RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/M/12 
29 March 2006 
 
 (06-1416) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation  
  
 
 
SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE MEETING 
 
Held in the Centre William Rappard
 
on 15-16 February 2006  
 
Chairman:  Mr. Tony Miller (Hong Kong, China) 
  
1. The Chairman
 explained that the main purpose of th e meeting was to provide delegations 
with another opportunity to contribute on the agreed agenda of the Group, both in terms of offering 
new input and reacting to the contributions previo usly received.  Furthermore, Members would be 
invited to admit relevant intern ational organizations, including the IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and 
the World Bank, to attend the next meeting of the Group on an ad hoc basis. 
2. The agenda was adopted . 
A. CONTRIBUTIONS ON THE AGREED AGENDA OF THE NEGOTIATING GROUP  
3. The Chairman  said that under the first item, delega tions were invited to contribute on the 
Group's agenda, as contained in the Work Plan an d reflected in the airgram convening the session. 
Members would recall the agreement on it covering all elements of the negotiating mandate, with 
work proceeding on the basis of Members' contributions and other input that the Negotiating Group (NG) might request.  He understood that his predecessor had paid great attention to the Member-
driven nature of the body and its inclusive way of operation, and wished to take the opportunity to 
assure Members of that being his philosophy as well. 
4. Members would have all seen the written cont ributions prepared for the present meeting, 
several of which had already been listed in the airgram (TN/TF/W/70, W/73-76).  More submissions 
had been tabled the previous week, circulated as TN/TF/W/77-W/79.  They would all be introduced 
by their sponsors at the beginning of the discussions, after which there would be time for Members to 
react.   
5. In structuring the discussions, he wished to start with Members' new propositions on how to 
clarify and improve Articles V, VIII and X of th e GATT before then taking up a national experience 
paper and input on technical assistance and S&D.   Being aware of the cross-cutting nature of 
practically all contributions, he wished to allo w for a maximum of flexibility and the addressing of 
multiple aspects at the same time.   
6. The representative of Chile
 introduced Chile’s submission TN/TF/W/70 that had first been 
presented in October 2005.  The dynamics of th e discussions prior to the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference had prevented the document from being discu ssed at that time.  Given the current stage of 
the negotiations and also the fact that Members had to present specific texts rather than submissions  
containing general objectives, Chile had taken the de cision not to formally present its submission at 
the present meeting of the Group.  Chile's proposal di d contain objectives that were of a more general TN/TF/M/12 
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  nature and Chile therefore did not wish to present its communication formally.  Of course, if any 
delegation had comments or points to make on th e communication, they would be transmitted to 
capital so that queries could quickly be responded to. 
7. The representative of India
 thanked Chile for its paper and commented that several recent 
proposals were in fact reflections on or an echo of  proposals that had already been made earlier by 
other Members.  India sought clarification on two points.  First, with refe rence to paragraph 4 and 
section III(a), where a suggestion was made to implem ent a public register of all administrative costs 
and transport charges and also a register of all services connected with important export operations, 
India wished to have more elaboration on the idea of  a register.  Was it a different way of conveying 
information on fees and charges that earlier propo sals had said should be made available on the 
Internet, or was the idea something more than that.  Second, India wished to have more clarification 
regarding the Single Window system to which some proposals referred.  His delegation would 
appreciate if the proponents of a Single Window system, including Chile, could share their experience with regard to how they had implemented this so rt of system and what challenges they had faced. 
8. The representative of Argentina
 said that, despite the fact that Chile's contribution was of a 
general nature, Argentina considered it to be a ve ry comprehensive and useful submission.  Like 
India, Argentina also wanted to know a bit more a bout how a public register would work and what the 
link was with the possibility of publishing this on the Internet.  His delegation also had two further 
requests for clarification.  The first related to  the website referred to in Section IV:A:1 of 
TN/TF/W/70.  Argentina wanted to know whether, when mention was made of the creation of an 
international coordination centre a nd a national coordination point, Chile was speaking about creating 
a system similar to that existing in other trade agre ements – such as that on technical barriers to trade 
– or whether it was something in addition to th at.  Would the national coordination point be 
prescribed by a multilateral standard or would it be le ft to the discretion of each Member in terms of 
implementation.  Argentina also wished to know  whether there was any connection between this 
national centre and having interested Members raise questions or comments.  Was there any 
connection with advance rulings and how would that link operate? 
9. On the establishment of a register and confid entiality (section IV:A:3), Members had already 
discussed publishing regulations, format s and specific procedures which fell into this area.  Mention 
was made of non-disclosure of a publication, but it was not really clear what that signified.  It would seem to be a contradiction if legislation was not made public.  How was that confidentiality 
established and what type of information was confidential? 
10. The representative of Bolivia
 said that Bolivia's authorities had some concerns regarding 
Chile's submission that they wished to be conveyed to the Chilean authorities.  First, regarding the 
public register, as also addressed by India and Argen tina, Bolivia wished to know a bit more about 
how the proposal would actually work.  On im port and export procedures (section III:B:6), the 
question was whether this suggestion was just for import or export or whether it also applied to 
customs transit.  As for section IV, like Argentina,  Bolivia was concerned about the characteristics of 
a national coordination centre.  In Section IV:2, pa ragraph 9, reference was made to the establishment 
of contact points and consultation mechanisms a nd to the laying down of procedures and timeframes 
for responses.  Would these procedures take place prior to the adoption of the rule or afterwards, in 
other words, ex ante or ex post ? 
11. The representative of Korea  said that the TF negotiations were one of the crucial parts of the 
DDA negotiations. Chile's proposal covered most of the pertinent issues of GATT Articles V, VIII 
and X, which had also previously been raised by other Members, including Korea.  In general, Korea supported the proposal, which appropriately addr essed many concerns and difficulties faced by 
ordinary traders.  Korea, however, wished to ma ke some comments and also raise questions on the 
proposal.  Concerning paragraph 2 on the establishm ent of precise routes and periods for transit  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 3 
 
