing agenda item will henceforth be added to the Trade Facilitation 
Committee agenda entitled “Follow -up to the four -year review ". 
G/TFA/W/ 71 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, the European Union, 
Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, North  Macedonia, 
Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen And Matsu, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and 
Uruguay.  
Supporting the timely and efficient release of global goods through accelerated implementation of 
the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
G/TFA/W/25/Rev.7  (Document series G/TFA/W/25 ) 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from Brazil, Costa Rica, European Union, Norway, Switzerlan d and the United 
States  
WTO Members should utilize the tools afforded to them in TFA Article 10.1 to review their trade 
requirements and minimize unnecessary and costly formalities, including consularization 
requirements. National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs) can look to the private sector as a 
critical and important first step in identifying needless bottlenecks. The private sector and 
Members have identified consularization requirements as one such bottleneck because it fails t o 
contribute to legitimate customs -related processes. Therefore, during this time of economic global 
crisis, we call on Members to eliminate consularization requirements to fulfil their TFA Article 10.1 
commitment to reduce and eliminated unnecessary and c ostly formalities.  
G/TFA/W/38/Rev.3  (Docume nt series G/TFA/W/38 ) 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from the Russian Federation  
Add the following text:  
"For the maintenance of transparency of Members' notifications of official places where information 
under Article 1 of TFA is published, the Secretariat shall annually monitor the operability of these 
places (links) related, namely, to the implementation of Article 1.4 of TFA, and circulate the 
request to appropriate Members to update this information where such links have been i dentified 
as broken."  
G/TFA/W/47/Rev.1  (24 September)  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from the European Union  
The reporting by the TFC to the Council on Trade in Goods on transparency measures could contain 
a column indicating for each Members if notified links are no longer working. This would complete 
the reporting and would draw the attention of the concerned Members on the need to update the  
links.  
EU comment : This prop osal could serve to  complement the Russian Federation/EU 
proposal, depending on the outcome of the discussions in the Committee on the 
document G/TFA/W/47/Rev.1.  
G/TFA/W/50 , para. 6 and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 17 - 
 
  Proposal from the European Union  
The EU suggests that when the private sector comments on TFA implementation, that they are 
invited to inform, to the extent possible, whether the transparency notifications are sufficient, as 
these notifications aim primarily to help SMEs and traders to comply wi th their obligations.  
EU comment : The US Brazil proposal on business engagement is more comprehensive 
and would make this proposal less pertinent if  the US Brazil document 
G/TFA/W/42/Rev.1 were adopted.  
G/TFA/W/50 , para. 7  and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from Brazil  
With the intention of improving the implementation of the provisions related to risk management, 
pre-arrival processing and customs cooperation, provid ed for in Articles  7.1, 7.3 and 12 of the 
Agreement on Trade Facilitation of the WTO, Brazil understands that a new approach is essential, 
one which encourages customs to implement the exchange, by electronic means, of information 
and data that are normall y provided to them by traders involved in foreign trade operations.  
Therefore, where permitted by the laws and regulations in force in each member, and within the 
available resources of their respective Customs administrations, and based on the bilateral 
agreements, we encourage those members that already have international agreements with this 
type of provision to consider the implementation of bilateral mechanisms for the advance 
electronic transmission of data from their export declarations and the autom atic and regular 
exchange of data on their imports and exports, for risk management purposes. Likewise, while 
there are no multilateral agreements in that regard, we encourage the other members to pursue 
this kind of bilateral agreements.  
G/TFA/W/51 /Rev.1  paras. 7-8 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
3  SECTION II OF THE TFA  
A  FACTUAL INFORMATION  
3.1  Notifications under Section II of the TFA  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
The addition of a brief analysis of tables would further add value.  
G/TFA/W/59 , para. 2.2  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
The information regularly presented during the TFC by the WTO Secretariat under the agenda item 
"1.2 Status of ratification and notification process, update by the WTO Secretariat" should be 
reflected and included in the report.  
The information that will be presented at the last TFC before the conclusion of the review should 
be used. This would facilitate an understanding of what has been achieved and what remains to 
be done, notably in the area of notifications and ratifi cation of the TFA.  
The WTO Secretariat could already include placeholders in the draft report, with appropriate 
references to the latest presentations made by the Secretariat at the last meetings of the TFC.  
Moreover, the achievement by almost all Members (except the four that have not yet ratified the 
Agreement) of categorizing their commitments should be highlighted.  
EU comment : The EU understood at the informal TFC meeting of 22 September that the 
WTO  Secretariat is going to provide a text. The EU is loo king forward to this input. 
Therefore, the EU does not propose a text.  
G/TFA/W/49 , paras. 7 -8 and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 18 - 
 
  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
Include a table in section 3 of the report on the number of LDC  Member  notifications under 
categories A, B, and C by article, with analysis of provisions most LDC  Members  have notified in 
the same category. This could give Members an idea of those articles LDC  Members  share in 
common within the relevant categories.  
G/TFA/W/59/ Rev.1 , para. 2.3 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
It could be useful to include in the factual report a separate section on LDC  Members  with a brief 
assessment of both challenges and achievements. The development of a section o n LDC  Members  
might have lessons learnt on what worked and existing gaps. This could assist in easily identifying 
the situation of the LDC  Members  in TFA implementation and areas for collaboration.  
G/TFA/W/59/ Rev.1 , para. 2.8 
Proposal under consideration  by the CTF  
 
3.1.1   Notifications by Members under Articles 15 and 16  
3.1.  Developing and least-developed  country Members invoking the special flexibilities contained in 
Section II of the TFA are required to notify the Committee in accordance with Articles 15 and 16 of 
the TFA. The timeline for notification obligations under Arti cles 15 and 16 is outlined in Table 45. 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
Include a table in section 3 of the report on the number of LDC  Member s notifications under 
categories A, B, and C by article, with analysis of provisions most LDC  Members  have notified in 
the same category. This could give Members an idea of those articles LDC  Members  share in 
common within the relevant categories. This coul d provide a sense  of the provisions different LDC  
Members  see as the most difficult or requiring assistance under category C.  
G/TFA/W/59/ Rev.1 , para. 2.3 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
Table 45: Timeline of Notification Obligations under Articles 15 and 16 of the TFA  
2017  
22 February  Developing Members  • Notify designations of categories A, B 
and/or C  
• Provide indicative implementation dates for 
category B and category C designations  
• Provide TACB requirements for category C 
designations  
2018  
22 February  Developing Members  • Provide definitive dates for category B 
designations  
• Provide information on arrangements 
entered with Donors on TACB for category 
C designations  
22 February  Least -developed  country Members  • Notify designations of categories A, B 
and/or C  
• May notify indicative implementation dates 
for category B designations  
22 February  Donor Members  • Provide information on arrangements 
entered with developing Members on TACB 
for category C designations  
2019  
22 February  Least -developed  country Members  • Provide TACB requirement for category C 
designations  
22 August  Developing Members  • Provide definitive implementation dates for 
category C designations  
• Inform of progress in TACB provision for 
category C designations  
22 Augu st Donor Members  • Inform of progress in TACB provision for 
category C designations of developing 
Members  
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 19 - 
 
  2020  
22 February  Least -developed  country Members  • Provide definitive dates for category B 
designations  
2021  
22 February  Least -developed  country Members  • Provide indicative dates for category C 
designations  
• Provide information on arrangements 
entered with Donors on TACB for category 
C designations  
22 February  Donor Members  • Provide information on arrangements 
entered with LDC Members on TACB for 
category C designations  
2022  
22 August  Least -developed  country Members  • Provide definitive dates for category C 
designations  
• Inform of progress in TACB provision for 
category C designations  
22 August  Donor Members  • Inform of progress in TACB provision for 
category C designations of LDC  Member s 
 
3.1.2   Status of Notifications under Articles 15 and 16  
3.2.  During the review period, a total of 125 Members - 90 developing Members and 35 least 
developed country Members - notified their category A B C designations. Out of the 125 Members, 
approximately 95% presented all of their category designations, approximat ely 2% presented some 
category designations while approximately 4% have not presented any designations. Table 56 
provides a breakdown of the numbers between developing Members and least developed country 
Members.  
Table 56: Category A B C Designations  
ABC D esignations  Overall  Developing  Members  LDC Member s 
Notification Timeline  22/02/2017  22/02/2018  
Number of developing 
and LDC Members  125 90 35 
Members that have 
presented ALL 
designations  119 95% 879 97% 3210 91% 
Members that have NOT 
presented ANY 
designations  4 4% 111 2% 312 9% 
Members that have 
presented SOME 
designations  2 2% 213 2% 0 0% 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
Note:  Information from the Secretariat report to the TFC during the meeting of 19-21 October 2021 . 
 
