G/TFA/W /95 
 
15 September 2023  
(23-6136) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Trade Facilitation  Original: English  
 
ENHANCING THE ROLE OF THE WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT  
IN PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES  
The following communication, dated 14 September 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the United States.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the world is experiencing the largest food and 
nutrition crisis in modern history. Across the 79 countries in which WFP operates and regularly 
collects data, an estimated 345 million people are acutely food insecure.1 There are many underlying 
factors contributing to the crisis. Some are ongoing and long -term challenges, while others are 
attributed to shocks and conflicts disrupting food production  and trade. In order to address these 
factors, short -term urgent interventions to provide life -saving food and nutritional assistance should 
be coupled with longer -term resilience efforts.  
1.2.  As the United States expressed in its communication "The World Trad e Organization 's Role in 
Enhancing Food Security "2, trade and transparent, predictable, open markets are vital components 
in addressing each dimension of food security (i.e., availability, accessibility, utilization, and 
stability). Implementation of the WTO agreements by WTO Members has improved global food 
security through the promotion of transparency and strong trading rules and science -based 
regulatory systems. However, more can be done to ensure that WTO Members fully avail themselves 
of all the bene fits accorded by the WTO agreements to facilitate global trade and reduce poverty 
while enhancing food security.  
1.3.  In this communication, the United States highlights the role that robust implementation of the 
WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) can pl ay in improving the safe, quick, and cost -effective 
movement of agricultural and food products (agri -food) to where they are needed. The effective 
implementation of the TFA in areas that directly support agri -food trade contributes to long -term 
economic an d food security resilience through reliable food trade. Effective implementation also 
ensures the dependable delivery, when needed, of food assistance.  
2  POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR AGRI -FOOD TRADE  
2.1.  In its recent examination of the trade and welfare effects provided by the TFA thus far, the 
WTO Economic Research and Statistics Division found that agricultural trade increased by 16 -22% 
 
1 Background Document to the 105th WTO Regular Meeting of the Committee on Agriculture, Submission 
by the World Food Programme on 20 June 2023, G/AG/GEN/221.  
2 Circulated on 27 March 2023 as JOB/CTG/25; JOB/AG/241; JOB/MA/160; JOB/SPS/28; JOB/TBT/501; 
JOB/COMTD/1; and JOB/TF/233.  G/TFA/W/95  
 
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  between developing countries that made TFA commitments.3 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) also 
benefited from TFA implementation with an increase of 17 % in agriculture exports.4 
2.2.  In a forthcoming report5 utilizing its Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFI) methodology, the 
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) finds that, within agri -food and 
related sectors, impacts of improving trade facilitation are strongest for plant -based and food 
products as well as fertilizers. Another OECD stu dy found that, in the two years following the 
implementation of electronic sanitary and phytosanitary certificates, trade in animal products, 
vegetable products, and processed food increased by 17 to 32 % (p. 34).6 These findings suggest 
opportunity for gr eater gains through enhanced TFA implementation focused on overcoming 
challenges in the agri -food sector. These findings also suggest that addressing obstacles to TFA 
implementation for routine agri -food trade would further help overcome the logistical cha llenges of 
delivering food assistance during emergencies.  
3  THE TFA SUPPORTS FOOD SECURITY  
3.1.  The TFA applies to, and benefits, movement of agri -food products, particularly in facilitating 
the expeditious movement of food during times of acute need by minimizin g unnecessary delays. 
The TFA includes provisions that address transparency, predictability, and cost reduction, such as 
the publication and availability online of information, pre -arrival processing, notification for enhanced 
controls or inspection, and e lectronic payment.  
3.2.  The TFA also recognizes the imperative to avoid spoilage by providing for the release of 
perishable goods in the shortest time possible while ensuring their safety, by prioritizing such goods 
as appropriate when examinations may be requi red and by arranging, or allowing an importer to 
arrange, for the proper storage of perishable goods pending their release. The TFA also provides for 
the release of perishable goods before border officials make their final determinations about what 
customs  duties or other charges may apply.  
3.3.  The TFA also encourages border agency cooperation including through the creation and 
operation of a single window, or a single electronic exchange system between border agencies and 
traders, for the import, export, and t ransit of goods through a Member 's territory. Single window 
systems save time and costs and provide transparency to traders and governments about the 
movement of shipments. Single window systems constitute a benefit of particular importance for 
agri-food p roducts that may be subject to review or inspection by multiple agencies, each with their 
own mandate and requirements for food shipments.  
4  ENSURING TFA IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSISTANCE FOCUS ON FOOD SECURITY  
4.1.  According to the OECD 's TFI7, cooperation among ag encies at the border, transparency of 
information on border procedures, and automation, were areas that improved the most during the 
2020-2022 time period. However, the WTO TFA database indicates that the implementation rate to 
date for the following five areas is lower than it should be: risk management, authorized operators, 
border agency cooperation, test procedures, and single window.8 These areas overlap with the top 
five Category C9 measures scheduled for implementation in 2023 -2024 (i.e., authorize d operators, 
border agency cooperation, risk management, average release times, and post -clearance audit).10 
4.2.  The Committee on Trade Facilitation (CTF) could actively monitor the TFI with respect to 
measures undertaken by WTO Members to facilitate agri -food trade, including timeliness of 
 