 
  within entry and exit points, Korea believed that, as described in the paper, this was very useful and 
practical in terms of increasing predictability and tr ansparency while controlling cross-border traffic.  
Korea looked forward to discussing these issues in mo re detail.  There should be some publication of 
specific routes,  periods and fees for transit.  However, once the routes were established and 
published, traders should be given the freedom to choose the specific route, taking into account the 
urgency and causes, and the period for tran sit should be reasonably long enough.  
12. Korea also had a question similar to the one raised by India and Argentina regarding the 
operation of a public register.  Another question concerned paragraph 5 of Chile's submission 
concerning international cooperation assistance ag reements.  Korea believed that coordination and 
cooperation assistance among Members' authorities, especially customs, clearly contributed to 
facilitating trade.  Many bilatera l and multilateral channels had already been established, including in 
the WCO, and Korea would appreciate receiving more information on the character and the relationship the proposed interna tional cooperation assistance agreem ents would have with existing 
agreements.  Finally, Korea wished to seek some clarification on the difference between the national 
coordination point and contact point referred to in paragraph 9 of Chile's submission. 
13. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 (HKC) appreciated the fact that Chile's submission 
TN/TF/W/70 covered various techni cal and practical issues with respect to proposals relating to 
Articles V, VIII and X.   
14. With respect to Article V and the question of  transit periods and routes, Hong Kong China 
was of the view that how traders chose their tran sit routes was solely a commercial decision.  As 
circumstances might vary from one case to another, it would not be practical to establish precise 
routes and periods for transit between an entry and exit point.  HKC believed Members were best 
placed to design their own domestic systems to  cater for their individual transit needs. 
15. On coordination, cooperation and assistance among agencies involved with transit, Chile had 
suggested that Members should work to conclude international cooperation and assistance agreements 
as a mechanism for achieving more efficient trade a nd increasing the ability to control illicit activities.  
HKC welcomed further discussion on this issue among Members' authorities, especially customs, to 
facilitate the flow of international trade.  Nevertheless, HKC wished to  have more details of whether it 
was appropriate to make accession to other international agreements a WTO commitment. 
16. On Article VIII regarding fees and formalities,  Chile had made a proposal on the cost of 
services rendered.  Hong Kong China had some concer ns regarding an obligation to notify all import 
and export-related fees charged by Members in c onnection with GATT Article VIII.  This would 
create a considerable burden for Members.  Hong K ong China felt that it would be more realistic and 
effective if Members notified their enquiry points a nd provided information regarding applicable fees. 
17. As for the establishment of a register whic h was also connected with import and export 
operations, while HKC supported the proposal for pe riodic review of all services connected with 
import and export operations, it woul d also appreciate if more deta ils on the objectives, criteria and 
administrative costs could be provided.  HKC would also appreciate if the actual commitments could 
be more clearly defined to see whether they were practical. 
18. On advance processing of customs declarations, Ho ng Kong China generally agreed that risk 
assessment could expedite customs clearance and e nhance administrative efficiency.  However, in 
order to facilitate further discussion, HKC looke d forward to Chile prov iding more concrete, 
meaningful and enforceable commitments for cl earance procedures based on risk assessment and 
other factors.  In order to facilitate further di scussion, HKC would appreciate if Chile could provide 
more concrete examples of the "other factors" mentioned in its submission. TN/TF/M/12 
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  19. Regarding the idea of a web page, which fell under Article X, HKC c ould generally support 
the idea of publishing trade regulations and pro cedures on Members' official websites and of 
establishing a national coordination point to enhan ce transparency and efficiency.  HKC was willing 
to explore the idea of whether a reasonable, mean ingful and enforceable WTO commitment could be 
established. 
20. Finally, on commenting and consultation, and the proposal for the establishment of contact 
points, Hong Kong China could see the rationale for th is but was wary that having too many contact 
points would simply defeat the purpose.  A fine  balance therefore had to be struck between 
operational efficiency and convenience to traders.  HKC believed that the contact points should be 
officially designated points and that the contact de tails, the scope of responsibility, and type of 
information provided should be made known publicly .  HKC would also appreciate Members sharing 
their experiences in implementing the releva nt articles in the SPS and TBT Agreements. 
21. The representative of China
 said that Chile’s submission was very useful in the sense that it 
tried to reflect some of the important ideas a nd proposals already contained in other Members' 
submissions.  As far as comments on the paper were concerned, China shared some of the points and 
concerns raised by previous delegations.  From Ch ina's perspective, for example, one point of great 
interest was that the paper men tioned S&D treatment (SDT).  Alt hough this was an important aspect 
that should be appropriately addressed under each elem ent of the proposal, it had not been taken up 
detail. China therefore wished to ask Chile to el aborate further on what specific ideas it had on S&D 
and how they could be appropriately addressed unde r each element of the proposal.  China was aware 
of Members' various and diverse needs, prioriti es and capacities.  Efforts towards SDT would be 
conducive to better understanding a possible commitment in the future. 
22. Another question concerned the th ird bullet point of S ection III:A on fees and charges, cost of 
services rendered and the establishment of a register of all services connected with import and export 
operations that would increase transparency and pred ictability of trade.  Since similar or identical 
practices might exist in China already, in order to  better understand the rationale for establishing such 
a register and the future requirements of other Members in this respect, China would appreciate if 
Chile could share its own experience on how this was being handled in Chile. 
23. A final point concerned section III:C on advance processing of customs declarations.  This 
concept was not completely new in the sense that similar concepts had been mentioned in some 
previous proposals by Members.  The EU, for inst ance, had issued a paper on bound or guaranteed 
systems.  What was needed were details of the concept proposed by Chile .  For example, what 
conditions or pre-conditions were necessary fo r the establishment and normal operation and 
functioning of such a system?  
24. The representative of the European Communities  said that the Communities strongly 
supported virtually all of the proposals and ideas contained in Chile's submission.  The paper 
presented many of the previously made proposals in an economic and summary form.  On the issue of 
a register of services connected with imports and exports, his delegation had the same question that 
had already been raised by other delegations.  As regards the question of freedom of transit and the 
right of operators to choos e their most convenient route, the EC was not convinced that the absence of 
prescribed routes for transit constituted a barrier to trade.  The EC was not convinced that Chile’s 
proposal struck the right balance between the freed om of operators to choose the most convenient 
route for their goods on the one had and the rights or obligations of governments to impose legitimate 
restrictions on that freedom of choice in given ci rcumstances on the other.  That point apart, the 
Communities could fully subscribe to the proposals in Chile's paper. 
25. The representative of Chinese Taipei  considered all proposals set out in Chile's paper to be 
very good, in particular regarding the idea concerning a Single Window, advance processing of  TN/TF/M/12 
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  customs declarations and format for documentation.  The idea of a webpage was very interesting as 
well.  A question to be asked in that context was how this webpage idea could be better used.  
Although, generally speaking, Chinese Taipei could ag ree with and support the proposals in Chile's 
paper, it did have one question regarding the precise routes between entry and exit points and the 
preliminary thinking that shippers or transportati on companies should be allowed to choose their own 
routes.  Chinese Taipei was open to hearing more from Chile on this idea to see whether it might be a 
good idea, but its preliminary reaction was that it mi ght not be useful to have a government regulate 
that. 
26. The representative of Peru  said that Chile’s paper had gene rated a very productive debate.  
Overall, Peru could share most of the criteria set fo rth in the paper.  Peru shared the doubts expressed 
by some others regarding the register mentioned in  section II:B:4.  But the importance of coordination 
mentioned in section II:C:5 was vital.  However, as ha d been correctly interpreted by India, Peru also 
felt that the Group's work now should be focussing on how to clarify the issue of the Single Window, as mentioned in Section III:B:6 of Chile's paper.  Peru, and others, had also tabled proposals on the 
Single Window and the NG now had to clarify its de finition, components and elements.  Furthermore, 
the basic elements of the proposals had to be defined, common ground had to be pinpointed and 
guiding principles had to be established, so that, in due course, the Group could arrive at, and agree on, a text on trade facilitation (TF).  Three basic elements regarding the Single Window were referred 
to by Chile, namely, (i) an "electronic" Single Window for submitting information (ii) "once only" and (iii) to a single authority. 
27. When the compilation paper was reviewed later on, those issues would be discussed in more 
detail, but his delegation considered it important to  establish some of the main common elements so 
that the Group could move forward and reach an ag reement on text, hopefully before the end of the 
Round. 
28. The representative of Cuba
 said that, with respect to Chile’s submission, most of Cuba’s 
concerns had already been expressed by others.  India, Argentina and Bolivia, for instance, had 
expressed concerns regarding the register.  Cuba al so wished to join Chin a regarding its concerns.  
29. SDT was mentioned at the beginning of Chile's  submission as a key aspect. But actually, this 
had not been elaborated on.  Like Peru, Cuba cons idered the paper to be a good compilation of a great 
deal of proposals and common elements that had been presented.  However, Cuba was concerned about the use of the Internet because, even thou gh some countries' customs systems would have the 
necessary capacities to develop and maintain such an electronic system, not all Members had the 
necessary resources.  It would have been advisable to consider how countries who might be lacking in 
resources could develop these systems.  Chile also referred to publication on a webpage.  Here again, 
not all countries were able to develop such a system .  Cuba would have liked to have seen some sort 
of system or mechanism whereby countries wit hout electronic means could also have access to a 
webpage.  Regarding the reference to standard izing documents, Cuba was concerned for those 
countries whose official language was not one of th e three official WTO languages.  Perhaps one had 
to look at an alternative to be able to counter those difficulties.  
30. The representative of Brazil
 said that Brazil shared many of the doubts and concerns 
expressed by previous delegations with respect to Chile ’s paper.  Brazil wished to refer to four minor 
points of particular importance to Brazil.  First, with relation to fees and charges (section III:A), Chile 
had proposed the publication of fees connected w ith importation and exportation and had said that 
these should be notified to the WTO.  Once these fe es were publicized and put on the Internet, what 
would be the value added of notifying them to the WTO, imposing an additional burden on Members? 
In Brazil's view, the main objective was to allow the private sector to have access to this data.  Once 
the information was made public, Brazil did not see what more a notification could add.   TN/TF/M/12 
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  31. The second point concerned the Single Window.  Brazil wished to see some conceptual 
clarity on what the Group was talking about when it discussed Single Window.  Each country's understanding on this was different and some clarity was needed in order to know exactly what was 
under discussion and what exactly the Group was aimi ng for.  Once that clarity was achieved, the 
differences among countries would have to be taken in to account.  Some countries were very close to 
having the Single Window fully implemented.  Others  already had it, and yet others were far from 
having it.  The suggestion to establish a national c oordination point (section IV:A:1) was a valuable 
and good idea, but more information was needed on how this would work, particularly since some 
countries had a large number of agencies and coordi nation among them might not be as easy for some 
as it would be for others.  This ha d to be better defined before deciding anything on it.  Finally, Brazil 
would appreciate receiving clarification regarding the register as suggested in paragraph 10.  What did 
Chile really mean and what was the purpose of such a register?   
32. The representative of Pakistan
 said that Chile’s submission was a very comprehensive and 
detailed proposal.  Many of the ideas in the pape r had already been discussed and it served as a good 
and timely reminder.  Pakistan sought clarificati on on section IV of the paper on Article X regarding 
the envisaged creation of an official web page , establishment of national coordination points, 
establishment of contact points, and establishment of  register points.  There were many repetitions 
and overlaps in these measures and Pakistan therefor e wished to obtain a more precise description of 
the measures.  The system envisaged to be established was a desirable one, but it was not clear how practical it would be.  In this context, he asked whether Chile had estimated the costs associated with 
these measures.  As raised by China, there was also  the question of how exactly Chile saw the issue of 
implementation capacities of deve loping countries and SDT.  
33. The representative of Canada
 said that Chile’s submission was a very timely one.  It covered 
new perspectives on some of the ideas that had alr eady been tabled and indicated Chile's view on 
other elements that had previously been discussed.  Canada therefore found it to provide an opportunity for the Group to have a more focused  and detailed discussion on several of the themes 
mentioned in the paper. 
34. The first point Canada would like to pick up on was paragraph 2 and the reference to transit 
periods and routes.  Here, Canada  echoed and shared some of the questions expressed by others, for 
example by the European Communities.  Canada was not sure that it would share the assessment that 
the absence of prescribed  routes and periods for transit constituted a barrier to trade.  In fact, in 
paragraph 5:2 of the GATT 1947, the text said that  there shall be freedom of transit through the 
territory of each contracting party via the routes mo st convenient for international transit.  This had 
been raised in previous proposals submitted to the Group on transit.  Canada considered it an 
important area where improvements to the current  language of GATT Article  V could be made.  
Canada would therefore be grateful if Chile could provide more clarity as to the underlying concerns 
that brought them to make the suggestion.  Also not ed was a reference to the ability to control cross-
border smuggling.  However, if the concern behind this  proposal was related to safety issues or health 
hazards, Canada could only imagine that like commit ments to be negotiated would be fully subject to 
GATT Articles XX and XXI which provided general exceptions for those types of concerns.  His 
delegation looked forward to receiving more clarification from Chile. 
35. The second point Canada wished to raise con cerned the public register on which several 
delegations had already raised questions.  Canada wished to approach the question from a different 
angle to better understand what was entailed by th e proposal to establish public registries.  For 
example, if a country published these fees in situat ions where confidentiality came into play on the 
Internet, was it equivalent to the establishment of the public registry proposed by Chile, or did Chile 
feel that a specific registry had to be established to address each of the issues.  Canada would be grateful if Chile could provide clarity on that.  TN/TF/M/12 
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  36. With respect to paragraph 4 which dealt with th e public registry of all administrative costs 
and transport charges, his delegation would be grateful to receive clarification as to what was meant by transport charges.  Was it only aimed at cove ring government charges or was there a broader 
meaning?  Canada's understanding was that the WTO Agreement, and the GATT in particular, applied 
to governmental measures and Canada imagined th at transportation charges that were beyond the 
regulatory purview of governments would not be with in the scope of the Chilean proposal.  Canada 
sought some clarification in that regard. 
37. Regarding the proposal put forward in para graph 5 on coordinati on and cooperation and 
assistance among agencies involved with transit, and in paragraph 6 on  Single Window for 
import/export procedures, Canada strongly suppo rted the underlying comments encouraging 
international cooperation and bette r coordination among border agencies, be it on one side of the 
border or across the border.  Canada had made propo sals in the past on this theme and thought that 
ways should be found to operationalize these principles.  His delegation therefore appreciated Chile's suggestions in this regard. 
38. As for paragraph 8, on the format for document ation, Canada strongly agreed with Chile on 
the need to standardize and reduce the amount of doc umentation and diversity of procedures.  As had 
been mentioned in previous proposals, if a way could be found to develop and promote the use of international standards – such as the WCO Data Mode l or the UN Layout Key – this would help in 
achieving the objective of facilitating trade. 
39. Canada looked forward to receiving clarifica tion from Chile on the questions it had raised. 
40. The representative of Jamaica
 said that Chile had submitted a very comprehensive submission 
on Articles V, VIII and X.  A number of the proposal s and ideas fell within the general direction that 
the Group had been pursuing in respect of clarifying and improving these articles.  He referred specifically to the proposals on Articles VIII and X,  a number of which Jamaica could support, and 
which were already taking place in some countries. 
41. Jamaica was studying more closely the proposals in respect of the establishment of registers 
for all services connected to import and export ope rations, regarding confidentiality as well as the 
establishment of mechanisms and procedures to a llow for trade operators to seek rulings from 
customs administrations on certain matters.  This  was being done because one of the key objectives 
should be to ensure that one did not end up with additional, onerous and possibly costly 
responsibilities at the end of the negotiations.  Jamaic a therefore joined other delegations in requesting 
Chile to shed some further light and share its expe riences in these areas.  Jamaica would also like to 
suggest that an assessment be done on existing syst ems in place in countries which might be fulfilling 
these functions so as to avoid duplication. 
42. Jamaica wished to note that a number of the proposals on transparency and publication 
involved the use of information technology.  This hi ghlighted the need to provide technical assistance, 
training and capacity building to deal with the de ficiencies that existed in some of the customs 
departments in these areas.  Finally, like others, Jamaica, also looked forward to receiving Chile's 
clarification on some of the issues which had so far been raised. 
43. The representative of Australia
 said that Chile's paper was inte resting, had certainly provoked 
a very good start of the discussion, and was very u seful in helping the Group to move forward and 
advance on both the substantive aspects and deve lopment aspects of the proposals.  Australia 
supported the comments made by others that Chile's suggestion on the issue of transit routes needed 
further clarification.  It was obviously very important to ensure that the freedom of choice of routes 
that currently existed was not unduly restricted. TN/TF/M/12 
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  44. Australia, too, welcomed the reference made by Chile to the issue of advance rulings, 
schemes and mechanisms.  Australia would be studying the issue of how to make public certain aspects of those mechanisms and hoped to be able to  come back to the Group with further ideas.  
During the previous year, a number of questions ha d been raised in relation to Australia's national 
experience paper on advance rulings.  Australia had pr omised to provide data or responses in writing 
and, in this respect, had recently submitted a pape r containing those responses (JOB(06)/22/Rev.1).  
Australia encouraged Members to follow up on the responses since it might also be instructive in 
taking forward this aspect of the discussion in the negotiations. 
45. The representative of Japan
 said that Chile’s document was very useful.  Japan agreed that the 
publication of fees and charges on the Internet was very useful in terms of increasing transparency.  
Japan had made a similar proposal to that end.  His delegation had two comme nts on Chile's paper.  
One concerned the Single Window, where it was mentioned that an electronic Single Window was a very useful measure to facilitate trade.  While Japan agreed with this idea, it was of the view that a 
Single Window would also greatly increase TF if it was not carried out in electronic form.  The second point on which Japan agreed concerned th e publication of customs regulations.  The 
publication of regulations was a very useful me asure to increase transparency.  However, as 
mentioned in GATT Article X, Japan was of the vi ew that every relevant trade-related law and 
regulation should also be published in this context. 
46. The representative of India
 wished to respond to concerns ra ised by the EC and Canada on the 
issue of transit and about putting undue restrictions on transit if Members were to look favourably on 
the proposals regarding the establishment of precise routes.  In the EC's a nd Canada's understanding, 
there was no such restriction currently existing in GA TT Article V.  In that context, India wished to 
point out that the existing GATT Article V:2 did not give any unfettered  right for transit.  In fact, in 
Article V:2, it was laid down that "freedom of tr ansit shall be via the routes most convenient for 
international transit".  So what the Group had to talk about was routes most convenient for 
international transit.  It had to look at speci fic routes because routes could be dependent on issues 
such as them having adequate security posts, and it had to look at the state of the infrastructure 
available on particular routes. 
47. India therefore did not see that this particular proposal fundamentally restricted the freedom 
of transit as it was prescribed.  Given the existing provisions of transit and the existing system of 
transit, India viewed this as a very positive mean s of ensuring freedom of transit, where the right 
balance was struck between the transit- giving and the transit-receiving country. 
48. The representative of Egypt  supported India's statement.  Th at was also Egypt's understanding 
of freedom of transit and how it should be correctly a pplied.  It was also clear that, in many countries, 
the security issue had become high on the agenda and Eg ypt was certain that this had to be taken into 
consideration when talking about routes of transit. 
49. The representative of the Philippines , speaking also on behalf of the Core Group and of the 
ASEAN members , said that, while welcoming the recent pape rs submitted by Chile and others, there 
was a lot of work to be done and a lot of overla p in the various proposals.  The Philippines believed 
that one had to look to the Chair as well as to Members to find a creative mechanism by which the 
various proposals would hopefully move towards some  concrete unified proposals within the next few 
months.  In conclusion, his delegation wished to tha nk the Secretariat for the latest distribution of its 
compilation document (TN/TF/W/43/Rev.5). 
50. The representative of Bolivia  said that a fundamental part of the Group's negotiating mandate 
was to improve and clarify the three Articles.  With  respect to Article V, the final objective was to 
facilitate trade.  TN/TF/M/12 
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  51. Therefore, in paragraph 2 of Chile's propo sal, which referred to the need to establish 
prescribed routes for transit, Bolivia thought that one  should not lose sight of the end goal to facilitate 
the transport of goods from many countries.  Many had referred to the need to be aware of national 
experiences.  The exercise of transparency request ed by many could perhaps dispel certain problems 
encountered by landlocked countries.  Bolivia’s in terpretation of the ability to chose transit routes 
corresponded with that of the EC and Canada. 
52. The representative of Chile  was pleased to see that Chile’s paper had generated a significant 
level of interest among Members. 
53. Chile was not in a position to date to respond to  the vast majority of the questions raised, 
which deserved specific replies.  The questions wo uld be conveyed to the experts in capital with 
answers then being provided as soon as possible.  To  facilitate and to speed up that process, he would 
ask delegations who had raised questions to communicate them in writing. 
54. The Chair  supported Chile’s request.  It  would be much appreciated if delegations could make 
their questions available in writing, both  to Chile and to the Secretariat.  
55. The representative of India  introduced two new proposals on GATT Articles VIII and X.  
Annex D placed special emphasis on identifying and addressing the needs and priorities of developing 
countries.  India had attempted to identify its need s and priorities by conducting a systematic survey 
among its exporters to identify their trade facilita tion problems in export destinations.  India’s 
proposals were an end result of that exercise.  I ndia wished to place on record its appreciation and 
thanks to UNCTAD which had supported the study and conducted a seminar to discuss the findings.  
56. India took those proposals as a concrete manifest ation of how focused technical assistance 
could lead to very positive results.  The survey id entified a host of problems faced by exporters.  Out 
of them, India had identified only those which rela ted to border clearance of goods, and which fell 
within the ambit of GATT Articles VIII and X, an d on which no proposals had been made so far.  
Some proposals also amplified the current ones on the table in order to emphasize their relevance 
within the framework of a customs union.     
57. The first paper was a proposal on GATT Article VIII (TN/TF/W/77).  One set of proposals 
under GATT Article VIII attempted to address problems faced in border clearance of goods, 
particularly food products, at the borders of member states of a customs union.  Those problems arose on account of different procedures that Members adopt ed for border clearance of agriculture and food 
products.  That included standards,  including terminologies, defin itions, methods and procedures for 
sampling, analysis and documentation requirement s for import clearance.  India had made specific 
suggestions to address those problems, namely to adopt the same border procedures and uniform 
documentation requirements.   
58. A connected set of proposals dealt with issu es which were already under discussion in the 
NG, namely, authorized trader status and risk management system.  India believed that for greater predictability of clearance of goods at borders of  a customs union, uniform norms should be applied 
for according authorized trader status, and, to the extent possible, a risk management system should 
be common across the member states of a customs union.   
59. Another recurrent problem of traders to which India sought to find a solution was the present 
system followed by some Members of destruction of rejected food consignments.  That was a big 
economic loss to traders, particularly SMEs.  India, therefore proposed that there should not be a system of goods clearance which led to destruction of  cargo at the outset.  Instead, India proposed that 
in case of rejection of a consignment on account of fa ilure to meet certain standards, an option should 
first be given to return the rejected goods to the exporter.   TN/TF/M/12 
Page 10  
 