9 Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Kingdom of Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; 
Plurinational State of Bolivia; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cabo Verde;  Cameroon; Chile; China; 
Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Cote d'Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El 
Salvador; Kingdom of Eswatini; Fiji; Gabon; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; 
Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia ; Israel; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Republic of Korea; Kyrgyz 
Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritius; Mexico; Republic of Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; 
Morocco; Namibia; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Panama;  Papua New Guinea; 
Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; 
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Singapore; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Suriname; The Separate Customs 
Territory of Taiwan, Penghu , Kinmen and Matsu; Tajikistan; Thailand; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; 
Turkey; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Viet Nam; Zimbabwe.  
10 Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic,  
Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, 
Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, 
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, To go, Uganda, Zambia . 
11 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela . 
12 Guinea -Bissau, Haiti, Yemen . 
13 The State of Kuwait, Qatar . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 20 - 
 
  3.3.  Table 67 provides detailed information regarding the approximately 4% of Members that have 
not presented any category designations. The data reflects notifications of both indicative and 
definitive dates of implementation for categories B and C that remain outstan ding as of 
31 October  2021.  
Table 67: Notifications and expired deadlines under Articles 15 and 16  
Notifications and 
expired deadlines  Developing Members  Least -developed  
country Members  Total Outstanding 
Notifications  
ABC Designations  22/02/2017  22/02/2018  6 
3 3 
Category B indicative 
dates   22/02/2018  1 
1 
Category B definitive 
dates  22/02/2018  22/02/2020  8 
1 2 
Extension agreed to 
21/02/2021   5 
Category C indicative 
dates  22/08/2019   2 
2  
Category C definitive 
dates  22/02/2021  N/A14 3 
3  
Category C TA 
requirements  22/02/2017  22/02/2019  10 
4 6 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
Note:  Information from the Secretariat report to the TFC during the meeting of  19-21 October 2021 . 
Table 78: Forthcoming Notification Deadline under Article 16  
Notification  Deadline  Members  Notifications received 
by 31 Oct 2021  
Category C definitive 
dates  22/08/2022  Least -developed  country 
Members  [815] 
Source : Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
Note:  Information from the Secretariat report to the TFC during the meeting of 19-21 October 2021 . 
3.4.  During the per iod under review, much of the Committee's work was focused on the receipt of 
notifications submitted by Members under those two Articles.  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
Under the para 3.2, it would be appreciated if a summary of constraints and achievements of LDC  
Members  could be incorporated in the draft for a general understanding on the issues and 
challenges faced and lessons of what has worked to resolve challenges. The section could 
commence with the following drawn from our submission for the review G/TFA/W/58.  
Insert the following text:  
"The LDC Group has reported challenges and achievements so far in G/TFA/W/58 based on an 
internal survey that it devised and conducted. Based on the information received so far and 
information from the WTO Secretariat, most LDC  Members  completed notification obligations. In 
many cases, LDC  Members  are doing better than what was expected in terms of notifications. 
However, there are a number of LDC  Memb ers that require extensions of time as indicated in 
paragraph 3.7 of the factual report. However, effective implementation of all the measures notified 
under the category C measures by the LDC  Members  is important but challenging. Therefore, 
additional sup port from donor Members is desired in the areas of implementation of the measures 
identified under category C. The gaps in technical and financial support still exist.  
Initial problems were found in understanding the Agreement, which impacted the categoriz ation 
process, the establishment of the National Trade Facilitation Committee, as well as involvement 
of various relevant departments responsible for the corresponding provisions. Assistance from 
various institutions and partners as well as the organizatio n of the regular session on technical 
assistance and capacity building mechanism helped Members to overcome these challenges. 
 
14 Deadline for notification of category C definitive dates for Least -developed  country Members is 
22 August 2022.  
15 Angola, Benin, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia.  Central 
African Republic has notified some category C definitive dates.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 21 - 
 
  Moreover, for some, the process of gradually adapting the laws and procedures also contributed 
to understanding of the agreement. Provisions most difficult or easier to implement so far varied 
among Members but some provisions were common to a number of Members. Staff training and 
capacity building remain imperative for sustained implementation. Continuous reform and 
modernization of  customs administration, and cooperation among all stakeholders were also 
highlighted. For the support received by those who submitted responses, it is clear that different 
institutional and bilateral assistance were helpful. Methods used by some LDC Membe rs to resolve 
difficulties included workshops, interactions, and regular monitoring.  
Turning to the perceptions of LDC  Member  traders on the impact of the TFA, indeed improvements 
were cited in transparency of measures, automation, streamlined procedures, and cooperation 
among actors in the supply chain; operationalization of single window; and 24/7 operation of port 
services were also commended. On the other hand, LDC  Member  traders also noted some 
difficulties while interacting with some relevant agencies  in trade facilitation, which had not yet 
joined the single window. Similarly, SPS and TBT standards in markets abroad remained 
problematic; infrastructure problems such as condition of roads, ICT infrastructure, trade logistics, 
and transit problems, amon g others were also mentioned as constraints. Some desired 
improvements cited by LDC  Member s included:  
• The facilitation of LDC Member exports into other markets, transparency of rules in 
those markets, and the release of those goods in the destination marke ts are needed.  
• Problems are still faced in transit cases where Article 11.2 is yet to be observed and 
challenges remain on the release of LDC Member goods in other markets.  
• Reduction of non -tariff barriers including more transparent and supportive SPS and 
TBT measures of trading partners are expected.  
• Capacity constraints, technology constraints, and limited awareness, among others 
are hindering implementation of TFA in most LDC  Members . 
• The gaps in assistance are now much concentrated to implementation of category C 
provisions.  
• Effective implementation of those category C measures has a strong connection with 
significant additional support from development partners in terms of resource, 
technological, institutional and human capacity build ing. 
• In this context, donor Members are encouraged to extend additional support in 
implementation of category C provisions in the LDC  Member s mainly based on the 
technical assistance requirement notification and consultations in respective capitals.  
• Additi onally, landlocked least-developed country Members  have further difficulties, 
especially within their territory, to develop and maintain sufficient trade 
infrastructure including ICT infrastructure.  
• Trade facilitation for LDC Members requires bridging a hu ge digital gap and the 
connection of the entire domestic business with an ICT system and e -commerce and 
then linked with the cross -border trade."  
G/TFA/W/59/ Rev.1 , para. 2.5 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
3.5.  Chart 5 indicates that the highest number of notifications containing this information was 
received in 2019, followed by 2018. During the period under review, all but two Members16 submitted 
their definitive dates for implementation of category B designations and  C designations.  
 
16 Djibouti and Mauritania.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 22 - 
 
  Chart 5: Category A, B and C notifications per year  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
3.6.  Chart 6 shows the disaggregation of notifications by category. W hen the data is disaggregated 
by groupings, Chart 7 indicates that the share of items in category A is higher in developing 
Members , while LDC Members  have assigned more provisions in category C.  
Chart 6: Share of Categories, A, B, C  
Based on % of all notifiable article items  Chart 7: Share of Categories, A, B, C by 
grouping  
Based on % of all notifiable article items  
  
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
3.1.3   Rate of implementation commitments  
3.7.  Notifications by Members of their A, B, C categorization indicate that globally , the five measures 
with the highest rate of implementation commitments  are: pre -shipment inspection (Article 10.5); 
movement of goods (Article 9); detent ion (Article 5.2); use of customs brokers (Article 10.6); and, 
and temporary admission of goods (article 10.9). See Chart 8.  
3.8.  The five measures with the lowest rate of implementation commitments are: risk management 
(Article 7.4); border agency cooperation (Article 8); test procedures (Article 5.3); authorized 
operators (Article 7.7); and the single window (Article 10.4) See Chart 9. 
52
25 2676145160
74
39
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Total
 Category A
 Category B
 Category C
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 23 - 
 
  Chart 8: Top five measures with highest 
rate of implementation c ommitments  Chart 9: Bottom five measures with 
lowest rate of implementation 
commitments  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
3.9.  A breakdown of the rate of implementation commitments by Members for all measures is 
provided in the following charts. The current rate of implementation commitments of developing and 
LDC Members is reflected in Chart 10. The current rate of implementation  commitments by measures 
for developing Members only is reflected in Chart 11. Finally, the current rate of implementation 
commitments by measure for LDC Members is shown in Chart 12.  
  
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 24 - 
 
  Chart 10: Current rate of implementation commitments by measure (Deve loping and LDC 
Members)  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 25 - 
 
  Chart 11: Current rate of implementation commitments by measure (Developing 
Members)  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 26 - 
 
  Chart 12. Current rate of implementation commitments by measure (LDC Members)  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 27 - 
 
  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Add a table to reflect the number of LLDC Member notifications under categories A, B, and C on 
an article -by-article ba sis plus the common articles notified under each category. This may be 
relevant in identifying the most difficult provisions to implement in various LLDC Members' 
experience or those requiring assistance under category C.  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 1  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Add a t able to reflect the number of LLDC Member notifications under categories A, B, and C on 
an article -by-article basis plus the common articles notified under each category. This may be 
relevant in identifying the most difficult provisions to implement in var ious LLDC Members' 
experience or those requiring assistance under category C.  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 1  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
3.1.4   Requests for extension of the deadline for the notification of definitive dates for 
category  B measures by LDC Members  
3.10.  In 2020, nine LDC Members notified requests for an extension of the deadline for the 
notification of definitive dates for category B measures.17 Between 13 to 22 February 2020, seven 
LDC Members requested an extension. The Committee met on 20 February 2020 in order to make a 
decision before the 22 February 2020 deadline. Subsequently, the Committee received two further 
notifications of requests fo r extension on 21 February 2020 and the Committee held a second 
meeting on 28  February.18 The Committee agreed to all nine requests for an extension of the 
deadline.19 As of 31 October 2021, two of the nine requesting Members have not notified their 
defini tive dates for category B measures .20 
3.11.  The notification data for 2020 includes the requests for an extension.  
 