3 Trade and Welfare Effects of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, Staff Working Paper 
ERSD -2023-04, p. 3 (28 February 2023). Welfare effects included real income gains.  
4 Trade and Welfare Effects of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, Staff Working Paper 
ERSD -2023-04, pp. 3, 30 (28 February 2023).  
5 The evolving contribution of trade facilitation policies to enhancing trade , forthcoming OECD Trade 
Policy Paper October 2023.  
6 Digital Opportunities for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Systems and the Trade Facilitation Effects 
of SPS Electronic Certification, OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Paper No. 152, March 2021.  
7 https://issuu.com/oecd.publishing/docs/oecd -trade -facilitation -update -2023. 
8 WTO TFA Database, https://www.tfadatabase.org . 
9 Category C: provisions that Members will implement per selected transitional period with technical 
assistance and support for capacity building.  
10 Technical Ass istance tracker | TFAD - Trade Facilitation Agreement Database (tfadatabase.org ). G/TFA/W/95  
 
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  inspections for perishable goods, use of e -certificates for SPS compliance, availability of testing and 
laboratory facilities, and inclusion of agri -food in single window processes. The CTF could also 
compile and discuss ins ights and recommendations associated with streamlining export certification 
requirements for food products. WTO Members could also examine the degree to which agri -food 
sector traders are included in customs agency programs that pre -approve low -risk busine sses as 
Authorized Operators.   
4.3.  In considering the technical assistance sought by beneficiary WTO Members, many who are 
experiencing food insecurity, WTO Members may wish to analyze the state of TFA assistance 
specifically designed to improve trade facilit ation for agricultural and food products, ensure agri -food 
trade is included in the diagnostics used to address each Member 's specific TFA implementation 
needs.  
5  THEMATIC SESSIONS ON TF AND FOOD SECURITY  
5.1.  WTO Members could consider thematic sessions to share  experiences about processes to 
manage risk and ensure food safety that, at the same time, promote efficient clearance of agri -food 
products and avoid wastage or spoilage due to improper handling or storage in transit.11 
5.2.  It may also be helpful for WTO Memb ers to discuss case studies of initiatives undertaken by 
the WTO Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, 
the World Bank or others to learn about projects that have directly contributed to the facilitatio n of 
agri-food trade.  
5.3.  WTO Members could share their experiences on how they have integrated food producers, 
traders, retailers, logistics operators, and food assistance organizations into the activities of National 
Trade Facilitation Committees, or how the y have been able to get all the agencies responsible for 
border controls involving agricultural and food products to participate in the implementation of the 
TFA. Members could  further discuss how they have facilitated agri -food trade during short -term 
emergencies, or how the trade facilitation policies that they have established contribute to food 
security.  
6  CONCLUSION  
6.1.  Through this communication, the United States highlights how TFA implementation benefits 
agri-food trade, thereby contributing to food secur ity while also facilitating the delivery of food 
assistance in emergencies. The ideas presented herein are meant to encourage further discussion 
on these matters, and the United States welcomes additional ideas from WTO Members on this 
important topic.  
 
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11 See The Role of Second Test Procedures in Trade Facilitation, Communication from the United States, 
G/TFA/W/48, 5 July 2021.