  60. The present negotiations also presented an opportu nity to address trade barriers faced on 
account of an improper testing method, particularly  when the method did not take into account the 
specific product features and the physical state of f ood products at the point of consumption, such as 
fresh, dehydrated or otherwise processed.  India proposed that those aspects be taken into account 
while establishing testing methods. 
61. Turning to the proposal on GATT Article X (TN/TF/W/78), India was of the view that 
transparency was a lynchpin to the free flow of trad e.  India proposed improved transparency for some 
measures which might not strictly be categorized as  laws or regulations.  One very important issue 
one had to address was the trade distorting features of a system known as rapid alert or import alert.  Such alerts caused a trade chilling effect because the subsequent consignmen ts were subjected to 
more intensive hundred percent inspections.  Indi a had pointed out how it was onerous to lift the 
current systems of rapid alerts once they had been put in force and how they did not take into account 
the trade reality of differential trade volumes at various ports of member states of a customs union. 
62. Members also had to address the lack of transp arency in communicating the termination of 
rapid alerts.  In order to address those issues, I ndia proposed that members of a customs union should 
adopt uniform standards; rapid alert should not be more restrictive than necessary to pursue a 
legitimate objective; it should be based on a positive ev idence; and, most importantly, the system of 
termination of rapid alerts should be least trade r estrictive, and it should be lifted after a prescribed 
number of successive consignments imported from the destination in question had fulfilled the 
prescribed objective standards.  That would address the current onerous requirement in some systems 
of clearance of a prescribed number of consignments from every port of a customs union. 
63. In the course of border clearance of goods, so me consignments could be singled out for a 
detailed inspection causing delay in clearance of c onsignment.  It was gathered that, at times, no 
information was made available regarding the status  of clearance of consignments once they had been 
identified for more detailed checks.  That often caused  disruption to traders as they were unable to get 
quick information regarding their consignment.  Indi a, therefore, proposed to establish a system such 
as issuance of a detention memo or having an on-lin e system to indicate the status of clearance of 
goods as part of a transparent regime for border clearance of goods.   
64. India had addressed some issues related to testing of samples under GATT Article VIII.  India 
also wanted to address another specific feature of testing regime, namely lack of a clearly laid down principle of a second confirmatory test, in cases where the first test result was adverse to the importer.  
That could be addressed during the negotiations by having a system of a second reconfirmatory test 
and Members should lay down a clear procedure for that.  This could be regarded as some kind of 
appeal mechanism. 
65. India had also put on the table problems concerni ng quick disposal of disputes, particularly 
those concerning inspection decisions of food items  because of the different layers of appeal 
mechanism that one had to traverse in the context of a customs union.  India looked forward to further 
discussion and ideas on how to address the problem.  One possible solution could be that, in a 
customs union, the level of appeal should be at the level of customs union itself. 
66. Some of the proposals would require technical assistance for the creation of new procedures 
and institutional systems, but some others would not.  Those needs could be met in tandem with 
assistance provided in respect of other proposals.  India was open to hearing the views of Members on that as well as on the proposals themselves. 
67. The representative of the United States
 welcomed India's proposals, some of their details the 
United States was still studying.  With respect to the study mentioned by India, he had shared an 
experience on a panel with one of the individuals  who had worked on the particular study, which  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 11 
 
 
  proved to be very helpful to the United States as it had led to information about some of their needs 
and priorities.  Clearly, one of those needs and priorities that had great importance pertained to the functioning of customs unions, in particular tho se that might be WTO Members in their own right. 
68. There was a real need for a focus on ensuring uni formity and that was appropriate to be taken 
up in the negotiations.  Much of India’s submissions  required not only further study but also detailed 
engagement because it put forward some systemic approaches regarding the functioning of a customs 
union.  The US certainly welcomed the engagement and challenge. 
69. The US knew that that would involve certain deta ils.  In particular, the US took note of the 
initiative to bring about some administrative review that involved an entire customs union.  The US 
had a lot of experience in that regard, and had go ne through certain matters similar to what had 
perhaps been the genesis of India's proposal.  Ov erall, the US warmly welcomed the proposals by 
India, which the US would study further.  Th e US hoped that Members could begin a detailed 
engagement on those proposals and examine a way forward to achieve a true improvement with 
regard to what was currently set out in GATT Articles VIII and X. 
70. The representative of the European Communities
 considered the Indian proposals to be 
interesting.  It was good that India was increasingly approaching the negotiations from the point of 
view of its traders' and exporters' interests.  Th at was the right spirit in which to approach that 
exercise and the EC certainly welcomed that. 
71. The EC did not wish to go into details on the substance of India's proposals because it needed 
more time to evaluate them and their implications  for the Communities.  However, the EC noted the 
emphasis on greater uniformity, cons istency, harmonization of requir ements and procedures which, 
conceptually, were legitimate objectives. 
72. Nonetheless, at least some of India's proposals seemed at first sight to fall within other WTO 
Agreements, in particular, the proposals presented in the second paper on GATT Article X.  Many, if 
not all, of the proposals there which related to the methods of product testing and the systems of import alert seemed more likely to fall under the provisions of the TBT or SPS Agreements.  There, 
one was talking about how Members carried out  their conformity assessment procedures in a 
transparent and consistent manner.  The EC was not  convinced that the TF negotiations were the right 
forum to address those concerns.  There were other fora  to do that.  One had to ensure not to overload 
that particular boat at that point in time with s ubjects which were not strictly speaking within the 
mandate.  But the EC would analyse all of those pr oposals very constructively and looked forward to 
engaging with India and others on them in future meetings. 
73. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 appreciated India's proposals and their effort to 
identify the needs and priorities of their exporters through the use of a survey. 
74. With respect to TN/TF/W/77, HKC supported,  as a matter of principle and as far as 
practicable, the harmonization of border procedures,  standards, documentation requirements, etc., 
which would reduce uncertainty to trade and impr ove border clearance procedures.  HKC was open to 
further discussing the proposal with a view to work ing out a set of meaningful, enforceable and more 
refined WTO commitments.  Hong Kong, China ec hoed the EC’s point and welcomed Members’ 
views on whether the subject matters should be dea lt with under the scope of GATT Article VIII, or 
whether it would be more appropriate to pursue the issues in other contexts, for example, GATT 
Article X, which provided that each Member should administer its trade regulations in a uniform, 
impartial and reasonable manner, or the SPS Agre ement, as mentioned by the EC, which provided 
that relevant measures should be based on intern ational standards, guidelines or recommendations on 
as wide a basis as possible.  TN/TF/M/12 
Page 12  
 
  75. On TN/TF/W/78 which suggested a number of ways to improve transparency of import 
alerts/rapid alerts, detention, test procedures and appeal mechanisms for food consignments, HKC 
welcomed the idea of improving transparency of border clearance procedures with a view to reducing 
uncertainty to the trade and expediting the moveme nt of goods.  HKC hoped to further discuss that 
proposal with India and other Members.  HKC was pa rticularly interested to exchange views with 
India on its suggestion that a notification should not be maintained if circumstances giving rise to it no 
longer existed, or if changed circumstances could be addressed in a less trade restrictive manner. 
76. The representative of Switzerland
 wished to comment on one of the issues raised in  
submission TN/TF/W/77 in paragraph 3 on testi ng methods.  Switzerland believed that testing 
methods in the context of trade facilitation were  particularly important with regard to the 
classification of tariffs.  Switzerland wondered whethe r one could find part of the solution sought in 
that proposal in two proposals previously made , one by the EC and one by New Zealand under 
compilation heading L: tariff classification.  The quite straightforward suggestion contained therein was to use the WCO's HS Convention.  The HS Convention contained certain sets of criteria for classification and maybe that could also be very useful in the context of testing.   
77. The representative of Korea
 appreciated India's approach of identifying difficulties faced by 
traders by way of a survey as well as their efforts to present ideas for resolving those issues.  It was 
clearly a goal to facilitate the situation of traders by addressing their problems.  
78. Korea was prepared to closely examine all elem ents and ideas contained in the two papers.  
By way of a preliminary comment in a very genera l manner, Korea wished to express its view that 
there were many ways to resolve all the problems faced by traders, either by way of specific case 
studies or via general and systemic ways.  In order to resolve those difficulties faced by traders, one 
could stipulate a new agreement, a new obligation or  apply already existing international agreements 
like the ones on TBT or SPS.  There was a danger in  seeking to bring all specific cases into one kind 
of system, as that could endanger the specific operation of the system itself.   
79. One had to carefully examine the combinati on of general approaches and specific cases.  
Perhaps, if Members wanted to resolve a specific case, rather than  apply general provisions, they 
could adopt the idea of some guidelines, cases studies or general means for resolving that kind of 
specific case rather than seeking to incl ude all elements in the provisions. 
80. The representative of Sri Lanka  wished to offer some initial remarks on the papers submitted 
by India.  When looking at the ground realities,  the clearance of agricultural food products was 
subject to many procedures and standards in the globa l market.  In that context, Sri Lanka was pleased 
that India had conducted that survey. 
81. From the point of view of a developing count ry, case studies were useful.  Sri Lanka wished 
to have a similar study conducted for its territory .  Sri Lanka congratulated India on its submission 
which had come up with some results.  Whether those results fell within the ambit of the TF 
negotiations or elsewhere was another matter to be  discussed.  Looking back to earlier discussions, 
many delegations had mentioned that there were border agencies and standard bodies testing various 
sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, which were  an important part of those border agencies.  
Procedures, standards, and testing methods were ess entially part of the border clearance procedure.  
Therefore, Sri Lanka supported many of the concepts  and findings of that paper in a very initial 
reaction and also wished to support the idea of transp arency.  Sri Lanka needed some time to further 
study the proposals, but as an initial reaction, Sri Lanka wished to support them.  
82. The representative of Barbados  commended India for the process leading up to the 
preparation of the papers through direct interacti on and feedback from thei r exporters which had led  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 13 
 
 
  to a realistic reflection of problems experienced.  The two proposals were based as much on reality as 
on legality. 
83. It was a primary example of the types of assess ment some of the smaller developing countries 
required assistance to be able to conduct.  Ba rbados was a Member of the CARICOM Customs 
Union, which consisted of Members at different le vels of development and capacity.  Barbados was 
not sure those suggestions were taken back to region al authorities and debated at the regional level.  
Barbados would revert in the future with some mo re specific technical questions, including its views 
on the appropriateness of some of those issues vis-à-vis the current mandate. 
84. The representative of the Philippines  welcomed the two proposals from India.  The 
Philippines appreciated their practical approach from the traders' point of view, especially in respect 
of food products exported to a large customs union.  The Philippines had encountered similar 
situations.  India's attempt to cross over into othe r WTO agreements in both proposals was noted. The 
Philippines found nothing wrong with that.  
85. The Philippines was thankful to India for the rea listic approach to put Articles VIII and X into 
practical use.  Both proposals would continue to be  studied.  The private sector  had also been asked to 
provide comments, particularly from the food export ers side.  The Philippines therefore reserved its 
right to revert to the proposal at a later meeting. 
86. The representative of Jamaica  said that the Indian submissions were very comprehensive and 
concrete.  Some of the issues raised therein were  very complex and involve d the operation of customs 
unions.  The TF negotiations were causing Jamai ca in the CARICOM region to undertake an 
extensive evaluation of its TF measures and proce dures in the context of its single market and 
economy. 
87. The kind of issues raised by India were being studied in that context.  In addition, some of the 
issues threw up TBT- and SPS-type issues which w ould have to be studied specifically in each 
country.  Jamaica therefore hoped to provide so me very specific comments on those submissions 
which were currently being studied in capital.  At the moment, Jamaica just wanted to commend India 
for the very serious and comprehensive approach  taken in preparing the submission which would 
serve to assist some other Members and pointed in  the right direction in terms of the kinds of 
assessment Members had to undertake with the view to ending up with a trade facilitation Agreement 
which benefited all countries. 
88. The representative of Kenya  was thankful to India for its papers which had, at the minimum, 
demonstrated that technical assistance was of para mount importance in trade facilitation.  Following a 
glance at the first paper (TN/TF/W/77), Kenya had a question about paragraph 5, where it was 
suggested to return the consignment to the country  of origin instead of destroying it.  Kenya was 
wondering whether India had also thought of the small players in that process.  Re-exporting the same consignment could also involve an extra cost.  One should not forget that Members were trying to cut 
costs and improve the speed of movement of goods .  Perhaps, in the case of developing countries, 
particularly those at low levels of development,  they could have some inspectors who would assess 
those consignments at the port of export rather than at  the port of import.  That would help cut costs in 
sending the consignment first to the country of im port for the assessment to take place and then back 
to the country of origin.  Kenya was wondering whether India had thought about that as an S&D possibility and whether it was something that could be explored in the paper.  Otherwise, Kenya 
thought that the two papers had raised some inte resting issues that had to be discussed further. TN/TF/M/12 
Page 14  
 