17 LDC Members may request the Committee to grant an extension of the deadline to subm it its 
definitive dates for category B under article 16:2 (b) of the TFA.  
18 The meetings of 20 and 28 February were convened under Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure for 
meetings of the General Council, which through its own rules of procedure, apply mutatis  mutandis to the TFC.  
19 Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Lao PDR, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Solomon 
Islands.  
20 Djibouti and Mauritania . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 28 - 
 
  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Insert the following text:  
"As of [31 October] 2021, the rate of implementation commitments of the TFA by LLDC Members 
stands at [xx] per cent. LLDC Members have been successful in the implementation of articles 
10.5 on preshipment inspection ([xx]%), 5.2 on detention ([xx]%), 9 on movement of goods 
([xx]%), 10. 6 on use of customs brokers ([xx]%), 10.9 on temporary admission of goods and 
inward and outward processing ([xx]%), 10.8 on rejected goods ([xx]%) and 10.7 on common 
border procedures ([xx]%) with implementation commitment rates above [xx] per cent.  
Howev er, articles 10.4 on single window ([xx]%), 5.3 on test procedures ([xx]%), 7.7 on 
authorized operators ([xx]%), 8 on border agency cooperation ([xx]%), 7.4 on risk management 
([xx]%), 1.3 on enquiry points ([xx]%), 7.8 on expedited shipments ([xx]%), 1.2 on information 
available through internet ([xx]%), 3 on advance rulings ([xx]%), 7.6 on average release times 
([xx]%) and 10.3 on use of international standards ([xx]%) lag behind in LLDC Members with 
implementation commitment rates below [xx]%.  
One of the  key provisions of the TFA for the LLDC Members is Article 11 on Freedom of Transit. 
Notifications on Article 11 show that LLDC Members are committed to have implemented [xx]% 
of obligations. [xx]% of Article 11 obligations are committed to be implemented after a transition 
period and a further [xx]% are committed to be implemented after the acquisition of capacity 
through technical assistance. In the case of the transit developing Members these figures are 
[xx]%, [xx]% and [xx]%, respectively."  
(See Table 1. Rate of Implementation Commitments by LLDC Members in document G/TFA/W/53 ) 
EU comment : EU notes the comments made during CTF the informal meeting 22 
September 2021.  
G/TFA/W/53 , paras. 2 i -ii, vi and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
3.1.5   Notifications on technical assistance and capacity building support for category C 
designations  
3.12.  Article 16 requires that Members provide three notifications regarding technical assistance 
and capacity building (TACB) for category C designations: notification by Members of TACB 
requirements for implementation of their category C designations; notification of information on 
arrangements entered into with Donors;  and notification of progress in TACB provision.  
3.13.  Over the review period, 85 Members notified the TACB support that was required in order to 
implement their category C designations, while 3 Members notified some of the TACB that they 
required. Taking into a ccount all notifications, the top three needs identified by Members were with 
respect to (1) human resources and training; (2) assistance in amending laws or regulations or 
implementing new ones; and (3) information and communication technologies (ICTs). S ee Chart  13. G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 29 - 
 
  Chart 13:  Type of technical assistance required  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Develop ing Countries  
Include a chart identifying the type of technical assistance required by LLDC Members to 
demonstrate a clear picture of LLDC Members' priority.  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 1  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Insert the following text:  
"LLDC Members have identified human resources and training, legislative and regulatory 
frameworks, and information and communication technologies, infrastructure and equipment, 
institutional procedures, awareness -raising, diagno stic and needs assessment as their primary 
concerns, in order of importance."  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 2 iii  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Least  Developed Countries  
Chart 8 represents the type of technical assistance required based on the notifications. It would 
be appreciated if LDC  Member  specific information could also be presented in th is Chart.  
G/TFA/W/59/ Rev.1 , para. 2.7 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
3.14.  Over the review period, notifications of information on arrangements entered into with donors 
plus notifications on progress made on TACB comprised six notifications from developing Members  
and 11 notifications from least-developed  country Members. See Tab le 89. 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 30 - 
 
  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Insert the following text:  
"[ ] LLDC Members have notified donor arrangements and technical assistance progress."  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 2 v  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
3.15.  In accordance with Article 16, donors are also required to submit a notification on  
arrangements and progress made with regard to TACB . There have been no notifications received 
from donor Members  during the period under review . 
Table 89: Number of donor arrangements and progress notifications received per year, 
per grouping  
Years  Developing Members  Least  Developed Country  
Members  
2019 1 1 
2020 4 1 
2021 1 9 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
Insert the following text:  
Not all members with category C commitments have notified aid received and/or identified gaps 
in capacity building needed to implement their category C commitme nts. 
G/TFA/W/70  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
 
3.1.6   Notifications under Article 17  
3.16.  In 2019, the Committee received four requests for the extension of definitive dates for 
implementation of category B and C commitments under Arti cle 17 of the TFA ("Early Warning 
Mechanism"). One request21 did not exceed 18 months. In line with Article  17.2 of the TFA, the 
requested extension was therefore automatically granted without any further action by the 
Committee.  
3.17.  Three requests22 were for an extension of implementation dates exceeding 18  months. These 
requests were considered by the Committee, as indicated in Article 17.4, and granted.  
3.18.  In 2020, the Committee received six requests for an extension of definitive dates for 
implementation of category B and C commitments . Requests submitted by four Members23 did not 
exceed 18 months. In line with Article  17.2 of the TFA, the requested extensions were therefore 
automatically granted without any further action by the Committee.  
3.19.  Requests from two Members24 for an extension to their implementation dates were submitted 
after the deadline set out in Article 17.1 of the TFA, which requires requests to be notified to the 
Committee no later than 120 days for developing Members  and 90 da ys for least-developed  countr y 
Members  before the expiration of the previously notified implementation date. There was no 
consensus in the Committee to approve the requests . In order to avoid repetition of such situations, 
the Committee was of the view tha t a tool such as the document G/TFA/INF/1  provided by the WTO 
Secretariat was of added value.  
 
21 Belize (G/TFA/N/BLZ/1/Add.1  and Corr.1 ).  
22Jamaica (G/TFA/N/JAM/1/Add.2 ), Kyrgyz Republic  (G/TFA/N/KGZ/2/Add.1  and Corr.1 ), Samoa  
(G/TFA/N/WSM/1/Add.1 ). 
23 Nicaragua ( G/TFA/N/NIC/1/Add.2 ), Pakistan ( G/TFA/N/PAK/1/Add.3 ), the Philippines 
(G/TFA/N/PHL/1/Add.1 ) and St. Kitts and Nevis  (G/TFA/N/KNA/1/Add.1 ). 
24 Bahrain ( G/TFA/N/BHR/1/Add.1 ) and Samoa ( G/TFA/N/WSM/1/Add.2 ). G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 31 - 
 
  3.20.  In 2021 , the Committee received 13 requests for an extension of definitive dates for 
implementation of category B and C commitments.  Eight25 did not exceed 18 months. In line with 
Article  17.2 of the TFA, the requested extensions were therefore automatically granted without any 
further action by the Committee. One request from a Member26 was for an extension of its 
implementation date exceeding 18 months. There were no objections from the Committee to this 
request.  
3.21.  In addition, the Committee reviewed four  requests from Members27 which did not adhere to 
the deadline set out in Article 17. 1. There was no consensus in the Committee to approve the 
requests.  
Table 910: Status of notifications under Article 17 – Extension of Implementation Dates  
Extension of 
Implementation Dates  Overall Membership  Developing Member s Least -Developed 
Country Member  
Number of Members that 
have requested 
extension of time of 
already notified definitive 
dates  21 21 - 
Number of Members that 
have shifted categories 
with extended definitive 
dates  5 5 - 
Number of extension 
requests received per 
measure  71 71 - 
Number of extension 
requests applied per 
measures  33 33 - 
Number of extension 
requests not applied per 
measure  21 21 - 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( https://tfadatabase.org/notifications/extension -of-
implementation -dates ). 
Note:  Information from the Secretariat report to the TFC during the meeting of 19-21 October 202 1. 
3.22.  A document tracking implementation dates from 1 May 2021 to 31 December 2022 was 
circulated in document G/TFA/INF/1  as a reminder to  Members  of upcoming implementation dates. 
This document will be updated on a n annual  basis until all notified implementation dates have 
passed.  
3.1.7   Notifications under Article 19 of the TFA  
Table 101: Status of Notifications Under Article 19 - Shifting of categories  
Category Shifts  Overall Membership  Developing Member s Least -Developed 
Country Member  
Members  
Number of Members that 
have shifted categories 
from B to C  17 7 10 
Number of Members that 
have shifted categories 
from C to B 19 14 5 
Number of Members that 
have shifted categories 5 5 0 
 
