G/TFA/W/5  
 
4 April 2018  
(18-2086) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Trade Facilitation  Original: English  
 
STRUCTURE AND ROLE O F THE U S NATIONAL TRADE FACIL ITATION COMMITTEE  
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE UNITED STATES  
The following communication, dated 4 April 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the United  States.  
 
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The United  States has found that three key elements are essential for a well -functioning National 
Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) capable of implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation 
Agreement (TFA). These elements are:  
 
• Full inter -agency participation  
• Clear leadership with political imperatives  
• Strong links to the private sector  
 
This paper examines the US experience using its NTFC to optimize TFA implementation and 
coordinate technical assistance activities. First, this paper seeks to share the United  State s' 
experience structuring the NTFC to encourage full participation from a range of technical experts. 
Second, our experience demonstrates how the NTFC leverages a network of private sector groups 
to receive input from a diverse group of industry repre senta tives. Finally, the United  States will 
share a case study on using the NTFC to identify implementation needs and to coordinate and 
mobilize the interagency to support its goals.  
 
1  ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT S TO OPTIMIZE IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE TFA  
Mission of the NT FC 
1.1.  The United  States established the NTFC to comply with its obl igations under the TFA 
(Article  23.2). The NTFC allows the Unite d States to improve communication among the various 
agencies on policies and activities related to trade facilitation, set Gover nment priorities for 
technical assistance and capacity building, and prevent duplication of efforts. The NTFC considers 
the coor dination of the US Government' s technical assistance activities as  a critical aspect of the 
NTFC.  
1.2.  In establishing the NTFC, and pursuant to its TFA obligations, the United  States adopted the 
existing, interagency trade review mechanism to serve as its national committee, taking 
advantage of institutional knowledge, technical expertise, and established coordination and 
communication  networks and processes. Using an existi ng mechanism enabled the United  States 
to leverage an established network of technical experts; howeve r, we understand that other 
WTO Members may prefer alternative committee structures due to the relative emphasis t hat is 
placed on implementation rather than monitorin g and interagency coordination.  
2  THE NTFC STRUCTURE  
Establishing a Committee Structure to Leverage an Existi ng Network of Trade Specialists  
2.1.   As set out in TFA Article  23.2, Members are required to establi sh, maintain, or designate an 
existing mechanism as a national committee on trade facilitation to both enable domestic G/TFA/W/5  
 