  89. The representative of China
 welcomed India's two papers  which contained some very 
constructive elements and fe ll within general WTO norms  in the sense that trade measures should be 
made more predictable and transparent to reduce costs.  It was in accordance with the norm that 
measures should be made least-trade restrictive.   
90. China appreciated the elements contained in the proposals which aimed to facilitate trade such 
as by ensuring that importation documents be ma de uniform and that rejected goods should be 
returned to the exporter.  Such elements could lo wer traders' transaction costs and make trade more 
predictable.  China supported India's proposals and was ready to work with other Members to discuss 
some of their elements.  
91. The representative of Chinese Taipei  appreciated India's contributions.  In principle, Chinese 
Taipei saw merits in the proposed measures cont ained in India's two submissions, especially its 
proposals to improve transparency and predictability for traders.   
92. Clarification was sought on two points. With r espect to the proposal regarding Article VIII 
(TN/TF/W/77), Chinese Taipei wondered what were the suggestions containe d in paragraph 2 in 
terms of text?  It seemed that India tried to prop ose amending Article VIII to include some features of 
Article X.  More elaboration in that regard woul d be appreciated.  Some other colleagues had further 
mentioned the relationship between trade fa cilitation discussions and other relevant WTO 
Agreements, such as the ones on SPS and TBT.  Clarification was sought from India as to how to better balance the discussions between trade f acilitation needs and SPS and TBT measures.  
93. The representative of Bolivia
 expressed appreciation of the Indian proposals.  Bolivia would 
revert to them at the next meeting with some tec hnical questions.  Bolivia's attention was drawn to the 
fact that the Indian papers noted the fact that in customs unions, at an advanced stage of integration, 
where at least the theory spoke about the approach  towards normative uniformity, even when one saw 
the need to undertake certain steps towards standard ization, certain issues had to be overcome.  The 
factual examples presented in the Indian papers certainly assisted Members to better see when one could effectively negotiate on trade facilitation be yond the provisions already contained in other 
GATT provisions. 
94. The representative of Malaysia
 joined others in thanking India for its communication 
TN/TF/W/77.  India had done a lot of homework in  consulting its traders.  From the trader's 
perspective, those were certainly some of the problem s that Malaysia also faced, especially in terms of 
consignments, detention of goods, and whether ther e were appropriate transparent procedures that 
could help traders to export their goods.  Clarifi cation was sought from India as to what was provided 
for in the TBT and SPS Agreements.  
95. The representative of Australia  welcomed India's tabling of its two papers from different 
perspectives.  First, they demonstrated the valu e of needs and priorities assessments in identifying 
specific areas where countries had opportunities to advance TF and relate those ideas to the NG.  
96. Second, the papers flagged some important syst emic notions.  Australia would not go into 
much detail at this stage as it was still studying tho se papers more closely, but it was striking to find 
them to contain important notions in relation to customs unions that were Members of the WTO in 
their own right, particularly pointing to the importance of ensuring that trade measures and decisions were applied and administered in a uniform, impartia l and reasonable manner.  It was also interesting 
to see the importance of review mechanisms of tr ade measures being applied consistently within a 
common timeframe and in a way that actually facilitated trade.  Some of the aspects of the papers 
might require further consideration, particularly in the technical sense where they lay, perhaps in the 
context of other more technical work in the WTO or even outside the organization.  But Australia  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 15 
 
 
  welcomed the spirit of those important systemic issu es that the paper raised in relation to facilitating 
trade.  
97. The representative of India  was very encouraged by Members' responses on India's paper and 
the general words of support that had been expressed  in a preliminary way.  India looked forward to 
more detailed discussions in the meetings to come .  On some of the specific issues raised, India 
wished to offer some quick comments. 
98. With respect to Switzerland's suggestion as to whether one  could seek solutions to testing 
method issues in the proposals made earlier by the EC and New Zealand, India recognized that testing 
was conducted at times to determine the correct clas sification of goods.  But those proposals meant to 
address the problem of a market access barrier which t esting methods entailed.  It targeted the barrier 
arising from the fact that goods were not allowed en try on the basis of certain testing methods which 
might not be completely trade facilitative.  To that extent, the thrust of that proposal was different.  
But India was open to see how some of the other proposals could be helpful in addressing the problem.  
99. With respect to Korea's systemic point about  Members having to be careful not to seek 
solutions for all elements of problems that specific cases identified, India was intrigued by that way of 
thinking because it believed that the biggest value of  the negotiations was to address problems which 
exporters faced.  India had done nothing but apply an inductive method of logic of identifying what 
the problems were and then seek to systematically a ddress them in the negotiations.  India had tried in 
the best possible manner to only make proposals whic h, in India's understanding, fell within those two 
categories.  The study was very deta iled and had revealed many other pr oblems.  It was difficult to sift 
through them carefully and see which ones could be included and which ones could be discarded.  
100. India was thankful to Kenya for supporting the paper and their specific questions regarding 
the issue of destruction of consignments and to  their question regarding whether inspectors could 
carry out the assessment at the port of export instead of at the port of import.  The problem that India had faced was that even after the assessment or testi ng had been carried out at the port of export, often 
by authorized agencies, which were meant to be conducting that test, consignments were rejected.  
That was why it was important that the exporters woul d at times want to get the consignment back to 
validate their own testing methods and see whethe r there were some problems in those testing 
methods.  The second problem that arose was that, at times, when those goods could be salvaged 
some other way, it was a total economic loss if they got rejected.  But India recognized that it would not be economically viable to get the consignment back.  That was why India had tried to keep a 
balance by saying that the first option should be gi ven to the exporter to get the consignment back 
within a reasonable timeframe and, if that opt ion was not exercised, the consignment could be 
rejected. 
101. India also wished to respond to the questions by Chinese Taipei that some of the proposals 
under GATT Article VIII seemed to have features of Article X.  India must confess that it was a 
challenge to categorize the proposals within Article VIII and Article X, but India had taken a general 
principle that where there was a system which d ealt with transparency or appeal, India would 
categorize it under Article X, with those dealing with issues of border clearance being put under 
Article VIII.  India had heard some concerns and,  possibly, they could not be completely brushed 
aside in terms of how those issues interacted with SPS and TBT issues.  But India wished to bring to 
Members’ attention that GATT Article VIII, when  talking of fees and formalities connected with 
importation and exportation, gave a list of the form alities which related to importation and exportation 
which contained issues such as quarantine, sanitation and fumigation.  It was not that those issues were completely out of the ambit of GATT Article VIII.   TN/TF/M/12 
Page 16  
 
  102. India was thankful to Sri Lanka for having rightly pointed out that, when talking of border 
coordination of various agencies, some of the ot her proposals had also talked of SPS and health 
authorities.  When looking at them holistically in th at context, one saw that there was merit in going a 
step further and even looking at issues of standa rds which were a border clearance issue.  India was 
not talking of a setting of standards which it recogni zed to completely be an SPS issue, but was only 
talking of the way those standards could be administered at the border.  
103. India was open to discussing the issue further in greater detail and looked forward to 
receiving Members’ responses, preferably in writing.  
104. The representative of th e European Communities
 introduced document TN/TF/W/79, noting 
that it was proposed jointly by Armenia, Canada, the EC, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, New 
Zealand, Paraguay and the Moldovan Republic.  Ot her Members might join as co-sponsors in due 
course.  The range and diversity of Members making that proposal demonstrated the importance many 
Members attached to improving and clarifying the GATT rules on freedom of transit, which had remained unchanged for fifty years.  
105. The sponsors of the submission had based their proposals largely on the compilation of 
Member's various proposals on Article V.  What they  had tried to do was to effectively consolidate all 
the different proposals into a single document, a sing le set of proposed TF commitments on transit.  
The purpose for doing that was to help move the NG  progressively into a more focused and precise 
negotiating phase.  
106. On the substance of the proposal, the EC wish ed to highlight the main elements the EC 
thought should be considered in an exercise to  clarify and improve GATT Article V without being 
exhaustive.   
107. First, the EC recognized that whatever was proposed in that field would have to fully take into 
account the need for SDT for developing countries.  It was very clear that SDT would be necessary in particular cases.  The Communities and all othe r sponsors of the document certainly took the 
commitment in the mandate very seriously to relate  the extent and timing of any future commitments 
on transit to Members' implementation capacities. 
108. However, as a matter of common sense and logic, the EC considered it more useful to try to 
establish what any future commitments would be a nd on that basis subsequently try to determine 
collectively the extent of SDT applicable. 
109. The second broad issue in the W/79 paper was to confirm or reconfirm a number of 
definitional issues relating to GATT Article V.  Con cepts, which were perhaps implicit in the text of 
the Article, but which could be made more explicit  to avoid all doubts.  One such concept was that 
nothing in the area of transit rules should be allo wed to compromise other legitimate and public policy 
objectives such as national security, health, safety and other requirements.  Those notions effectively 
overrode the notion of freedom of transit. 
110. The paper also proposed as a definition issue to  make more explicit rather than implicit 
national treatment obligations in respect  of treatment of traffic in transit.  It was also useful to clarify 
that traffic in transit included goods moving via fixed infrastructures such as oil or gas moving through pipelines or electricity through electricity grids.  That was an issue that had gained some 
attention recently in the context of a number of WTO accessions.  The EC considered it useful to reconfirm  that the various disciplines on transit Me mbers had in Article V such as access to transit 
routes, disciplines on fees and charges, transparency requirements and the like, were fully applicable 
to energy products moved by fixed infrastructures.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 17 
 
 
  111. The third broad subject picked up in the paper was the question of fees and charges for transit 
services, which was addressed in section C of the pape r.  Parallel proposals had been made earlier by 
numerous delegations in respect of import and e xport fees falling under GATT Article VIII.  For 
transit, the key commitments the EC wished to see made more precise related to transparency of 
Members' fees and charges for transit, the need to avoid any arbitrary application of fees and charges 
and to ensure that fees were not excessive and that th ey reflected the costs of the service rendered to a 
transit operator.  In the EC's own consultations, a large number of  operators, traders and landlocked 
developing-country partners had placed particular  importance on the question of fees and charges. 
112. The fourth set of issues which the sponsors had tried to capture in that document related to 
measures to simplify and streamline transit requireme nts themselves with the objective of minimizing, 
as far as possible, the burden on trade and on  public authorities.  The document proposed 
commitments relating to transparency of rules, the value of advance consultations with the affected 
trading community on changes to transit rules and requirements and the possibility of advance notice, 
as far as possible, of new requirements before their entry into force.  Of course, Members’ domestic regimes differed in that respect.  That was someth ing that would have to be looked at with some 
flexibility.  But the concept was understood.  Emphasis was also placed on the prio rity to use, as far as 
possible, international standards as a basi s for transit regulations and regimes. 
113. On that last point, the sponsors of the docum ent were not proposing any absolute obligation 
for Members to apply a given list of international st andards or instruments in their transit systems.  
Rather, it was a commitment to use them as far as po ssible.  Clearly, a degree of harmonization about 
respective transit provisions based on internationa l standards would reduce the costs and the burden 
for traders and would increase transparency, not l east in transit arrangements between neighbouring 
countries.  It was also proposed under the aegis  of simplification and improvement of transit 
procedures to have some additional methods of tr ansit simplification, including the possibility for 
traders to place guarantees and the introduction of th e authorized traders concept.  In the case where 
traders were able to provide guarantees, it was pr oposed that those guarantees should be reasonable 
and fully reimbursed, because some traders had found that guarantee schemes were used as a form of 
extortion in some places. 
114. Finally, the proposal identified a number of possible commitments aimed at improving 
cooperation and coordination between Members on tr ansit issues, particularly at the important 
regional level.  It was obviously essential that ne ighbouring countries, w ho were operating regional 
transit systems or transit corridors, cooperated to th e greatest extent possible in order to ensure the 
good functioning of those transit regimes.  The pape r set out some ways in which that could be 
strengthened. 
115. In conclusion, the EC hoped that the proposal, which tried to bring together under one roof 
the range of proposals made to date on GATT Artic le V, would help the NG move towards a more 
focused phase of work and to identify more precisely  what Members might be able to do in terms of 
clarifying and improving WTO rules on freedom of transit. 
116. The representative of Paraguay
 said that Paraguay sought to bo ost the negotiations since the 
outset on the understanding that clarifying and e nhancing GATT Articles V, VIII and X was essential 
to assist in improving the material conditions  supporting trade.  For landlocked countries, 
transparency in trade rules and structures enabling barrier-free tran sit for their goods was vital. 
117. Countries which suffered from a landlocked situati on for historic reasons had to call for more 
multilateral disciplines that could achieve that.  Pa raguay could not do that on its own.  Work was 
required at a broader level with other countries,  especially neighbouring countries, to implement 
measures to facilitate the transit of Paraguay's goods through those c ountries.  That was why Paraguay TN/TF/M/12 
Page 18  
 