25 Botswana ( G/TFA/N/BWA/1/Add.2 ), Dominican Republic ( G/TFA/N/DOM/1/Add.2 ), Ecuador 
(G/TFA/N/ECU/1/Add.3 ), Maldives ( G/TFA/N/MDV/3/Add.1 ), Namibia ( G/TFA/N/NAM/1/Add.1 ), Saint Lucia 
(G/TFA/N/LCA/1/Add.2 ), Sri Lanka  (G/TFA/N/LKA/1/Add.2 ), and the United Arab Em irates 
(G/TFA/N/ARE/1/Add.1 ).  
26 Mongolia ( G/TFA/N/MNG/1/Add.1 ). 
27 Belize ( G/TFA/N/BLZ/1/Add.2 ), Peru ( G/TFA/N/PER/1/Add.1 ), Tonga ( G/TFA/N/TON/1/Add.3 ) and 
Ukraine ( G/TFA/N/UKR/1/Add.3 ). G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 32 - 
 
  Category Shifts  Overall Membership  Developing Member s Least -Developed 
Country Member  
with extended definitive 
dates  
Measures  
Number of measures 
shifted between 
categories  95 55 40 
Number of measures 
shifted from B to C  38 16 22 
Number of measures 
shifted from C to B  57 39 18 
Number of measures 
shifted with extended 
definitive dates  11 11 0 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( https://tfadatabase.org/category -shifts ). 
Note:  Information from the Secretariat report to the TFC during the meeting of 19-21 October 2021 . 
 
3.1.8   Notifications under Article 22 of the TFA  
3.23.  Article 22.1 and 22.2 of the TFA require donor Members to notify information regarding their 
technical assistance arrangements and the process and mechanisms to receive assistance. 
Article  22.3 requires beneficiary  Members to notify contact details with regard to technical 
assistance.  
3.24.  Over the period of the review, 17 donor Members submitted 46 notifications under Articles 
22.1 and 22.2. Fifty-one developing and LDC Members submitted  61 notifications under Article 2 2.3. 
Further details can be found on the Trade Facilitation Agreement Database . 
Table 112: Status of Notifications on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building under 
Article 22  
Article 22.1  Article 22.2  Article 22.3  
Notification of support for capacity 
building disbursed by Donor 
Members  Notification of process and 
mechanisms to obtain assistance 
from Donor Members  Notification of Contact points by 
Developing and Least -developed 
country Members  
17 11 51 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
Note:  Information from the Secretariat report to the TFC during the meeting of 19-21 October 2021 . 
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Insert the following text:  
"In relation to aid -for trade -flows to LLDC Members: since 2006, LLDC Members have received 
close to USD 85 billion in aid -for-trade disbursements. In 2019, LLDC Members, received 
disbursements of USD 7.7 billion, slightly less than in 2018 (USD 8.0 billion). Yet, at 17%, the 
share of Aid for Trade going to LLDC Members as compared to global disbursements has been 
relatively stable since 2017."  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 2 (iv)  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
3.2  Experience sharing exercise/thematic discussions  
3.25.  Over the period of the review, 31 Members have shared their experiences or made statements 
on matters under Section II relating to implementation of the TFA and/or issues concerning capacity 
building. These Members are Afghanistan; Brazil; Cambodia; China;  Colombia; Costa Rica; Egypt; 
El Salvador; Eswatini; European Union; Finland; Germany; Guatemala; Jamaica; Japan; Lao  PDR; 
Moldova; Mongolia; Nepal; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Paraguay; Rwanda; Saint  Lucia; Saint 
Vincent and the Grenadines; Spain; Swede n; United Kingdom; United States; Viet  Nam and Zambia.  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the European Union  
Insert the following text:  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 33 - 
 
  In its statements in the dedicated session on aid and in other meetings of the CTF, the EU has 
stressed th e importance of coordination of aid and that aid must be primarily addressed and 
discussed/organised in the concerned Member. The EU has stressed also that its programming of 
aid covers several years which should facilitate the coordination with other dono rs at Member 
level.  
G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
3.26.  Over the review period, a number of Annex D+ partner organizations regularly updated the 
Committee at its meetings of their work to support implementation of the Agreement by Members. 
In 202028 and in 202129 they provided their updates in a written report.  
3.27.  In addition, the GATF also made a number of presentations on their initiatives relative to TFA 
implementation at the meetings of 12 -13 February 2019; 25 June 2019; 20 -22 October 2020 ; 
22-23 April 2021 ; and 19-21 October 202 1. The presentations made by Anne x D+ partner 
organizations are listed in Annex 2, Table  2. 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Insert a summary of common issues and constraints of LLDC Members for the general 
understanding of the issues and challenges faced by such a group of countries.  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 3  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
3.3  Article 21:4: Dedicated Sessions on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building  
3.28.  Article 21.4 of the TFA provides that the Committee shall hold at least one dedicated session 
per year to: (a) discuss any problems regarding implementation of provisions of the TFA; (b) review 
progress in the provision of assistance and support for capacity building to support the 
implementation of the TFA, including any developing or LDC Members not receiving adequate 
assistance and support for capacity building; (c) share experiences an d information on ongoing 
assistance and support for capacity building and implementation programs, including challenges and 
successes; (d) review donor notifications as set forth in Article 22 of the TFA; and (e) review the 
operation of Article 21 of the T FA. 
3.29.  During the period under review four annual dedicated sessions have taken place. (See 
Table  123 for a list of presentations and statements made during these sessions, where available.) 
The first dedicated session was held on 3 May 2018. The United State s delivered presentations in 
connection with the subject matter under Article 21.4(a) and (b) of the TFA. With regard to 
Article  21.4(c) of the TFA, presentations and other contributions were made by Colombia; the 
European Union (including interventions by  Germany, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom on 
their bilateral programmes); the United States; and Viet Nam. Finally, Australia presented a donor 
notification as referenced under Article 21.4(d), and the United States intervened with respect to 
suppo rt for LDC Members as referenced under Article 21.4(e) of the TFA.  
3.30.  A second dedicated session was held on 16 October 2019. Following the structure of 
Article  21.4 of the TFA, the Chair organized the session by first inviting exchanges on any 
implementation  problems, a review of progress in the provisions of assistance and support for 
capacity building, and the sharing of experiences and information on ongoing assistance and support 
for capacity building and implementation programs. With regard to these issu es, the following 
Members made presentations or shared certain information: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cote d'Ivoire, 
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Lao PDR, Mauritius, Nigeria, 
Paraguay, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadine s, Samoa, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, 
Uruguay, and Zambia. In addition, Jamaica made a presentation on behalf of CARICOM, and Nepal 
intervened on behalf of the LDC Group.  
 
3.31.  Presentations pertaining to the review of donor notifications as set fo rth in Article 22 of 
the TFA were made by the European Union (including interventions by  Finland, the Netherlands, 
 
28 G/TFA/W/29 . 
29 G/TFA/W/39 and G/TFA/W/67 . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 34 - 
 
  Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom on their bilateral programmes). At the invitation of the 
European Union , the Committee also heard a con tribution from the WCO.  
3.32.  Summaries of these presentations can be found in the minutes for the 16 October 2019 
meeting as set out at pages 27 -45 of G/TFA/M /9.30 
3.33.  The third dedicated session was held on 22 October 2020. As during the second session, 
Committee Members were invited to exchange on several matters listed under Article 21.4 of 
the TFA, including any implementation problems, a review of progress in the provisions of assistance 
and support for capacity building, and the sharing of experiences and information on ongoing 
assistance and support for capacity building and implementation programs. With regard to these 
issues, the following Members made pres entations or shared certain information: Canada; China; 
Ecuador; Eswatini; the European Union; (including interventions by Finland; France; the 
Netherlands; Sweden on their bilateral programmes); Japan; Paraguay; and the United Kingdom. A 
presentation was also made by Saint Lucia on behalf of the  OECS.  
3.34.  Summaries of these presentations and contributions are provided in greater detail in the 
minutes for the 22 October 2020 meeting as set out at pages 27 -39 of G/TFA/M/13 .  
3.35.  Donor notifications under Article 22 of the TFA from Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United 
States were covered in the regular meeting of the Committee.31 "Recent and upcoming activities ", 
usually a standing item on the agenda of the regular Committee meetings, was covered in the 
dedicated session. T he Committee heard statements from Brazil, Nepal (on behalf of the LDC Group), 
the United  States, as well as a presentatio n by GATF, as set out in pages 39 -42 of G/TFA/M/13 . 
3.36.  The fourth dedicated session was held on 21 October 2021. During this session, Cambodia, 
the EU Commission plus four Member States (Finland, France, Netherlands and Sweden), Japan, and 
the UK, all took the floor. They were followed by the Annex D + partner organizations - Global Allian ce 
for Trade Facilitation, ITC, OECD, World Bank Group, WCO, and UNTAD – who reported on their work 
to support Members in their implementation of the TFA .32 
Table 1 23: Presentations by Members under the Dedicated Sessions  
Member  Title Committee 
meeting  
Cambodia  Implementation of category C provisions and the 
technical assistance and financial assistance needed  19-21 October 2021  
European Union  Statement by the European Union  15-16 October 2019  
Statement by the European Union  20-22 October 2020  
Statement by the European Union  19-21 October 2021  
Eswatini, Kingdom of  Trade Facilitation Programme and Trade Facilitation 
Information Portal ETIP  20-22 October 2020  
Finland  Finland statement  20-22 October 2020  
Finland statement  19-21 October 2021  
France  France statement  20-22 October 2020  
France statement  19-21 October 2021  
Germany  Ongoing Assistance and Support - Germany  2-3 May 2018  
Jamaica  CARICOMs implementation experience Jamaica on behalf 
of CARICOM  15-16 October 2019  
Japan  Japan statement  19-21 October 2021  
Lao People's Democratic 
Republic  Trade Facilitation in Lao - key achievements and 
challenges  15-16 October 2019  
Netherlands, The  The Netherlands statement  
The Netherlands statement  
Trade Facilitation, Digitalization and The Netherlands 
Trust Fund  20-22 October 2020  
19-21 October 2021  
19-21 October 2021  
Saint Lucia  OECS report  20-22 October 2020  
Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines  Presentation by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 
Trade Facilitation  15-16 Octob er 2019  
 