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  coordination and implementation of the provisions of the Agre ement. The Office of the 
United  States Trade Representative (USTR) designate d an existing mechanism, the National 
Committee on the WTO, to serve as the NTFC to meet this obligation. Th e NTFC is a 
sub-committee of the larger Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), the interagency group that 
develops and coordinates trade policy implementation across the exec utive branch of the 
government.  
2.2.  USTR has primary responsibility, with the advice of the interagency trade policy organization, 
for developing and coord inating the implementation of US trade policy. The interagency trade 
policy  mechanism assists with the implementation of these responsibilities. USTR executes its 
institutional interagency role through the subcabinet interagency trade policy coordination groups 
that are central to this process and provided for in statute, includi ng the Trade Policy Review 
Group (TPRG) and the TPSC – both administered and chaired by USTR.  
2.3.  The Office of Trade Policy and Economics (TPE) within USTR is  responsible for convening the 
twenty federal agencies that make up the TPRG and the TPSC to review policy papers and 
negotiating documents. The TPE works with USTR staff to resolve policy differences among the 
agencies, since all decisions require consens us. The TPSC regularly seeks advice from the public on 
its policy decisions and negotiations through public hearings and Federal Register notices.  
2.4.  Through the interagency process, USTR requests input and analysis from members of the 
appropriate T PSC subcom mittee or task force.  The conclusions and recommendations of this group 
are then presented to the full TPSC and serve as the basis for reaching in teragency consensus. If 
agreement is not reached in the TPSC, or if particularly significant policy questions are being 
considered, i ssues are referred to the TPRG.  
2.5.  Over 20 federal agencies participate in the NTFC, including the Council of Economic Advisors, 
the Council on Environmental Quality, the Small Busin ess Administration (SBA), the US  Agency for 
Internatio nal Development (USAID), the Departments of: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, 
Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security (inclu ding US  Customs and Border 
Protection), Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury, the Environmental  
Protection Agency, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council, and the Office of 
Management and Budget. Representatives of other agencies are invited to attend NTFC meetings 
depending on the specific issues discussed. Active NTFC partici pants are senior technical -level 
experts, which allows the committee to conduct substantive, detai led discussion when necessary.  
NTFC Meeting Procedures  
2.6.  During NTFC meetings, participants share information on activities related to TFA technical 
assistance,  implementation, and genera l trade facilitative programs. The NTFC meets every six to 
eight weeks, and has met six times since  the TFA' s entry into force. USTR schedules the meetings 
and drafts an agenda based on input from the other NTFC participants. Reg ular attendees include 
the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, State, and Treasury, USAID, SBA, and 
US Customs and Border Protection.  
2.7.  Occasionally, an agency will request that the NTFC discuss implementation and trade 
facilitation programming in a  specific region or country. For example, in 2017, the Department of 
Commerce requested an NTFC meeting to discuss trade facilitation activities in Central America to 
receive feedback on its proposal to provide specific technical assistance programming in the 
region. NTFC participants brought their respective Central America experts to the meeting to 
discuss Commerce' s proposal, and shared information for ongoing regional activities  to ensure that 
the different US  agencies did not duplicate efforts and inst ead pursued priorities in a coordinated 
manner.  
Role of the Private Sector  
2.8.  The NTFC regularly solicits input from the public through several established mechanisms. 
The primary vehicle for regular stakeholder feedback on trade facilitation is the Interagen cy Trade 
Advisory Committee (ITAC) on Customs Matters and Trade Facilitation. The Customs Matters and 
Trade Facilitation ITAC provides detailed policy and technical advice, information, and 
recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce and USTR regarding tr ade barriers, negotiation of G/TFA/W/5  
 