  tried to get that process to go forward.  It ha d done so by presenting several proposals on transit and 
also by co-sponsoring the new submission TN/TF/W/79. 
118. It was a contribution which brought together a large part of the measures to improve and 
clarify Article V and provided new momentum for wo rk in the direction set out in Annex E of the 
Hong Kong Declaration.   One had to be aware that the WTO would not be able to respond to all 
problems resulting from the limitation or lack of trad e facilitation measures in countries.  However, by 
an ambitious agreement, by engaging and by havi ng certain flexibilities enab ling certain measures to 
be implemented, one could improve conditions to a significant extent. 
119. To date, one was looking at a broad range of  proposals geared towards rendering transit 
simpler.  Most of them did not require more th an political will to implement and could make a huge 
difference, especially for countries like Paraguay which depended on transit.  Measures such as 
providing national treatment, avoidi ng the application of ground less discriminatory measures and 
conducting a periodic review of fees and charges for tr affic in transit might be the first measures that 
could go into the Agreement Members we re supposed to be formulating.   
120. There were other measures that would require greater efforts.  But even so, Members had to 
come to them as well.  For instance, there had to be an S&D mechanism that responded to the 
modalities set out in Annex D so that Members coul d achieve ambitious commitments.  Paraguay was 
sure that all Members wished to see enhanced TF measu res.  For that, one had to improve the material 
conditions that supported trade.   
121. If Members would carefully study the new transit proposal, it would allow them to make 
progress in their work and in achieving their goal. 
122. The representative of New Zealand
 said that New Zealand was very pleased to be a co-
sponsor of the paper.  While not  being landlocked, New Zealand was well aware of the extent to 
which transit issues could affect the global trading system.  The paper contained some very practical 
and focused proposals, which had been well covered by  the EC in their opening remarks.  There were 
a few additional proposals New Zealand wished to highlight, such as the periodic review of transit 
formalities with all interested parties having the righ t to participate, as well as some specific proposals 
for how to reduce and simplify transit formalities.  Ne w Zealand also wished to draw attention to the 
paper's proposals for achieving cooperation between authorities and the private sector in general. 
123. The paper also endorsed the use of internationa l standards.  Members' commitment to using 
existing standardized documentation was a key elem ent of the negotiations.  In sum, New Zealand 
saw real value in the paper because it consolidated issues raised in a number of papers on Article V, 
and helped focus the Negotiating Group on movi ng a process forward while identifying common 
elements amongst the proposals. 
124. The representative of Mongolia , as one of the co-sponsors of TN/TF/W/79, wished to add 
some general comments to what the EC, Paraguay and New Zealand had already said when introducing the joint proposal.  He wanted to make clear that, when talking about transit of goods, this 
referred to both landlocked countries and those that were not landlocked.  Mongolia was both a 
landlocked and transit country – the latter, for exam ple, applying for the case of trucks between China 
and Russia transiting through Mongolia – and Mongo lia would therefore assume the appropriate 
commitments as a transit country as well.  It should also be made clear that, when one talked about 
transit and goods in transit, this implied talking about all countries that had the practice and capacity 
to transit goods from one country to another.  Th ere was often the misunderstanding that it referred 
only to landlocked countries, which was not the case.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 19 
 
 
  125. The second point he wished to make concerned Article V, the improvement of which was at 
the heart of landlocked countries' interests and pa rticipation in the negotiations, especially when it 
came to landlocked developing countries.  Theref ore, in order to take into account the needs and 
priorities of landlocked developing countries, M ongolia's interest lay on improving Article V.   
126. Going into more details and specifics he  explained Mongolia’s  understanding of the 
provisions regarding most convenient routes for intern ational transit, and said he wished to combine 
this interpretation with Chile's recently-introdu ced proposal.  One example of what was meant by 
most convenient routes for international trade re presented the scenario of someone wishing to fly 
from Europe to Mongolia with there being two majo r options, one to go to Berlin, then Moscow and 
from there directly to Ulan Bator and the other, u sed by most people, to fly from Europe to Beijing 
and then on to Ulan Bator.  The second option enta iled flying over the whole of Mongolia twice, first 
when flying to Beijing and then again coming back from Beijing to Europe.  That did not include the portion from Beijing to Ulan Bator, which also meant flying over Mongolia. 
127. In terms of Article V, when talking about mo st convenient routes, the implication was that, 
although the second option via Beijing might be convenient for businessmen, it would not be 
convenient for transit of goods which had to reach the customer as soon as possible.  The most 
convenient route should be agreed upon by the par ties concerned and should not be dictated by one 
side. In Mongolia's negotiations with China and Ru ssia, it had been understood that most convenient 
routes should be agreed upon by the contracting pa rties.  For that reason, Mongolia had some 
questions concerning Chile's proposal.  The promoti on of regional transit agreements – such as the 
agreements Mongolia had with China and Russia, for example – was very important and should be 
part of the general agreement and one of th e important purposes of future WTO work on TF. 
128. National treatment was the most important provisi on that particularly landlocked developing 
countries were seeking when clarifying Article V.  Goods originating from different countries could 
not be discriminated by different administrative measures while being in transit.  It could not be different in terms of transportation purposes.  Goods from Mongolia, or Russia, for example, should 
not be discriminated on the basis of their origin.   While being transported, goods should be treated as 
goods that had originated from the transit country.  It was for that reason that national treatment was 
the most important provision that Mongolia would seek to be reflected in any outcome.  Mongolia 
hoped that these general ideas would be taken on boar d by Members when considering the proposals. 
129.  The representative of Moldova
 said that, taking into consideration the benefits of efficiency 
and transparency in trade flows, the negotiations  on TF represented a major subject for Moldova.  
However, given its limited capacities, Moldova did not  have the possibility to participate fully in all 
areas of the negotiations or to make a substantive contribution in the elabor ation of the different 
proposals.  Nevertheless, as a small low-income country in transition, the clarification and 
improvement of GATT Article V was very importa nt for Moldova's trade competitiveness.  Since 
Moldova was a landlocked country, a significant propor tion of its trade depended on efficient transit 
operations.  It was for that reason that Mol dova had decided to co-sponsor TN/TF/W/79.  
130. The representative of Turkey  appreciated the new proposals regarding transit traffic.  There 
was no doubt that all Members had potential gains from TF.  In that regard, opinions expressed with a 
view to clarifying and improving Article V's discipl ines on freedom of transit had much to contribute. 
131. Turkey specifically wished to mention that it had noted numerous valuable points in the 
TN/TF/W/79 submission, including those on transit fees and charges, as well as the need to simplify 
transit formalities and documentation requirements. 
132. Turkey, in full awareness of the fact that the current debate with its many dimensions had 
much to add to a more predictable and transparent tr ading environment to the benefit of all, had been TN/TF/M/12 
Page 20  
 
  actively engaged in the process so far.  Turkey was read y to further sustain its e fforts to that end.  For 
the upcoming meetings, Turkey hoped to be able to  come up with a more detailed analysis of the 
tabled proposals on freedom of tran sit as well as other related issues. 
133. The representative of Nepal
 extended his delegation's suppor t for the proposals submitted in 
TN/TF/W/79.  Specific proposals regarding polic y objectives and non-discrimination were important 
to ensure smoother transit for landlocked countries.   
134. Transit formalities and documentation require ments should be facilitated for landlocked 
countries.  Simplification of procedures, reduction of delays and efficient handling of transit goods 
were constant challenges and work in progress.  Th e proposals put forth in a systematic manner what 
was being practiced.  Hence, they would fac ilitate trade and make it more systematic and 
standardized. 
135. Of course, there was no doubt that SDT, tec hnical assistance and exemptions, as outlined in 
paragraph 2, were very important when talk ing about certain regimes and their schemes. 
136. The representative of Bolivia  said that during the Sixth Ministerial Conference, all Ministers 
supported a series of multilateral proposals on all elem ents of Annex D of the July Package.  The 
Ministerial also gave instructions to intensif y negotiations on the basis of proposals made by 
Members as well as to accelerate the process through new proposals.   
137. Bolivia appreciated TN/TF/W/79 and was thankful  to its sponsors to have taken into account 
the suggestions for disciplines which some Me mbers had presented concerning the mandate to 
improve Article V in light of its need to over come particular obstacles and problems in its 
international trade operations due to  its landlocked situation.  Unne cessary delays, unjustified controls 
of transit goods and a lack of transparency in th e implementation of measures were examples of such 
problems.  The recognition of landlocked countries in the section dealing with S&D, whose treatment 
was cross-sectional, would be useful to identif y specific needs and have them reflected in the 
negotiations on the disciplines and the consideration of  future obligations to be agreed upon for the 
implementation of Article V. 
138. Furthermore, from the operational point of view, one of the virtues of the proposal was that it 
brought together the various contributions made by Members and the results of the discussions held so far.  This would no doubt help save time and would help manage the discussions so as to be able to 
draw up the future structural and disciplinar y content of that part of the mandate.  
139. The representative of Zambia
, speaking also on behalf of the LDC Group , wished to make a 
number of observations on the proposal on transit (W/ 79) which had addressed very important issues 
in relation to moving the trade facilitation agenda fo rward.  There was need to clarify the EC position 
on a number of issues, including those related to the scope of technical assistance and support for 
capacity building in the context of the envisaged implementation costs, particularly as they might 
affect LDCs.  Specific issues in this respect include d, but were not limited to, the reference made in 
section III, paragraphs (c) and (d) concerning fees a nd charges, transit formalities and documentation 
requirements and publications of laws, regulation, fees, charges and similar matters.  Was there a 
preferred form or medium thr ough which that could be achieved?   In the case of electronic 
publications, for example, consider ation should be made of issues regarding design and maintenance 
of websites.  The establishment of a Single Window  was one concept that required TA&CB given that 
most players in the import and exportation of goods were fragmented and acted independently of each 
other.  The challenges included the establishment of a collaborative and interfacing mechanism which 
would require infrastructure in terms of syst ems, including, among other things, physical 
infrastructure.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 21 
 
 
  140. Regional transit initiatives were being contemplat ed but progress had stalled due to the lack 
of clarity and consensus on the architectural desi gn of the systems.  Some Members, especially 
landlocked countries, felt disadvantag ed on account of them not having a fair share of the benefits 
from such systems.  More had to be done to sensitiz e and clarify the system so as to make it a well 
encompassing one. 
141. Turning to paragraph (e) on cooperation and coordination, from the WCO and regional 
perspective, Members were encouraged to enter into a Memorandum of U nderstanding (MOU) for the 
purposes of enhancing mutual administrative assistance.  On the basis of territorial sovereignty, and 
given the highly differential economic structure a nd therefore degree of development, there was a 
need to clarify first the incident of non-complian ce or failure to reach agreement on the requirements 
before moving to clarifying the types of fees and charges on transit goods. 
142. On paragraph (f), definition of traffic in trans it, with regard to bonded transport regimes for 
certain goods and traders, the concept of "guarantee" related to security of duties and taxes that would 
otherwise be payable on imported goods at the point of importation.  In order to expand the scope of 
the security requirement and also to provide for fl exibility in application, it was suggested that the 
form of security included a bond, a guarantee or similar undertaking.  On account of national security 
and resource limitations, particularly in relation to effective controls, nationa l laws defined the ports 
and routes through which goods might  be imported or exported.  Unless these were optional routes 
within the legal framework, the choice that would otherw ise be available to the trader in terms of what 
would be the most convenient routes was limited to that prescribed by law.  Authorities would only facilitate transit traffic on gazetted routes, taki ng into account the entry and exit port which had 
limited functionalities because they could not fully clear commercial consignments except to redirect 
such goods to a much bigger port.  There was therefor e need to qualify that aspect in the proposal.   
143. One of the trade facilitation measures had been the warehousing facility.  The only question 
that arose here was whether goods could be cons igned to any country where they would be duly 
warehoused only to be re-exported at a later stage.  For landlocked countries, transit fraud had been a 
major challenge and that was why issues of direct consignment rule would impact on the freedom of 
transit traffic, particularly in areas of warehousing. 
144. In view of the above observations, Zambia proposed that the cost of implementing the 
proposed measures required serious assessment and that a clear indication of the scope of technical assistance for capacity building be defined.  That should include provision of appropriate 
infrastructure to support the implementation of trad e facilitation strategies.  While Zambia appreciated 
that the joint proposal had taken on board many of the important issues that were a burden to LDCs, 
such as identification of Members' needs and pr iorities, operationalization of SDT and technical 
assistance, it was not clear how it was intended to establish the precise, effective and operational special and differential treatment which related the ex tent and timing of entering into commitments to 
implementation capacities.  It was also not clear what  the cost implications to LDCs would be nor by 
whom and how such costs would be borne, and how and through what  mechanism the LDCs would be 
assisted by the international community. 
145. Concerning the other proposals, the LDC Group would like to study them further and would, 
in due course, come back with reactions  after concluding its consultation process. 
146. The representative of Switzerland
 was thankful for documen t TN/TF/W/79 which further 
specified elements proposed on transit so far.  It wa s a first attempt to build on the proposals listed in 
the compilation document.  Switzerland believed that, while some elements were treated extensively 
and perhaps even exhaustively in the submission, ot hers still required further specificity.  Switzerland 
wished to emphasize three areas of particul ar importance with respect to transit. TN/TF/M/12 
Page 22  
 