30 No presentations were made pertaining to the review and operation of Article 21:2 of the TFA.  
31 G/TFA/M/13 , pp. 15 -16. No presentations were made pertaining to the review and operation of 
Article  21:2 of the TFA.  
32 All presentations and statements ar e to be found on the WTO TFA database . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 35 - 
 
  Member  Title Committee 
meeting  
Spain  Technical assistance from Spain in the framework of the 
WCO MERCATOR Programme  15-16 October 2019  
Sweden  Ongoing Assistance and Support - Sweden  2-3 May 2018  
Sweden statement  20-22 October 2020  
Sweden statement  19-21 October 2021  
United Kingdom  Trade Facilitation UK Statement  15-16 October 2019  
UK Statement  19-21 October 2021  
United States  Trade Facilitation Agreement Notifications as Tools for 
Demand Driven Assistance Conversations  2-3 May 2018  
United States Approach to Trade Facilitation Assistance  
United States Department of Agriculture Trade 
Facilitation Agreement Related Technical Assistance  
Commercial Law Development Program – Contribution By 
The United States  
United States/  
Viet Nam Project Support for TFA implementation in Vietnam  2-3 May 2018  
Zambia  Support from cooperating partners and Zambia's 
achievements in the implementation of the TFA  15-16 October 2019  
3.4  Written submissions by Members regarding Section II  
3.37.  One Member, the United States, circulated a written submission in document G/TFA/W/15  in 
relation to Article s 16 and 24.  
B  MEMBERS' PROPOSALS UNDER SECTION II OF THE TFA  UNDER CONSIDERATION BY 
THE C OMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION  
 
Proposed text from the United Kingdom  
The proposals under this section were submitted by Members during the first review of the Trade  
Facilitation Agreement.  At the time of concluding the review, consensus had not yet been 
reached by the Committee on the proposals included in this section. To allow for further 
consideration and possible adoption of these proposals by the Committee, Sect ion 8 of this report 
includes a decision that a standing agenda item will henceforth be added to the Trade Facilitation 
Committee agenda entitled “Follow -up to the four -year review ". 
G/TFA/W/ 71 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 36 - 
 
  Proposal from Japan and the European Union  
Japan would like to propose the following two ideas for consideration in the Committee during 
the Review.  
First, in order to provide support for Members to better manage their implementation plans, we 
propose that  the Committee review the effectiveness of the list of definitive dates prepared by 
the WTO secretariat (G/TFA/INF/1) on a regular basis. The list aims to remind Members of their 
own definitive dates for category B and C so that those Members who face diff iculties in 
implementing category B or C provisions can take appropriate actions as stipulated in Articles 
17, 18 and 19 of the TFA. It is expected that the Committee could improve the list and the 
methods for circulating the list by reflecting feedback fr om Members in order for the list to further 
contribute to this purpose. We believe this would promote better self -management by Members 
of their own implementation status and allow adequate monitoring by the TFC.  
Second, we propose that the Committee recom mend the following practice for Members whose 
implementation dates have passed for their category B or C provisions. That is, on a voluntary 
basis and for informational purposes only, to: (i) confirm the passing of implementation dates 
in any form or repor ting (orally or in writing); and/or (ii) share their implementation experiences 
with the Committee while explicitly mentioning the provision they have implemented. Category 
B and Category C provisions shall be implemented on the definitive dates as notifie d by Members 
as per Article 16.5 of the Agreement. The Committee could encourage those Members who have 
implemented category B provisions in particular to take the actions above. It should be noted 
that this proposal never intends to modify the Members’ ob ligations under the TFA.  
In order to make these two proposals above effective and practical, we propose to set a new 
standing agenda item “Status of Definitive Date Implementation” after the existing agenda item 
“Status of Notifications and Ratifications”.  Under the new standing agenda item, Members can 
review the effectiveness of the list of definitive dates based on the report by the Secretariat and 
voluntary interventions by Members, if any, highlighting implementation of provisions.  
G/TFA/W/46/Rev.2  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from the European Union  
The EU would recommend that the respective Member seeking an extension presents information 
supporting its' request and provides additional feedback if requested by the Committee. This is 
particularly important for notifications under Article 17 (3) with the duration of the extension 
requested of more than 18 months.  
EU comment : The EU has clarified that this proposal is to be seen as an encouragement.  
G/TFA/W/50 , para. 8  and G/TFA/W/65  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
4  SECTION III OF THE TFA  
A  FACTUAL INFORMATION  
4.1  Ratifications33 
4.1.  During the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 October 2021, 154 Members ratified the 
Amendment Protocol to modify the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization 
and deposited their instruments of acceptance. As of 31 October 2021 , nine Members are yet to 
deposit their instruments of acceptance. See Chart 14. 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Insert the following text:  
"Out of 26 LLDCs that are members to WTO, all have ratified the TFA."  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 2(i)  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
33 While the issue of ratification is not included in Section III of the TFA, this information has been 
include d for the interest of Members.  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 37 - 
 
  Chart 14: Number of ratifications per year  
 
Source:  Trade Facilitation Agreement Database ( http://www.tfadatabase.org ). 
4.2  Article 23 Institutional Arrangements  
4.2.1   Article 23.1 Committee on Trade Facilitation  
4.2.  Following the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement on 22 February  2017, a 
Committee on Trade Facilitation was established in line with Article 23.1 of the Agreement.  
4.3.  At a meeting on 7 April 2017, the General Council (GC) took note of a statement by the Chair 
of the General Council, informing delegations of the consensus  on the appointment of Ambassador 
Daniel Blockert from Sweden as Chairperson of the TFC.  
4.4.  On 16 May 2017, the TFC held its inaugural session. The sole agenda item was the confirmation 
of the Chairperson -designate. Members formally elected Ambassador Blocker t (Sweden) as the first 
TFC Chair. Ambassador Blockert announced his intention to consult delegations on the Committee's 
rules of procedure and the organization of work. The TFC held two further meetings in 2017: on 
19 July and 3 November.  
4.5.  In 2018, the TFC  held three formal meetings: on 2 to 3 May ( G/TFA/M/4 ); on 26 June 
(G/TFA/M/5 ); and on 9 to 11 October ( G/TFA/M/6 ). The meeting of 2 and 3 May was chaired by 
Ambassador Daniel Blockert (Sweden) and the r emaining meetings were chaired by his successor, 
Ambassador Dalia Kadišiene (Lithuania), who was elected at the May meeting as Chair of the 
Committee for 2018.  
4.6.  In 2019, the TFC held three formal meetings: on 12 to 13 February ( G/TFA/M/7 ); on 25 to 
26 June ( G/TFA/M/8 ); and 15 to 16 October ( G/TFA/M/9 ). The meeting of 12 and 13 February was 
chaired by Ambassador Dalia Kadišiene and the remaining meetings were chaired by her succes sor 
Ambassador Mohammad Haqjo (Afghanistan) who was elected at the June meeting as Chair of the 
Committee for 2019.  
4.7.  In 2020, the TFC held four formal meetings: on 11 February ( G/TFA/M/10 ); on 20 February 
(G/TFA/M/11 ); on 28 February ( G/TFA/M/12 ) and on 20 to 22 October ( G/TFA/M/13 ). The TFC held 
an informal meeting on 30 September. The meetings of 11 , 20 and 28 of February were chaired by 
Ambassador Mohammad HAQJO. The remaining meetings were chaired by his successor Ambassador 
Katrina NAUT (Dominican Republic) who was elected on 30 July as Chair of the Committee for 2020. 
Ambassador Naut resigned as Chairperson in December 2020.  
4.8.  In 2021, during the period under review, the TFC held six formal meetings: 29 January 2021 
(G/TFA/M/14 ) ; 22 -23 March  2021 (G/TFA/M/15 ); 22-23 April 2021 (G/TFA/M/16 ); 22-23 June 2021 
G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 38 - 
 