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  trade agreements, and implementation of existing trade agreements. The Customs Matters and 
Trade Facilitation ITAC consists of approximately 15 -20 members with relevant experience. The 
ITAC system includes 14 trade advisory com mittees that represent a variety of sectors and trade 
concerns, including Intellectual Property Rights, Consumer Goods, Textiles and Clothing, and Small 
and Minority Business, among others. At the beginning of 2018, the NTFC used the ITAC' s group of 
specia lized experts to collect data for policy planning. The NTFC drafted and circulated a survey to 
the ITAC on Customs Matters and Trade Facilitation to gain a better understanding of the private 
sector' s priorities and positions on TFA implementation. The NTF C is still collecting this data, and it 
plans to inc orporate the results into the US  policy planning agenda upon completion.  
2.9.  The NTFC is also informed by recommendations from the Commercial Customs Operations 
Advisory Committee (COAC). The COAC, administer ed by the US  Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP), advises the Secretaries of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) on the commercial operations of CBP and relat ed Treasury and DHS 
functions. Approximately 20 private s ector participants serve on the COAC, representing a group of 
participants with expertise in customs, logistics, and trade facilitation from comp anies across the 
United  States.  
2.10.   For agricultural trade issues, the NTFC relies on the Agricultural Policy Advis ory Committee 
(APAC) and six Agricultural Technic al Advisory Committees (ATACs).  The ATAC system operates 
under the same procedures as the ITAC, providing advice to the Secretary of Agriculture and USTR 
on the administration of US  trade policy, including i mplementation and enforcement of exis ting 
trade agreements and the US  negotiating objective s for new trade agreements.  
2.11.   NTFC participants from the US  Departments of Agriculture, Treasury and Commerce, CBP, 
and USTR regularly attend the ITAC, COAC, and ATAC meetings, as well as other trade advisory 
committees, and report input and recommendations during NTFC meetings. The NTFC incorporates 
stakeholder recommendations into policy planning and global TFA implementation and monitoring 
efforts. WTO Members withou t such institutions may benefit by integrating stakeholder input 
across a wide range of interests with their NTFC.  
3  CASE STUDY: USING TH E NTFC TO  COORDINATE THE US  GOVERNMENT' S TECHNICAL 
ASSISTANCE AND CAPAC ITY BUILDING OBJECTI VES 
3.1.  In 2017, as a result of NT FC coordination, the interagency successfully implemented a 
governm ent-wide training program for US  embassy staff from across the globe on TFA 
implementation, monitoring, and technical assista nce coordination. After the TFA' s entry into force, 
NTFC partici pants discovered the need to train and educate field officers about the TFA, and in 
response, coordinated a whole -of-government education campaign. During its early meetings, 
NTFC participants note d that officials stationed at US  embassies and missions abr oad reported a 
significant increase in requests for information about the TFA from local businesses and host 
governments. In addition, NTFC participants agreed that an essential ingredient for successful 
monitoring and implementation of the TFA would be an  active and engaged corps of field officers 
on the ground. To address this need, NTFC participants developed a training program for these 
field officers that would garner full participation across a range of agency representatives, 
demonstrate clear leader ship, and display a unif ied and consistent message on US  global TFA 
implementation strategy.  
3.2.  In May 2017, the US  Department of State hosted a live online training course o n the TFA and 
the United  States'  priorities for TFA implementation. The webinar included a panel of experts from 
USTR, the Departments of State and Commerce, and SBA. Participants were encouraged to ask 
questions in real -time to the panel using an online chat function. The event was well -attended by a 
diverse range of US  embassy staff and officers from five different government agencies stationed 
abroad, and also drew attendance from civil servants based in Washington with an interest in trade 
facilitation.  
3.3.  Without the NTFC' s lea dership a nd coordination, the US  Government would have faced 
considerable challenges in delivering a unified and consistent message on the TFA to field officers 
across multiple agencies and countries. Furthermore, the NTFC provided a forum for the 
interagency to di scover a need in the Government' s efforts towards full TFA implementation, and 
leverage the entire Government' s expertise on trade facilitation to address that need.  G/TFA/W/5  
 
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  4  LINKAGE BETWEEN THE NTFC AND THE WTO COM MITTEE ON TRADE FACI LITATION  
4.1.  The U STR NTFC Chair a lso leads the US  delegation to the WTO Committee on Trade 
Facilitation in Geneva. Other NTFC participants also attend WTO meetings as appropriate. The 
NTFC participants prepare for the WTO Committee on Trade Facilitation by recommending agenda 
items and dr afting and review ing supporting documents. The US  delegate to WTO Committee on 
Trade Facilitation updates the NTFC and relevant ITACs regarding important ongoing work and 
activities at the WTO.  
5  NTFC WORK TO BENEFIT  SMALL AND MEDIUM -SIZED ENTERPRISES (S MES)  
5.1.  Recognizing that SMEs are important beneficiaries of TFA implementation, the NTFC has 
worked to prioritize SMEs in its work plan and trainings.  USTR expanded participation on the NTFC 
to include permanent representation from SBA, the agency tasked with ai ding and assisting small 
businesses to increase their ability to compete in i nternational markets.  
5.2.  With input from SBA, the NTFC adopted priorities for global implementation to leverage 
industry fee dback and reported challenges. The SBA provides trainings for its staff on the potential 
benefits of the TFA for small business; and has invited the NTFC to join in small busi ness 
consultations on the TFA.  
6  CONCLUSION  
6.1.  The United  States encourages Members at all stages of development to likewise share their 
views a nd experiences concerning best practices and experiences toward robust, effective NTFCs 
that include mechanisms for coordinating implementation efforts, soliciting private sector input, 
and prioritizing small business interests.  
7  CONTACT  
Details of the cont act point:  
National Trade Facilitation Committee  
US Trade Representative, 600 17th  St., NW, Washington, DC 20508  
TFA@ustr.eop.gov  
 
Permanent Mission of the United  States to the WTO  
David Bisbee  
David_Bisbee@ustr.eop.gov  
 
 
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