  147. First, whenever dealing with transit, one ha d to acknowledge strong regional components.  
Indeed, the bulk of transit transactions occurred with in a region.  For Switzerland, it was the European 
region.  This was why trade facilitation had to stim ulate and develop regionally integrated solutions. 
148. Second, expediting the movement of goods was of  particular importance in transit.  The 
international Convention on the Harmonization of Fr ontier Controls of Goods and Articles V and X of 
the TIR Convention gave insight into the conclusi ons drawn in other international organizations on 
that matter.  First, for goods in transit, customs s hould limit their inspections to cases where they were 
warranted by the actual circumstances or risks.  Second, Annexes 2 to 6 of the Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods said that, normally, no quality controls, controls of 
compliance with technical standards, veterinary, me dical, sanitary or phytosanitary inspections should 
be imposed.  Third, relating to the regional com ponent in transit, there should be coordination 
amongst all public authorities involved in the transit region. 
149. That last point was particularly important with  regard to three aspects: (a) transit documents, 
where a single set of documents should be accepted th roughout the whole transit region;  (b) customs 
guarantee systems.  As pointed out in submissi on TN/TF/W/79, international or regionally valid 
guarantee systems had to be put in place and accepte d by the whole transit region to avoid provisional 
taxation while securing revenue in case of inland diversion of goods; and (c ) regionally integrated 
automated systems allowing to register entry and ex it of goods and appropriately opening and closing 
transit procedures through feedback betw een all countries and customs involved. 
150. Proposal TN/TF/W/79 introduced new terms to operationalize Article V:2 of the GATT.  In 
Switzerland's view, and also in light of what ha d been discussed with regard to Chile's proposal, 
Members had to carefully assess the impact of such  new language and bring th e provisions of Articles 
XX and XXI into play, in particular with regard to  traders' rights to choose the most convenient route 
for transit and the request that governments made  no distinction between means of transport. 
151. The representative of Argentina
 said that his delegation found the joint proposal in 
TN/TF/W/79 very interesting.  The document started a new phase in the negotiations in that it tried to 
compile the proposals made so far.  Trying to be  precise and not just coming forward with general 
ideas led to a much more practical discussion wher e one could see how such a method could work in 
practice.  His delegation had benef ited from bilateral talks with some of the co-authors of the paper 
and his authorities were considering their final comme nts on certain points that had been clarified.  
Argentina therefore wished to make only four or five specific comments. 
152. First, his delegation would like the co-authors to clarify the last sentence of the first paragraph 
which read: "the proposals are without prejudice to the possible format of the final result of the 
negotiation".  What was meant by that and how did they interpret the word "format"?  Did they mean "legal format" or other "material format"?  That was one of the terms used in Annex D of the Group's 
mandate and it was important to kn ow how it should be interpreted. 
153. Second, referring to the specific proposal in paragraph (a) regarding "the legitimate public 
policy objectives", Argentina supported the proposal and felt that it was a particularly pertinent and 
important one because it was both good and opportune  to recall the applicability of Articles XX and 
XXI.  This would be very necessary should the resu lts of the TF negotiation give right to a text 
independent of the GATT 1994. 
154. Third, regarding the non-discrimination princi ple, specifically with respect to national 
treatment, Argentina had some con cerns with regard to being clear  about applicability of national 
treatment.   As everybody recognized, the national treatme nt principle had a specific application.  
Generally, it applied to like products and like circumstances.  In that re gard, he wished to recall that 
the addendum to paragraph 5 of Article V, when referring to transportatio n charges, listed three  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 23 
 
 
  conditions.  First, like products, second, transportation on the same route, and third, under like 
conditions.  In other words, there were certain principles and conditions, one of which was that 
national treatment should take into account the tr eatment given to goods a nd transport of national 
goods but only as long as those goods fulfilled those conditions.  That did not appear clearly in the proposal and Argentina sought clarification as to the extent of national treatment in this context. 
155. Another point he wished to draw attention to concerned the route most convenient for 
international transit.  One had to arrive at a fa ir equilibrium here.  Two different interests were 
apparent.  The first concerned the trade interest of trade operators who wished to have the most 
convenient route from the point of view of comm ercial interest, and the second was the general 
interest that authorities had to protect their own part icular custodianship.  A balance had to be struck 
between the two.  One had to be very careful and c ould not give greater weight to the "particular" over 
the "general" nor completely cancel out th e commercial benefit for the operator.   
156. Argentina shared the view expressed by Switzer land that the formulation of the document was 
similar to the content of paragraph 2 of Article V in its current form and that there was only one new 
element which was to recognize the right of the comm ercial operator to choose the most convenient.  
At the same time, there was an important limitatio n as to the protection of legitimate public policy 
objectives.  More clarification was needed as to whether the public objectives referred to were the 
same as those in Articles XX and XXI or whether they entailed something more.  It also had to be clear whether each authority at the time and accordi ng to circumstances could establish the level of 
protection or restriction of this right to be accorded to the trader.  
157. Argentina also wished to draw attention to the point concerning periodic review, both with 
respect to duties and charges and regarding docume ntation and formalities.  In both areas, there was 
the suggested obligation to have each Member periodi cally review its duties, charges and formalities.  
In the case of trade regulations, there was an impor tant difference regarding how the periodic review 
was carried out concerning duties and charges.  Th e last sentence in paragraph (d), second bullet, said 
that "such reviews shall allow for the participation of  all interested parties and, as appropriate, may be 
held at a bilateral, regional or international level".  Argentina wi shed to know why, in the case of 
trade regulations, there was suggestion to have that so rt of review at all leve ls, bilateral, regional, 
international, and not just at the multilateral leve l, which would be the most logical, since one was 
operating in a multilateral environm ent.  Were the sponsors of the submission thinking of some 
multilateral review mechanism for that type of situati on or was that just proposed to be an obligation 
to work towards that objective?  Was that simply promoted without planning to make it compulsory?  
And why only with respect to one of the two categories?  
158. The last point Argentina wished to draw attenti on to related to the same paragraph (d).  Under 
the 5
th bullet, speaking about the promotion of regiona l transit agreements, the sixth line said that 
"Members shall not enforce unilateral rules affectin g traffic in transit which are not in accordance 
with the bilateral or regional transit agreements or  arrangements in which they participate".  Clarity 
was sought on the precise content of that reference.   Argentina had the impression that, eventually, 
there would be a multilateral obligation which would incorporate all the norms adopted regionally or 
bilaterally.  One could imagine that to produce a di fference at the bilateral and regional level.  It 
would imply that international dispute settlement  rules applied, as one had incorporated those 
bilateral/regional obligations at the multilateral leve l.  When wondering about the applicable law, it 
was clear that that was the multilateral agreement.   But it also implied approaching the sensitive 
theme of conflicting jurisdictions.   
159. What would happen, for instance, if Argentin a signed a bilateral transit agreement with 
Uruguay with a given system of dispute settle ment?  There would be a new WTO Agreement 
concerning transit and Article V matters with a si milar rule.  The multilateral rule would not only 
cover all multilateral obligations but also the Ar gentina-Uruguay agreement.  That would cause a TN/TF/M/12 
Page 24  
 
  difference for the Argentina-Uruguay accord.  What  would be the appropriate jurisdiction, the 
bilateral dispute settlement mechanism or the multilate ral one?  That was a systemic matter.  One had 
to be very careful with how to take it up.  Ca ution was required regardi ng introducing regional or 
bilateral obligations into the multilateral ambit.  Th ere was also a problem with respect to temporal 
aspects as that would mean incorporating what had happened in the past, the present and the future. 
160. The representative of Chile
 said that the proposals contained in document W/79 had been 
presented in a precise and concrete manner.  That was appreciated because it helped with their consideration by the capital.  From a substantive point of view, Chile shared most of the specific 
points raised in that document.  For instance,  there was full corresponde nce in views regarding 
suggestions made with respect to fees and charges affecting transit, on publication, consultation with 
the private sector, and cooperation between the differe nt authorities involved in transit domestically as 
well as internationally. 
161. Chile also had a series of questions, some of which had already been raised by Argentina.  
One of them related to the scope of the legitim ate public policy objectives mentioned in section III:a. 
The respective paragraph presented a non-exhaustive lis t of those objectives such as national security, 
health, safety and the environment.  What objectives or criteria could be evoked by the authorities of a 
given transit country?  That was important from th e point of view of predictability and future 
disciplines.  There were various disciplines which Ar gentina had raised.  With respect to legitimate 
objectives, did they coincide or were they limited to  Articles XX and XXI of the GATT  or was it just 
an illustrative list to which others could be included? 
162. Likewise, Chile shared the concerns raised by  Argentina on the relationship between what 
was agreed on in terms of WTO multilateral discip lines and the agreements which Members' customs 
authorities entered into in the context of regional inte gration systems.  Interesting questions arose such 
as which rule would prevail.  Clarification on those points would be appreciated. 
163. Overall, there were a lot of similarities of vi ews between Chile and the authors of the paper 
which was welcomed as a basis to overcome the few areas where there might still be differences of 
opinion.  The convergence far exceeded the differences.  
164. The representative of Tanzania
 commented on proposal TN/TF/W/79, associating his 
delegation with the statement made by Zambia on  behalf of the LDCs.  Tanzania's preliminary 
comments were that the proposals merited Member s' consideration because they took on board 
Tanzania's concern regarding the need to include pr ecise, effective and operationa l SDT.  It also took 
on board the issue of technical assistance and of id entifying Members' needs and priorities in relation 
to the proposals. 
165. However, the proposals were not very clear on how it was intended to actually operationalize 
SDT and technical assistance as mentioned by Zambia.  The proposals had also not yet acknowledged the importance of infrastructure. Annex D was very clear that developing countries would not be obliged to undertake investments in infrastruct ure projects beyond their means.  Certainly, 
infrastructure was very important, particularly to transit countries such as Tanzania which had a huge 
stake in transit trade as it serv ed seven landlocked countries. 
166. With respect to the issue of publication, the proposal did not touch upon how the published 
information was meant to be made available.   Was it through government gazettes, customs 
publications or the Internet?  The proposal to provide a justification and basis for the published 
regulation remained debatable as there were some ci rcumstances where fees or charges were dictated 
by international organizations whic h might have invested in certain projects in order to recoup their 
loans.  All in all, the issue had cost implications that would require TA&CB.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 25 
 
 
  167. Conducting a periodic review of documentation, fees and charges to ensure that they were in 
line with WTO commitments was also a costly exercise.  For Tanzania, the WTO Trade Policy 
Review conducted every six years for LDCs was ade quate.  A reduction and simplification exercise to 
ensure that traffic in transit was not subject to unnecessary delays restrictions, inspections or controls 
was also a subjective requirement.  It was a good idea based on mutual trust between governments, 
but some dishonest operators violated and misuse d that requirement.  Some cargo destined for 
landlocked countries ended up unloaded in the domes tic market, depriving transit countries of much 
money. 
168. With respect to a Single Window for traffic in tr ansit, it was clear that, in order to ensure the 
success of trade facilitation, customs administrations  must build good infrastructure.  However, that 
had cost implications.  In fact, infrastructure cost s for automation, including Single Window, were the 
most crucial ones.  Tanzania also did not know wh at components were involved and at which level.   
Tanzania had founded the Tanzania Logistics Comm unity to exchange information electronically 
between stakeholders, but it had been difficult to im plement and operate that system because of the 
costs involved.  
169. The suggestion to promote the use of regional transit agreements with a view to reducing 
trade barriers was something to be applauded.  Th e formation of the East Africa Customs Union in 
Tanzania's region should be seen as trade facilitation in itself towards that requirement.  It was an 
arrangement where Members would consult, cooperate  and coordinate transit arrangements such as 
those related to infrastructure.  
170. The proposal to simplify treatment for certain goods and traders and to apply risk 
management techniques to enable any instruction to be  targeted on the basis of degree of risk attached 
to individual consignments was a very good one.  It was associated with the establishment of 
authorizing the schemes which granted simplified tr eatment to traders with a good track record of 
compliance with transit business.  However, due to  the fact that some people would misuse that 
regime, there was need to develop it slowly and gradually, in order to create trust.   
171. Cooperation and coordination among authorities invo lved in transit trade was a very good 
idea.  Tanzania had always practiced those arrange ments through various fora.  The operationalization 
and clarification of terms was also a good idea and in line with the existing commitment in GATT 
Article V to grant freedom of transit through the territory of each Member via the routes most convenient for international transit, such as by leav ing the choice of route and means of transport to 
the operator, as suggested by Mongo lia.  However, sometimes, when the choice of route was dictated 
by operators such as clearing and forwarding agenci es, it could lead to them opting for the most 
expensive ones, because, for instance, their cleari ng and forwarding fees were being based on the CIF 
value, which meant that, the longer or more expensiv e the route, the more they got in terms of fees. 
172. In conclusion, Tanzania welcomed the proposals and would continue to engage in discussion 
after receiving comments from the capital, par ticularly on the proposals' cost implications.  
173. The representative of Japan
 welcomed and appreciated the proposal contained in 
TN/TF/W/79.  As a preliminary comment, Japan, as a co-sponsor of document TN/TF/W/28 on the 
improvement of Article V, genera lly supported the proposals set out in the paper.  Detailed comments 
were currently under preparation.  Japan therefore wished to revert with additional feedback on the 
paper at a later stage.  
174. The representative of Korea  said that the TN/TF/W/79 proposal addressed the key points of 
what Members had been discussing on GATT Article V since last year.  Although Korea was not part 
of the co-sponsoring group, it found the proposal to be  very helpful for countries that had a great TN/TF/M/12 
Page 26  
 