  (G/TFA/M/17 )34, 27-28 July 2021 (G/TFA/M/18 )35, 19-21 October 2021 (G/TFA/M/19 )36.  The 
Committee held seven informal meetings during the year – 13 January, 26 February, 22 June, 
27 July, 22 September  and 13 October. The informal meetings from June to  October , inclusive,  were 
dedicated to the four -year review of the TFA. Following the departure of Ambassador Naut in 
December 2020, the TFC meeting of 29  January was chaired on an ad hoc  basis by the Chair of the 
Council for Trade in Goods (CTG), HE Mikael  Anzén (Sweden). Mr. Christopher O'Toole (Canada) was 
then selected on 5 February 2021 as Interim Chair of the TFC through silent procedure. Mr O'Toole 
was subsequently elected Chairperson of the Committee for the year 2021 -2022 on 30 July 2021, 
through written procedures.  
Table 1 34: Trade Facilitation Committee Meetings and Minutes 2017 to 2021  
TFC Meeting  Minutes  
16 May 2017  G/TFA/M/1  
19 July 2017  G/TFA/M/2  
3 November 2017  G/TFA/M/3  
2-3 May 2018  G/TFA/M/4  
26 June 2018  G/TFA/M/5  
9-11 October 2018  G/TFA/M/6  
12-13 February 2019  G/TFA/M/7  
25-26 June 2019  G/TFA/M/8  
15-16 October 2019  G/TFA/M/9  
11 February 2020  G/TFA/M/10  
20 February  2020 G/TFA/M/11  
28 February 2020  G/TFA/M/12  
20-22 October 2020  G/TFA/M/13  
29 January 2021  G/TFA/M/14  
22-23 March 2021  G/TFA/M/15  
22-23 April 2021  G/TFA/M/16  
22-23 June 2021  G/TFA/M/17  
27-28 July 2021  G/TFA/M/18  
19-21 October 2021  G/TFA/M/19  
 
4.2.2   Rules of procedure of the Committee on Trade Facilitation  
4.9.  At its meeting of 25 and 26 June 2019, Members finalized work on the Committee's rules of 
procedure and agreed to forward them to the Council for Trade in Goods for approval. At its meeting 
of 14 and 15 November 2019, the Council for Trade in Goods approved the Rules of Procedure for 
meetings of the Committee on Trade Facilitation37, consisting of the General Council's Rules of 
Procedure38 applied mutatis mutandis  with agreed modifications.  
4.2.3   Annual reports by the Committee to the Counci l for Trade in Goods  
4.10.  According to the "Procedures for an annual overview of WTO Activities and for reporting under 
the WTO" ( WT/L/105 ), which were adopte d by the General Council on 15 November 1995, all bodies 
constituted under Agreements in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement are required to submit an annual 
factual report to the Council for Trade in Goods, which is then to take note of these reports.  
4.11.  According ly, the Committee submitted annual reports to the Council for Trade in Goods 
from 2017 to 2021.39 
 
34 To be issued.  
35 To be issued.  
36 To be issued.  
37 G/C/M/1 36, item 4. The text of the Rules of Procedure can be found in G/L/1342. 
38 WT/L/161 . 
39 G/L/1201 ; G/L/1267 ; G/L/1329 ; G/L/1375 ; G/L/1416  and G/L/1416/Corr.1 . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 39 - 
 
  4.2.4   Other business  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from Ukraine  
Insert the following text:  
"At the Committee meeting of 12-13 February 2019, Ukraine raised the concern regarding a new 
transit restriction imposed by the Russian Federation on 29 December 2018 by government 
resolution No. 1716 -83. In particular, Ukraine indicated that goods originating from Ukraine had 
been subjected by the Russia n Federation to various import bans and transit restrictions for the 
last few years. The latest measures prohibited, inter alia, the importation into the Russian 
Federation of certain agricultural and industrial goods if such goods had been in transit thro ugh 
the territory of Ukraine. This meant that the measures also applied to products originating from 
other WTO Members. Ukraine considered such measure to be inconsistent with Article 11.4 of the 
Agreement on Trade Facilitation, as well as with Article V:6  of the GATT. Ukraine urged the Russian 
Federation to adhere to its commitments under the Trade Facilitation Agreement. "  
G/TFA/W/6 0 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
4.2.5   Article 23.2 National Committee on Trade Facilitation  
4.12.  Article 23.2 of the TFA requires each Memb er to establish and/or maintain a National 
Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) or designate an existing mechanism to facilitate both 
domestic coordination and implementation of the provisions of the TFA. Seventeen Members have 
taken the opportunity to s hare with the Committee their experiences in both the development and 
operation of their NCTFs, either through oral presentations or written submissions.  
4.13.   At its meeting of 2 -3 May 2018, three Members shared their experience regarding the 
functioning of t heir NCTFs as follows. Brazil; Turkey; and the United States. At the Committee 
meeting of 9 -11 October 2018, the Dominican Republic reported on the progress of its NCTF.  
4.14.  At its meeting of 12 -13 February 2019, five Members shared their experience with the 
establishment and operation of their NCTFs: Costa Rica; Pakistan; Paraguay; Thailand and Tonga. 
Sri Lanka made a presentation on the functioning of its NCTF at the meeting of 25 June 2019. At the 
meeting 15 -16 October 2019, five more Members reported on the ir NCTFs: Egypt; El Salvador; 
Norway; Montenegro; and Paraguay.  
4.15.  At its meeting of 11 February 2020, three Members shared experiences with their NCTFs: 
Chile; Ecuador; and India.  
4.16.  At its meeting of 19-21 October 2 021, Ecuador  shared its experience regarding its cooperation 
with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to strengthen Ecuador's implementation of the TFA 
with joint public -private partnership. Honduras shared its experience with their use of the Trade 
Facilitation Reform Tra cker developed by UNCTAD.  
Table 1 45: Experience -sharing by Members regarding NCTFs  
Member/Presenter  Title Committee 
meeting  
Brazil  National Committee on Trade Facilitation - CONFAC  2-3 May 2018  
Chile National Trade Facilitation Committee  (in Spanish)  11 February 2020   
Costa Rica  National Trade Facilitation Committee  (in Spanish)  12-13 February 2019  
Dominican Republic  Avances del Comité Nacional de Facilitación del Comercio  9-11 October 2018   
El Salvador  Advances in Trade Facilitation  (in Spanish)  15-16 October 2019  
Ecuador  National Trade Facilitation Committee - Video  11 February 2020   
Cooperation with the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation 
to strengthen the implementation of the TFA with joint 
public -private partnership  19-21 October 2021  
Honduras  The Trade Facilitation Reform Tracker - Presentation by 
Honduras  19-21 October 2021  
India National Committee on Trade Facilitation - India's 
Experience  
Summary of India's presentation  11 February 2020  
Montenegro  National Trade Facilitation Committee - Montenegro  15-16 October 2019  
Norway  The National Trade Facilitation Committee of Norway  15-16 October 2019  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 40 - 
 
  Member/Presenter  Title Committee 
meeting  
Pakistan  Pakistan - National Trade Facilitation Committee NCTF  12-13 February 2019  
Paraguay  National Trade Facilitation Committee in Spanish  12-13 February 2019  
National Committee on Trade Facilitation in Paraguay  15-16 October 2019  
Sri Lanka  Functioning of Sri Lanka's National Trade Facilitation 
Committee  25 June 2019  
Thailand  Thailand - National Committee on Trade Facilitation  12-13 February 2019  
Togo Togo's experience in French  12-13 February 2019  
Turkey  National Committee on Trade Facilitation - Experience of 
Turkey  2-3 May 2018  
United States  Structure and Role of the US National Trade Facilitation 
Committee G/TFA/W/5  2-3 May 2018  
Chile, Ecuador, Costa 
Rica, Mexico , Paraguay, 
Uruguay  Informe sobre el primer encuentro latinoamericano de los 
comités nacionales de facilitación del comercio - 
Montevideo Uruguay - Noviembre 2019  11 February 2020  
 
4.3  Written submissions by Members regarding Section III  
4.17.  One Member, the United States, submitted written submissions regarding Section III.  
Table 1 56: Written Submissions by Members regarding Section III  
Member  Title Document symbol  
United States  Communication from the United States regarding 
National Trade Facilitation Committees  G/TFA/W/19  
Structure and role of the US National Trade Facilitation 
Committee  G/TFA/W/5  
Proposal to update the WTO's Committee's Trade 
Facilitation meeting agenda as part of the four -year 
review of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation Article 
23.1.1.6  G/TFA/W/35  
Role of the Trade Facilitation Committee in the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement Facility  G/TFA/W/36  
 
