WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/158 
23 February 2009 
 
 (09-0927) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM HONDURAS, NORWAY AND SWITZERLAND 
  
 The following communication, dated 20 February 2009, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegations of Honduras, Norway and Switzerland. 
 
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DRAFT PROPOSAL:  NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON TRADE FACILITATION 
 
 
1. The reports submitted to the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation about the self-
assessment activity have indicated that Members gi ve a lot of importance to the national committees 
that were formed as a basis to carry out the sel f-assessment activity.  Members have expressed that 
these national committees should continue the work even  after the negotiations are concluded.  It is 
important to underline that even after the negotiations  are concluded, there will be a need to conduct a 
follow-up on the future WTO commitments.  The na tional groups that have been established in 
capitals can serve to coordinate the necessary task s that will permit WTO Members to comply with 
the different commitments.  
 In this context, it is a useful reminder what is written in TN/TF/W/143/Rev.2 the Self 
Assessment Guide:  
 
Many of the measures under negotiation focus on improving Customs systems and procedures, however, Customs is not the only government agency involved in processing and clearing international cargo.  In most countries, multiple government agencies have an interest in the moveme nt of goods, including agencies responsible 
for health and safety, food inspection, import licensing, tax collection, quality 
inspection and enforcement.  Consequently, the policies and procedures of a number of other agencies are clearly included in  the negotiation agenda.  Therefore an 
effective coordination mechanism is crucia l to ensure that the assessment addresses 
all relevant aspects of government respons ibility.  The first step in developing a 
coordination mechanism is to designate a si ngle ministry or agency that will have 
overall responsibility for coordinating the asse ssment process.  Such ministry or 
agency should ideally have policy or admi nistrative responsibilities that are relevant 
to the trade facilitation agenda as well as the capacity to support and drive the 
assessment process.  In mo st cases this will be the agency that has overall 
responsibility for trade policy.  
2. The next step is to identify the stakeholders that should take part in the needs assessment.  
Often an existing trade facilitation task force or  committee can be the basis with some possible 
changes needed to reflect the scope  of trade facilitation at the WTO. TN/TF/W/158 
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  3. "The following list provides examples of agen cies and organizations that are typically 
involved in cross-border trade issues. 
• Implementing agencies (Customs, Quarantine,  Standards Board, Port Authority and 
Airport Authority, etc.);  Attorney General or  Legal Department of Cabinet (legal matters, 
e.g., appeals);  Ministry of Transport (physical control of goods flow);  Ministry of 
Commerce (negotiations, competitiveness, trade flow, control request for industry 
protection, consumer protection);  Foreign Affairs (negotiations);  Economy and Finance 
(trade flow, controls requests for budgetary reasons and price stability);  Ministry of 
Agriculture and Animals (controls requests fo r sanitary/phytosanitary reasons);  Ministry 
of Food and Drugs (controls requests for human health reasons);  Ministry of Environment 
(controls requests for human hea lth and wildlife conservation)." 
 
4. There is also the need for consultations with and involvement of the private sector (a cross-
section to reflect wide interests:  large and small,  importers and exporters, carriers, cargo forwarders 
and cargo owners, Chamber of Commerce, shippers a ssociation, cargo forwarders association, etc.). 
5. In the various WTO agreements there is little reference to how a Member should organize its 
work domestically.  The emphasis has been placed on procedures that simplify notifications on the 
one hand and the establishment of contact points.  To take an example of provisions where there is the 
commitment to designate a central government au thority responsible for the implementation of 
notifications, 
Articles 10.10 and 10.11 of the Agreement on Tec hnical Barriers to Trade state the following: 
10.10 Members shall designate a single central government 
authority that is responsible for the implementation on the national 
level of the provisions concerning notification procedures under this Agreement except those included in Annex 3.  
10.11 If, however, for legal or administrative reasons the 
responsibility for notification procedures is divided among two or 
more central government authorities, the Member concerned shall 
provide to the other Member s complete and unambiguous 
information on the scope of responsibility of each of these authorities. 
6. It is recognized that the provisions mentioned above make a reference to the designation of a 
central authority in order to carry out the respec tive notifications.  However, the trade facilitation 
measures many times entail the coordination among different government agencies and the 
collaboration of the private sector.  We therefore c onsider necessary the existence of a provision in the 
Trade Facilitation Agreement that will allow the co ordination among the different agencies that deal 
with the trade facilitation measures, and perhap s also private sector representatives.  As a 
consequence this would  lead to better complianc e of the commitments of the future agreement. 
7. Besides, Recommendation 4 of the UN/CEFACT highlights the fact that most trade 
facilitations activities need to be tackled in a coor dinated manner and that this requires a forum where 
issues, such as effective implementa tion of measures, can be resolved. 
8. It is only by establishing such coordination that  obstacles to implementation can be analysed 
meaningfully and solutions can be found.  That is why it is recommended to set up a national trade 
facilitation body.  TN/TF/W/158 
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  9. The following provision is proposed: 
"In order to facilitate the process of dom estic coordination of trade facilitation 
needs, priorities and implementation, Members shall establish a national committee or a similar mechanism  on trade facilitation with the objective of 
assisting in the implementation of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation." 
 
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