  demand or potential with respect to transit goods.  In that regard, Korea fully supported all elements 
of the proposal and wished to have a more specific discussion on it  in the near future. 
175. With respect to specific proposals mentioned in section (d) "Transit Formalities and 
Documentation Requirements", and the suggested averag e time for release of traffic in transit, Korea 
was of the view that, since traffic of goods in tr ansit depended on a number of factors such as the type 
of route, the types of traffic and route conditions, it was comparatively difficult to fix or determine the 
average time for release of traffic in transit at each main point of entry and exit.  That was one of the 
practical problems to fix.  
176. The paper also clearly stipulated in the last  lines of the first bullet in section (d) that 
"Members should periodically publish the average time for release of traffic in transit...".  
Clarification was sought on whether the sponsors of the proposal envisaged only the obligation of 
publication of the average time for release or al so proposed an obligation for Members to be in 
compliance with clearing traffic in transit within th at average time.  Korea was of the view that the 
publication of average release times for transiting traffic would contribute to transparency, but the requirement to clear all traffic in transit within  a certain time was another story involving other 
obligations.  
177. On the other hand, average release times fo r clearance processes involving goods which did 
not have much value in comparison with the traffi c in transit was worth considering.  One had to 
differentiate those two scenarios with respect to av erage clearance times.  Korea would revert with 
comments on other elements of the paper at a later stage. 
178. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 welcomed the comprehensive follow-up paper 
TN/TF/W/79 concerning freedom of transit and co mmended the efforts of its sponsors to collaborate 
and consolidate ideas and proposals from other Memb ers.  Hong Kong, China wished to offer some 
preliminary comments on some of the specific proposals. 
179. With respect to legitimate public policy objectiv es and traffic in transit, HKC supported the 
general principle that a balance had to be mainta ined between freedom of transit and the various 
exceptions as provided for under GATT Articles XX  and XXI which allowed for the pursuit of 
legitimate policy objectives.  The crux of the matter was how to maintain a fine balance between the 
two. 
180. On non-discrimination, as a matter of principle,  Hong Kong, China supported the general line 
that national as well as MFN treatment should be accord ed to goods in transit.  On fees and charges, 
Hong Kong, China welcomed transparency through pub lication of transit fees and charges, and the 
proposal to provide a justification and basis for such  fees and charges.  HKC was also in support of 
the principle of introducing an adequate time pe riod between publication a nd implementation of new 
or amended transit fees and charges, except  where justified by existing GATT provisions. 
181. Hong Kong, China welcomed the suggested periodi c self-review of transit fees and charges to 
evaluate their relevance and validity.  Furthermore,  HKC was of the view that all relevant fees and 
charges, not just those relating to traffic in transit,  should be subject to periodic review.  On transit 
formalities and documentation requirements, HKC gene rally welcomed improvement in transparency 
through publication of transit regul ations and formalities, and the pr ovision of a justification and basis 
for such regulations and formalities. 
182. HKC supported the principle of introducing an ad equate time period between publication and 
implementation of new or amended transit formal ities and documentation requirements.  On the 
publication of the average time for release of traffic in transit, HKC had no objection in principle to 
such a new commitment.  It might be worthwhile to consider an additiona l obligation to regularly  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 27 
 
 
  review the published target time w ith a view to reducing it as far as possible.  Taking into account the 
different starting points of different Members, ad equate flexibility should be provided in any new 
commitment in that regard. 
183. Hong Kong, China welcomed the suggested pe riodic self-review of transit formalities and 
documentation requirements to facilitate customs clear ance, and considered that all formalities and 
documentation requirements, not just those relating to traffic in transit, should be subject to periodic 
review.  However, it was not clear what parties we re included under "all interested parties".  It 
appeared that in conducting the periodic review, Me mbers also had to take into account the comments 
from other government agencies involved in the process. 
184. Hong Kong, China generally welcomed th e idea that any transit formalities and 
documentation requirements should be reasonable, be applied uniformly and should not be more trade 
restrictive than necessary to achieve the legitimat e public policy objective pursued.  However, Hong 
Kong, China wished to know more about the definitions for "unnecessary delays, restrictions, inspections or controls".  It would be helpful if  more details of the actual commitments and some 
relevant examples could be provide d to facilitate further discussion. 
185. On bonded transport regime and guarantees, in principle, Hong Kong, China supported the 
idea that no fees and charges should be imposed in relation to the use of bonded transport regimes and 
guarantees except for those directly related to th e cost of services rendered.  Hong Kong, China 
welcomed further discussion on that proposal with  a view to exploring whether a reasonable, 
meaningful and enforceable WTO commitment could be established. 
186. The representative of Pakistan
 welcomed the new proposal on transit.  Pakistan appreciated 
that it gave due importance to SDT and technical assistance.  With respect  to specific proposals, 
Pakistan agreed with the sponsors of the proposal  on the need for clearer rules to ensure more 
transparency, such as with respect to publication of fees and char ges, regulations, periodic review of 
fees and regulations, simplification of procedures, us e of international standa rds, and cooperation and 
coordination amongst all concerned. 
187. The only concern Pakistan wished to express by means of a preliminary comment related to 
the suggestion to give traders the right to choose the route most convenient for transit.  That issue was 
still being examined in capital and Pakistan would re vert to it at a later session.  In some countries 
with more or less similar tariffs amongst adjoining states, that might not  matter too much, but 
sometimes, when the tariff rates were substantially different, giving the trader s the right to choose was 
quite risky and it was difficult to exercise legitimate controls. 
188. Furthermore, Pakistan fully supported the Swis s view that in that area for negotiation, 
Members had to place emphasis on strong regional co mponents, regionally integrated solutions and 
regional coordination among authorities. 
189. The representative of Cuba  was grateful for the proposal which constituted a valid effort to 
arrive at a better clarification and development of Article V.  As the proponent of TN/TF/W/64 with 
the fundamental objective to find better disciplines concerning non-discrimination, Cuba saw with 
satisfaction  that TN/TF/W/79 approached the question of defi ning that important topic.  Nevertheless, 
in a preliminary reading, Cuba had not found the essence of the document.  Cuba would continue to 
work with the sponsors of that document w ith the view to better develop Article V. 
190. The representative of Brazil  expressed her delegation's appreciation for the proposal on transit 
of goods.  It was a very useful contribution becau se it summed up all previous proposals.  With 
Paraguay being a co-sponsor to that proposal and an  important trade partner to Brazil, Brazil was 
quite sensitive to that issue and looked forw ard to discussing it further in due course. TN/TF/M/12 
Page 28  
 
  191. The representative of the United States
 welcomed the proposal which accomplished three 
important things to move work forward.  First, the paper appeared to reflect some convergence and 
consolidation of proposals.  Second, it seemed to bring a real focus and greater precision to proposed 
commitments.  And third, it took a step forward in integrating the S&D and technical assistance (TA) elements. 
192. Being also a proponent and the sponsor of proposals, the US realized the burden applied.    
That would already be reason enough to express appreci ation for the paper.  The US had some other 
questions and would submit more detailed comments at a later stage.  The US delegation hoped for 
the paper to become a spring board to have even more detailed exchanges. 
193. The representative of Uganda
 said that TF was a key area of the DDA which had the potential 
to increase Uganda's connectivity to regional and inte rnational markets.  Uganda was thankful for the 
proposals tabled.  In particular, Uganda wished to thank the EC and other sponsors of the transit proposal which brought forth some good points that would facilitate trade, especially for landlocked 
LDCs.  The proposal was a step in the direction of focussing the discussions on Article V issues. 
194. Uganda had studied the proposal with its asse ssment being one of broa d support.  However, 
Uganda wished to add that it would be important to address in more detail issues of SDT, provision of 
technical and financial assistance and the very important issue of infrastructure development.  Uganda had some ideas on how that could be done and was willing to engage  further with the proponents on 
how those elements of concern to Uganda could be incorporated into the proposal. 
195. Uganda also wished to make some more gene ral comments on what it saw as critical elements 
in the negotiations.  Uganda wished to stress the importance of the need to start a discussion with 
some level of precision on the cost implicati ons of proposed measures and the S&D component 
thereof.  There was also need to operationalize th e provision of technical and financial assistance in 
the negotiation mandate.  It was an issue Uganda held close to its heart.  The hope was that that could 
be done prior to entering into text-based negotiations.  It should be recalled that for LDCs, there was a 
clear recognition in Annex D of the need for provis ion of technical and fina ncial assistance aimed at 
assisting them not only in the course of the nego tiations, but to implement the outcome thereof. 
196. While there was now some form of knowledge on the scope of negotiations through the tabled 
proposals, there was no mention of the funding mech anism and how it was that LDCs were to be 
assisted in implementing the potential outcome of the negotiation.  Uganda viewed that as very 
worrying and called upon the Chair to steer the discu ssion towards that very important issue in the 
NG.  
197. It was also in light of that aspect that Uganda found the ACP proposal in TN/TF/W/73 as a 
positive one, particularly as far as paragraph 18 was concerned.  There was need for a clear indication 
and understanding of the financial me chanism to assist LDCs at that pa rticular stage.  While Uganda 
was aware that there was a lot of assistance being provided bilaterally, it was not convinced that sticking to traditional mechanisms of bilatera l assistance would suffice as a solution to new 
multilaterally agreed obligations. 
198. Another important issue tied to financial assistan ce was the need for the negotiations to take 
into account infrastructure difficulties faced by LDCs.  Paragraph 6 of Annex D contained a clear reflection of the fact that infrastructure was part of the discussion on trade facilitation.  Because of the hardship Uganda faced as a country, it wished the negotiations on technical and financial assistance to 
take that issue into account.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 29 
 
 
  199. Uganda also wished to emphasize the need to  look at regional approaches to operationalize 
technical and financial assistance.  That would assist  in solving the problem of transit countries with 
capacity constraints and be in the inte rest of landlocked countries as well.  
200. The representative of India  welcomed the paper from the EC and several other Members 
(TN/TF/W/79).  It marked the second phase of the NG' s work as it compiled the proposals already on 
the table.  In doing so, it made delegations' work easier. India's extensive comments on the individual 
papers would need to be taken into  account as the discussions progressed. 
201. The overall approach of the paper was to attemp t the establishment of a system of release of 
goods in transit which, in a way, mirrored the syst ems for release of goods under import and export.  
India was not sure whether it was necessary to replic ate each system of import and export for transit, 
especially with respect to issues such as having a system  of authorized traders or a time release study.  
With respect to the time release study, clarif ication was sought, as some Members had expressed 
concern that the time would need to be publishe d for the entire period taken for crossing the goods 
from the entry to the exit point.  In India's understa nding, the TN/TF/W/79 proposal was to give two 
separate time releases, one at the point of entry and the other at the point of exit.  India wished to 
understand the precise idea behind the proposal on publishing time release.  
202. Like other Members, India was also concer ned about extending the principle of national 
treatment to traffic in transit.  According to the proposal, Members shall accord treatment no less 
favourable than that accorded to domestic goods, exports and imports and their movement.  That 
might be a very sweeping commitment because goods, which moved domestically, had to be treated 
differently than goods which moved in transit.  Similarly, goods which were moved after they had 
been imported had to be treated differently.  One pr ime consideration for treating them differently was 
that goods which moved domestically, or which moved after they had cleared the borders for imports, 
were duty paid goods.  Therefore, the concern of safeguarding revenue was not as acute as for goods 
which transited through countries.  Since no duty had been paid on those goods, it was important that 
they did not get diverted.  Second, there were ot her sensitivities of trade policy and security concerns, 
requiring those goods to be treated differently from normal goods of domestic origin.  More 
discussions on that proposal were therefore required.  
203. Clarification was also sought about certain proposals relating to the processing of transit 
documents and data prior to the arrival of the tr ansiting consignment.  India understood the issue in 
the context of import of goods because prior ass essment of documents helped reduce the time for 
release of goods and for deciding which goods had to  be further examined, whereas transit systems 
normally did not presuppose the check of goods or their physical verification. India was therefore not 
sure whether there was need for a pre-arrival declaration. 
204. India also sought clarification about the wording in the tiret referring to "the use by traders of 
commercially available information, documents an d data wherever possible".  Was the idea that 
government authorities should use commercially ava ilable information?  India did not know how 
traders would use commercially available informatio n and for what purpose.  They were the ones who 
generated that information. 
205. Finally, India shared other Members' concerns  regarding the right to choose the route most 
convenient for transit and wished to reiterate its earlier expressed concerns on that matter.  
206. The representative of Japan  commented  on the transit proposal tabled by the EC and a group 
of other countries (TN/TF/W/79). 
207. With respect to its proposal on transit form alities and documentation requirements set out on 
page 3, III(d), first bullet, suggesting that "Member s shall accord an adequate time period between the TN/TF/M/12 
Page 30  
 