B  MEMBERS' PROPOSALS UNDER SECTION III OF THE TFA  UNDER CONSIDERATION BY 
THE CTF  
Proposed text from the United Kingdom  
The proposals under this section were submitted by Members d uring the first review of the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement.  At the time of concluding the review, consensus had not yet been 
reached by the Committee on the proposals included in this section. To allow for further 
consideration and possible adoption of the se proposals by the Committee, Section 8 of this report 
includes a decision that a standing agenda item will henceforth be added to the Trade Facilitation 
Committee agenda entitled “Follow -up to the four -year review ". 
G/TFA/W/ 71 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
Proposal from Brazil and the United States  
Proposal to formalize engagement with the private sector:  
5. […] that the Committee convene informally, virtually or in hybrid format, on the margins of 
formal Committee meetings to hos t discussions with and presentations from the private sector to 
facilitate direct feedback regarding on -the-ground implementation of the TFA. The private sector 
organizations may present how implementation of specific provisions of the TFA has improved the  
private sector experience or identify areas of remaining challenges.  
5bis. In order to encourage participation from a wide variety of businesses and diversity of 
organizations, geographic locations, and perspectives, the Committee may consider in 
operatio nalizing this proposal as follows:  
A. Rotate the geographical location of active participants shall rotate at each informal 
meeting, for example, Europe, Central Asia, and Russia; Africa and the Middle East; Asia; 
and the Americas. Thus ensuring a focus on ea ch region of the world;  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 41 - 
 
  B. Allow for "silent -mode " participation of any interested private sector participant, outside 
the region in (A) in order to encourage new business connections;  
C. Encourage Members, as appropriate, to draw participants from its National  Trade 
Facilitation Committee; to that end, Members will be responsible for inviting and 
maintaining contact information for those participants;  
D. Encourage Members to put an emphasis on the participation of Micro, Small, and Medium -
sized Enterprises (MSMEs ), including any organizations that represent their interests; and  
E. The Committee may choose to focus on a particular topic(s) of interest in a region in 
order to solicit direct comments and feedback, and repeat or vary topics, or include no 
particular focu s on specific topics.  
6. The Committee may consider establishing a process to increase the efficiency of reviewing the 
many anticipated requests from the private sector to present at these informal sessions. We 
propose that any members of the private secto r submit to the Secretariat requests to present on 
a topic of interest that relates to TFA implementation. Submissions would be accepted throughout 
the year, and Members should consider reviewing and accepting requests on a rolling basis. The 
Committee wil l then invite members of the private sector with an approved topic to present to 
Members on the margins of a formal Committee meeting.  
7. Further to the objective of encouraging participation from a wide variety of businesses and 
diversity of organizations, geographic locations, and perspectives, the Secretariat shall:  
A. Maintain a registration sheet for participants to register to participate;  
B. Provide convening notices that can be broadly distributed to a diverse range of potential 
participants;  
C. Work with the IT staff to provide access to participants to those meetings for which they 
have been invited; and  
D. Provide, as possible, for meeting times that take into account maximum participation of 
the participants of the particular geographical locati on. 
G/TFA/W/42  and G/TFA/W/42/Rev.1 , paras. 5 .7 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
5  REPORTS TO THE COMMITTEE BY THE TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT FACILITY AND 
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS PLUS THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE ON TRADE FACILITATION ON 
THEIR ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT MEMBERS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TFA  
5.1.  The Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) provides regular reports on its activities to the 
Committee.40 These include updates on workshops and other events relating to trade facilitation 
matters organized with donors, partner organizations and representatives from the private sector. 
The Facility also reports on the grant program that offers project prepara tion and project 
implementation grants to assist Members in identifying and liaising with donors and with the 
implementation of category C measures as a contingency when no other assistance has been 
identified. The Facility further provides annual reports on its activities. These reports and all other 
information relating to its grant work, coordination efforts with the Annex D+ partner organizations 
and all other activities can be found on the TFAF website.41 
5.2.  During the review period TFAF made seven presen tations to the Committee. An information 
session was organized in the margins of the Committee meeting of 25 -26 June 2019 on the 
operational and administrative structure of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF). 
The session provided informati on on the origins, structure and membership of the STDF, its 
management, and its relationship with the WTO Secretariat.   
  
 
40 See G/L/1201 , G/L/1267, G/L/1329 , and G/L/1375 . The most recent reports by t he Facility to the 
Committee can be found at G/TFA/W/28  (20-21 October 2020 ), G/TFA/W/37  (22-23 April 2021)  ) and 
G/TFA/W/66  (19-21 October 2021).  
41 TFAF - Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility ( http://www.tfafacility.org ). G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 42 - 
 
  Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the United States  
 
The United States suggests inserting the following at the end of  paragraph 5.2:  
 
The STDF had been an important partner in developing the operational rules for the TFAF and 
the rules for the Facility grant program, which learned from the experience of the STDF.1 
______  
1 G/TFA/M/8 (text taken directly)  
G/TFA/W /72 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
5.3.  Annex D organizations (i.e., IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and WBG) are invited to and regularly 
attend Committee meetings. In addition, certain of these organizations have made presentations to 
the Committee  regarding th eir work in the area of trade facilitation . The ITC made presentations at 
the meetings of 22 -23 June 2021 and 19 -21 October 2021; OECD made presentations at the  
meetings of 26 June 2018 and 19 -21 October 2021.   
5.4.  UNCTAD made presentations  during the meetings of 15 -16 October 2019 (including a 
presentation with Rwanda); 3 March 2021, 22 -23 June 2021 (including a presentation with Vanuatu), 
and 19 -21 October (including a presentation with Honduras). T he WBG made a presentation during 
the mee ting of 19 -21 October 2021 and the WCO has share d information  during the meetings of 
11 February  2020, 26 -27 January 2021, 3 -4 March 2021 , 19-20 July  2021, and 19 -21 October 2021 .  
5.5.  In an informal session of the Committee held on 30 September 2020, UNCTAD, WCO and the 
WBG, along with the ITC, and GATF, each made presentations on matters relating to measures 
adopted in response to the COVID -19 situation.42 
5.6.  In addition, the Annex D+ partn er organizations provided report s that w ere circulated to the 
Committee in the context of the dedicated session s on technical assistance and capacity building 
that took place on 20 -22 October 202043 and 19 -21 October 202144. The Annex D partners and the 
ITC also provided a report to the Committee for the 22 -23 April 2021 meeting that , with respect to 
each organization , outlined their role in supporting implementation of the TFA, offered a brief 
description of upcoming assistance and activities, and describe d how Members could request 
assistance.45 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the United States  
 
A new sub -heading, as follows :  
 
TFAF Operation  
Since 2017, the Committee engaged in discussions to clarify the operational structure of the 
TFAF and intended interaction between the Committee, WTO Secretariat, and TFAF.1 At the 
Committee’s meeting of 9 -11 October 2018, the Committee considered an agenda item on the 
administrative separation between the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility and  the Committee 
on Trade Facilitation.2 At the Committee’s meeting of 25 -26 June 2019, the Committee requested 
TFAF address how it worked in line with the Paris and Busan principles.3 
The first TFAF Workplan was circulated in advance of the Committee’s meet ing of 20 -22 October 
2020. In response, Members raised concerns regarding TFAF grant program operation and 
representation of the Committee at international events.4 The US requested the TFAF continue 
to focus only on its grant programme, and not pursue oth er activities provided for in its 
operational guidelines including technical assistance, capacity -building and coordination with 
Annex D partner organizations.5  
In 2021, the Committee began discussions regarding TFAF guidelines which sought to further 
clarify who directs the activities and functions of TFAF as well as ensure transparency concerning 
proposed activities and grants. At the Committee meeting of 22 – 23 April 2021, the United 
States submitted a proposal calling for the Trade Facilitation Agreem ent Facility (TFAF) to fall 
 
42 https://tfadatabase.org/trade -facilitation -committee/meeting/2020 -09-30. 
43 G/TFA/W/29 . 
44 G/TFA/W/67 . 
45 G/TFA/W/39 . G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 43 - 
 
  under the purview and direction of the TF Committee as a means to ensure that Committee 
oversight, direction, and responsibility will provide transparency to the TFAF activities being 
undertaken, the funding of TFAF, and transpa rency to Member's assistance by TFAF.6 The 
Committee agreed at its meeting of 22 -23 April that the Chair would hold consultations in an 
effort to resolve the current moratorium on technical assistance elements of TFAF's activities.7 
The Chair held [78] rounds of consultations, four of which were open -ended format, and the 
remainder were small -group meetings. An on -line assistance activity request form for submission 
to the TFAF, and enhancements to transparency through a tracker dashboard were developed 
which offers Committee Members the ability to monitor the follow -up to these requests in real -
time. 
 
______________________  
1 G/TFA/M/2  
2 G/TFA/M/6  
3 G/TFA/M/8  
4 G/TFA/M/13  
5 G/TFA/W/64  
6 G/TFA/W/36  
7 G/TFA/W/64  
8 20 May, 9 June, 7 July, 28 July, 15 September, 1 October, 14 October.  
G/TFA/W 72 
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 
6  DATABASE AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENTS SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE TF 
COMMITTEE  
6.1.  A database – tfadatabase.org  – was created in response to a request expressed by Members 
in the TFC.  
6.2.  The database is publicly available in the three WTO official languages. It is a fact -based 
reference source for information on TFA  notifications which also provides analytical functionalities. 
It follows the evolution of the TFA and continually adapts to accommodate new notification data.  
6.3.  The Member profile pages provide a platform to view the notification status of an individual 
Member in depth as well as any information notified by Members. All notification documents and 
other submissions made by Members can be accessed on these pages.  
6.4.  The TFA database hosts a dedicated page of the TF Committee containing all the information 
provide d under the experience -sharing and thematic discussions in the Committee.  
6.5.  Government officials and traders can access all URLs and contact points as Members are 
required to notify under the TFA.  
6.6.  All technical assistance disbursements provided by Members ca n also be accessed on the TFA 
database.  
6.7.  The TFA Database automatically feeds data to three other websites, comprising the main WTO 
website, The Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) website and the Global Trade Helpdesk 
website.  
7  MEMBERS' GENERAL PROPOSALS  
7.1.  Recalling the discussions during this first review of the operation and implementation of the 
Trade Facilitation Agreement, the Committee notes that the recommendations contained in 
communication G/TFA/W/53 remain under considera tion by it.  
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
Incorporate into the report a separate section on LLDC Members with a brief assessment of both 
challenges and achievements.  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 1  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
- 44 - 
 
  8  RECOMMENDATIONS  AND DECISIONS RESULTING FR OM THE REVIEW  
8.1.  The Committee decides to add a standing item “Follow -up to the four -year review" to the Trade 
Facilitation Committee agenda.  
8.2.  That beneficiary Members with category C commitments organize meetings with donors in 
capital, to review the state of assistance a nd potential future needs. Beneficiary Members are invited 
to share the outcome of these meetings with the Trade Facilitation Committee by [xxx].  
Note : pending updated text.  
8.3.  The Secretariat will lead a process with Members to agree regularised agenda topic s for the 
dedicated session on assistance and capacity building, within the parameters of Article 21.4.  
8.4.  As part of this process, the following items will be discussed at every dedicated session 
henceforth:  
i. International and regional organisations and other  agencies supporting the implementation 
of the TFA are invited to provide a report on the activities that they have delivered in the 
preceding twelve months. This should provide details on which Members they are supporting, 
the TFA articles they are helpin g to implement, and reflections on challenges and successes 
to enable improved future capacity building support.  
ii. Members and organisations are invited to share experiences on where synergies between 
capacity building programmes have benefited implementatio n of the TFA and consider where 
further collaboration and cooperation (including on a regional level) might best support a 
future implementation of specific Articles.  
Note : Revised text received from the United Kingdom on 14 October.  
8.5.  Proposal to update the  WTO Committee's Trade Facilitation meeting agenda as part of the 
four-year review of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation:  
(1)  Remove "Review of Notifications Under Article 15 of the TFA" as a standing agenda item, 
recognizing that the Committee may r eview new Article 15 notifications on an ad hoc  basis; 
and 
(2)  Add a new standing agenda item for Members to provide updates on overdue Section I and 
Section II notifications.  
Note : pending drafting.   
8.6.  Even when physical participation in meetings resumes, Interprefy (or an alternative IT 
platform) allowing remote connection should be enabled for all WTO Members.  
Note : pending drafting.  
 
8.7.  The EU recalls the Rules of procedure of the TFC and that a list of the items proposed for the 
agenda of the mee ting shall be communicated to Members not less than ten calendar days prior to 
the date set for the meeting. Otherwise, no meaningful review can take place. We understand that 
in some cases, it is difficult to meet those deadlines, but for substantial noti fications Members cannot 
provide meaningful comments if the notification has not been circulated sufficiently in advance.  
EU comment : This could be stated as an encouragement as was discussed at the CTF 
meeting on 22 September 2021.  
Note : pending drafting.  
Proposal from Turkey and the United States  
8.8.  Proposal to draft a consensus document that contains good practices and building blocks of 
successful NTFCs, and identifies a minimum of three concrete elements that all Members agree are G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  essential for i mplementing a successful NTFC: full government agency participation, clear leadership 
with political imperatives, and strong links to the private sector.  
Note : pending drafting.  
 
8.9.  WTO Members are responsible for  the maintenance of their transparency notific ations. 
Regarding the official places where information under Article 1 of TFA is published, the Secretariat 
shall annually check the operability of the related weblinks, namely, those related to the 
implementation of Article 1.4 of TFA, and request the re levant Members to update the links that are 
identified as broken.  
Note : to follow up on text reflecting past practice of Secretariat.  
 
 
Proposed textual edit to the factual report from the Landlocked Developing Countries  
LLDC group suggests that the following recommendations are included in the report:  
• Urge Members to continue to provide technical, financial and capacity building assistance to 
LLDC Members on a sustainable basis, with a view to the effective implementation of the 
Agreement;  
• Call for the constructive cooperation of transit Members for the early and effective 
implementation of disciplines that will contribute to reducing transit time and costs, simplify 
procedures and introduce greater certainty in cross -border trade;  
• Recognise the severe negative impacts for the progress of post -COVID -19 recovery and 
resilience building efforts of the LLDC Members;  
• Considering the importance of international trade to LLDC Members, addressing trade related 
challenges faced by LLDC Members and buildin g their trade capacities is fundamental for 
mitigating the impact of the pandemic and in building back better post -COVID -19. In this 
sense, the Aid4Trade support to LLDC Members is therefore fundamental to addressing the 
impact of COVID -19 and in supportin g their post - COVID -19 recovery efforts;  
• Call on donors and development partners to pay more attention to LLDCs in granting 
technical assistance, especially for the implementation of articles which lag behind;  
• Encourage LLDC Members to notify donor arrange ments and technical assistance progress;  
• Encourage LLDC Members and Transit Members to nominate their National Transit 
Coordinator and inform the Committee;  
• Encourage further cooperation between National Trade Facilitation Committees, sharing best 
practices and experiences, in particular between LLDC Member NTFCs and transit Member 
NTFCs.  
G/TFA/W/53 , para. 4  
Proposal under consideration by the CTF  
 G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  ANNEX  1 
COMPENDIUM  
SHARING EXPERIENCES RELATED TO THE COVID -19 CRISIS AS OF 1 JULY 2021  
G/TFA/W/40/Rev.[ 2] 
 
 
  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  ANNEX  2 
Table 1: Information -Sharing by Annex D+ partner organizations on their activities  
Member/Presenter  Title Committee Meeting  
Annex D+ Partner Organizations  Report by the Annex D+ partner 
organizations to the Trade 
Facilitation Committee  
G/TFA/W/29  20-22 October 2020  
Report by the ITC and the Annex D 
partner organizations to the Trade 
Facilitation Committee   
(G/TFA/W/39)  22-23 April 2021  
GATF  Update on activities of the Global 
Alliance for Trade Facilitation  12-13 February 2019  
Global Alliance for Trade 
Facilitation  25 June 2019  
Update from the Global Alliance for 
Trade Facilitation  15 October 2019  
Global Alliance for Trade 
Facilitation update  11 February 2020  
Global Alliance for Trade 
Facilitation presentation  20-22 October 2020  
Building tr ust through public -
private partnerships for trade 
facilitation  22-23 April 2021  
Capacity building support  19-21 October 2021  
OECD  Summary of Events on Trade 
Facilitation and Future Trade 
Cooperation  26 June 2018  
Trade facilitation analysis at the 
OECD: Mapping opportunities and 
challenges in the implementation 
of the WTO TFA  19-21 October 2021  
STDF  Driving safe trade solutions 
worldwide STDFs role  25 June 2019  
UNCTAD  UNCTAD tools for NTFCs  3 March 2021  
UNCTAD's Reform Tracker  19-21 October 2021  
UNCTAD and Rwanda  UNCTAD Compendium of Good 
Practices UNCTAD and Rwanda  15 October 2019  
UNCTAD and Vanuatu  Vanuatu's experience with 
implementation of customs 
automation and single window – 
ASYCUDA programme  22-23 June 2021  
UNCTAD and Honduras  Reform tracker for NCTFs  19-21 October 2021  
WCO WCO statement  11 February 2020  
Tracking progress on 
implementation of WCO’s 
standards, instruments and trade 
facilitation measures  19-20 July 2021  
2021 WCO survey results on the 
state of play in the area of NCTFs  19-21 October 2021  
 
Table 2: Information -Sharing by Annex D+ partner organizations on their work to 
support Members to mitigate the COVID -19 crisis  
Member/Presenter  Title Committee Meeting  
GATF  Global Alliance – COVID -19 impact on 
Trade Facilitation  30 September 2020  
ITC ITC - Coping with COVID -19 through 
trade facilitation  30 September 2020  
UNCTAD  UNCTAD - Easing global trade and 
transport during COVID -19 30 September 2020  
World Bank Group  World Bank - WB response to COVID -19 
crisis 
 30 September 2020  
 
19-21 October 2021  
WCO WCO - What Customs can do to mitigate 
the effects of the COVID -19 pandemic  30 September 2020  G/TFA/W/41/Rev. 5 
 
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  Member/Presenter  Title Committee Meeting  
GATF  Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation  26-27 January 2021  
WCO Statement by the WCO  26-27 January 2021  
WCO WCO presentation on COVID -19 related 
measures  3 March 2021  
 
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