  publication of new or amended transit formalities a nd documentation requirements and their entry into 
force", Japan wished to comment th at it was difficult for its government  to decide the publication date 
of new or amended laws and regulations due to its relations hip with the national Diet or the 
parliament.  In that regard, Japan welcomed the EC's clarification that the issue had to be treated with 
some flexibility, as Members had different systems.  In the course of further clarifying that point in 
the negotiations, Japan wished to pursue  compatibility with its legal system. 
208. Japan shared the view of it being important for traders to obtain necessary information for 
their preparation for trade transactions in advance in terms of predictability and transparency and 
thought that necessary measures to meet that obj ective should be taken in to consideration with 
flexibility. 
209. Based on such precondition, Japan could suppor t the proposals contained in TN/TF/W/79 and 
therefore wished to co-sponsor that paper. 
210. The representative of th e European Communities
 expressed appreciation of the broad support 
indicated by other delegations for document TN/TF/ W/79.  The EC was extremely pleased by its good 
reception.   With respect to the questions about th e proposal, the EC would try to answer as many as 
possible.  The Communities would also submit a written reply. 
211. As regards Argentina's question on the meaning of the EC's remark about the proposals being 
without prejudice to the possible format of the fi nal result of the negotiations, the EC wished to 
inform that that was a quotation from footnote I of the negotiating mandate set out in Annex D of the July Package.  The EC had not yet reached a definitive view on whether Members were working 
towards a self-standing WTO Agreement, an understandi ng on the implementation or improvement of 
Articles V, VIII and X, or whether to amend those Ar ticles.  That was a question of format as opposed 
to one of whether Members were negotiating WTO commitments, which was clearly the case.  The format remained to be determined. 
212. Regarding Argentina's and India's point about  the applicability of the national treatment 
notion in transit, the EC agreed on the need for mo re focus on the issue and more precision.  What the 
EC wished was to capture the notion that, where lik e products were travelling in similar conditions on 
similar routes, the treatment of the transiting pro duct should not be less favourable than that of the 
like domestic product travelling in the same conditions  along the same route, irrespective of whether 
the product was in transit or was a domestic good be ing moved within a territory.  It was a fairly 
innocent idea the EC was trying to capture. 
213. With respect to the question of who had the fr eedom to choose the most convenient route for 
transit, doubts about how to interpret that aspect of  GATT Article V in the se nse of whether it was to 
be the choice of the government or the choice of the trader had already been raised a few years ago in 
the pre-negotiation period.  The EC sought a clarification of Article V in the sense that the determination of what was most conve nient should be in the hands of th e trader, but subject to the fact 
that the government had a right to restrict that fr eedom of choice if there was a good reason to do so.  
There were many reasons why in particular situa tions authorities would not allow complete freedom 
of choice, such as for environmental controls or other reasons.  In trying to clarify Article V, the EC wished to see that balan ce more explicitly reflected. 
214. With respect to the questions about the impli cation of periodic reviews, what the EC and 
other Members had proposed – also for Article VIII – was that Members would domestically carry out 
a periodic review of their fees and charges and their broader regulations.  It was a familiar concept in 
the WTO as reflected in a number of existing agreemen ts.  The EC was not very novel in that respect.  
It was a question of good regulat ory practice that, from time to time, regulations, fees and charges 
were reviewed as to their continued relevance.  In  the case of fees and charges, given that they should  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 31 
 
 
  reflect mathematically the cost of the service re ndered, the EC saw no particular reason to open up 
that review process to others.  It was something to be done by the authorities. 
215. With respect to broader transit regulations, rul es and requirements, it was very important that 
governments consulted interested parties when revi ewing their transit provisions and procedures.   
The trading community on the ground had to be involv ed in that exercise, al so in the case of changes 
to regional transit agreements or arrangements.   It was common sense that a government would 
consult with other Members of a transit agreement or with neighbours whose traders were going to be 
affected by changes.  That w as the reason for the EC proposals. 
216. The EC welcomed the comments by the LDC Gr oup, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.  With 
respect to the question repeatedly raised by the LDC Group and by the previously mentioned 
individual countries on the whole set of issues surrounding technical assistance and SDT, the EC 
would give a detailed response between now and April, either in the context of its reaction to the ACP 
Group proposal or through a separate submission to the Negotiating Group.  The EC already carried out aid programmes that took to heart the kind of concerns raised by those countries.  The EC was extremely committed, as were other bilateral donors, to  help build up in part icular regional transit 
corridors and the infrastructure required to make those corridors function.   
217. With respect to the questions about the notion of establishing average processing times for 
customs intervention in transit, the EC saw that  purely as a domestic exercise that each Member 
would individually carry  out.  It was a transparency measure.  The measurement of time release would 
be done at the point of entry and at the point of exit, as they marked the beginning and the end of a transit operation and there was a form of customs intervention.  The idea was simply to see how long 
that intervention took.  Most of the EC govern ments were progressively applying time release 
methodologies to try to identify bottlenecks and im prove the speed and the service to the customer. 
218. With respect to Hong Kong, China’s comprehe nsive comments on the paper, which the EC 
welcomed, and to HKC’s question as to who would be interested parties to be consulted when 
modifying or drafting rules and regulations for tr ansit, the focus was very much on consultation 
domestically with the local trading community directly  affected by those changes.  With respect to 
HKC’s request for examples of what the EC would consider to be unnecessary delays, restrictions, inspections or controls, the EC would communicate them in writing. 
219. As for India’s questions whether it was logical to apply some of the modern customs methods 
applicable to import and export to transit operations, the EC was of the view that that was the case.  
There were a lot of parallels.  At the end of the day, transit was simply another form of customs 
operation.  The methods that should be useful for import and export, release and clearance were in 
most cases equally applicable to transit.  Therefore,  some of the notions of the EC proposals regarding 
provisions on fees and charges, bond systems, guarant ees and the registration of authorized traders 
were as applicable to transit operations as they were to more classic import and export operations. 
220. As for the LDC Group’s question about whether the publication of rules and requirements and 
fees and charges should be done electronically or th rough government gazettes, the EC was of the 
view that it was entirely up to each country to determine the way in which it published its 
requirements, whether it was electronically or not.  What was important was that the local trading community, the importers, exporters, freight forwarde rs and transit operators had that information 
quickly.  How it was done was each Member’s decision. 
221. The representative of Mongolia
 wished to add a few ideas from the perspective of a 
developing landlocked country in response to ques tions raised by a number of Members.  SDT and 
technical assistance were a main interest of de veloping countries, especially LDCs and landlocked 
developing countries.  It was what Mongolia exp ected from the Round in terms of trade facilitation. TN/TF/M/12 
Page 32  
 
  222. There were a few elements one should keep in  mind.  First, SDT and technical assistance 
issues would be integral parts of the overall S&D a nd TA elements of the Doha Development Round.  
They could not be separated from those elements of  the Doha Round.  Special treatment was required 
regarding the needs of developing countries in term s of TF.  For that purpose, Mongolia had already 
tabled a number of proposals both to the NG a nd to the Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong.  
Mongolia had, for instance, put forward a proposal to establish a TF chapter within the framework of 
the DDA Global Trust fund.  There was need now to tr anslate that idea into a concrete suggestion.  A 
written proposal on the matter might be presented at the next NGTF meeting.   
223. Mongolia understood that one should not expect the WTO to build railways, roads and the 
like.  Rather, what Mongolia had in mind when talking about building infrastructure for the purpose 
of trade facilitation was to have some assistance from the WTO and other international organizations 
in terms of improving the efficiency of border-cro ssing points to release the goods, as well as in terms 
of servicing goods in transit.  The building of railw ays, roads and similar large projects was usually 
done by the international financial institutions and by  bilateral donors.  The purpose of TA in that 
regard was to make use of the existing projects al ready completed.  What Mongolia was expecting as 
a developing landlocked country was not physical infrastructure in the form of railways, but an 
improvement in efficiency.  That was the most impor tant matter.  The most serious hurdle in servicing 
goods in transit was on the human side in terms of bureaucratic obstacles.  The assistance Mongolia 
would seek, for example, from the WTO and the donor  countries in terms of TF would be how to 
reduce those bureaucratic hurdles. The infrastructur e Mongolia would be asking for was not railways, 
airlines or aircrafts.  One should not be too ambitious. 
224. As for S&D provisions, one should be able to establish the main elements of the modalities 
and then come to the S&D provisions.  Mongolia  knew that one should first discuss some general 
principles and then their exclusion.  That would be SDT.  The S&D issues presented in all other 
negotiating areas would be also present.  One woul d automatically transfer from other areas the S&D 
provisions that would apply to the LDCs, landl ocked developing countries  and other groups of 
developing countries like small and vulnerable economies.   
225. The representative of Rwanda
 commended the sponsors of the paper and appreciated the fact 
that it had received wide support. Rwanda might  co-sponsor it as well.  Rwanda was further 
encouraged to see the authors of the paper open to di scuss it in order to have an outcome that could be 
a win-win for everybody. Rwanda fully endorsed the views expressed by Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania.  
226. On the issue of infrastructure, Rwanda had hear d the EC talk about bilateral support.  That 
was an issue for discussion because Rwanda wished  to know whether it should be bilateral or 
multilateral.  Infrastructure was recognized in Annex D as an issue that had to be addressed.  All those 
issues, including S&D, were issues that required further discussion. 
227. The representative of Canada
, speaking on behalf of Australia, Canada and the United States,  
informed delegations about the availability in the meeting room of an adva nce copy of a document 
which presented some common elements regarding a dvance rulings that were drawn from various 
proposals.  The sponsors of that document looked forward to discussing it at the next meeting.   
228. The representative of Egypt  said that Egypt was looking forward to advancing work, 
particularly on S&D and operationalizing TA&CB in relation to eventual commitments that 
developing Members might have to assume  as a result of the negotiations. 
229. Egypt's submission in TN/TF/W/75 built upon its earlier submission on "Reforming Customs 
Authority, Fighting Corruption and the Use of Computers" (TN/TF/W/69).  In its previous submission, Egypt had explained some of the asp ects of its customs reform and modernization  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 33 
 
 
  programmes, shedding light on the pilot introducti on of a Single Window and on Risk Management 
operations that it was trying to institute in its cu stoms.  It also looked at various automation-like 
projects that were taking place. 
230. Two general points should be made.  For TF to succeed, it was important to insert a wider 
economic and regulatory reform pr ogramme.  That had been the experience of Egypt, which had 
allowed it to put trade facilitation high on the ag enda of politicians and of businesses.  The wider 
reform programme entailed also what was called e- government. It was a project that involved a major 
multinational, Microsoft, which dealt with the wo rking of government agencies among each other and 
how paper could be phased out as much as possibl e within the government in the coming years. 
231. The second general point was that TF entailed a l ong and costly process.  A question had been 
raised about the costs of the reforms.  It was diffi cult to pinpoint the costs of single interventions, but 
it was quite a long process which entailed a lot of tr aining and capacity building of major authorities.  
It also comprised both soft- and hard-ware activ ities that were needed, including upgrading of 
infrastructure.  The current submission addressed modernization efforts related to the three GATT 
Articles discussed in the NG.  
232. Under Article V, Egypt was modernizing its  transit system, moving from a paper-based 
system to an electronic one.  It was also us ing risk management techniques as an important 
component of that modernization programme.  Mo reover, cross-border customs cooperation was an 
integral part of the thinking and a major component  of how a functional system of facilitating transit 
should be carried out.  That was happening as an in itial stage.  Cross-border customs cooperation was 
happening already within a framework of recently si gned FTA agreements.  It was obvious that such 
modernization required a lot of assistance from part ners that had longer experience in modernizing 
their customs.  A lot of attention also had to be paid to the training of personnel and to raising the 
capacity of people working in those fields.  Th at was one of the areas in which Egypt would 
definitively need further assistance to complete its modernization efforts. 
233. With respect to Article VIII, a major review of the Customs Code, including fees and 
formalities, was undertaken in 2004.  Fees were cons tantly revised in the framework of an ongoing 
dialogue with stakeholders, both at the national leve l and with major trading partners abroad.  Fees 
and formalities documentation and regulations were regularly published in the official gazette and 
Egypt was moving to a web-based publication syst em supplementing the mandatory requirement of 
publication in the national gazette.  Further reviews of fees and charges were envisaged in the coming 
period.  Egypt was also moving to the introduction of the first stage of an electronic declaration 
system.  A pilot project was underway.  In addition, Customs was introducing an "Account 
Management System" to facilitate the identification of compliant traders.  It had already been done 
with some of its major trading partners with more yet to come. TA&CB would be needed to 
contribute to the modernization efforts, particularly  to establish and introduce a new electronic system 
at the national level. 
234. With respect to Article X, modernization effo rts were pointing at encouraging the use of 
electronic publications through official websites.  These official websites were run both by customs 
and by the Trade Ministry and other authorities wo rking under the Trade Ministry.  That process was 
at its initial stage and was still a long way from fulfilli ng all the desired results.  In that respect, Egypt 
would also need the support of its partners.  It woul d need the existing best practices to make sure it 
was on the right track.  Customs and other nationa l authorities were running enquiry points, which 
were operating at major ports and points of entry to provide assist ance and advice to exporters and 
importers.  That service was usually free of char ge to operators.  Customs was also running a 
command web-page where traders could address thei r enquiries and comments to the appropriate 
office in charge within customs.  It was a dece ntralized system of commenting on existing different 
regulatory pieces as far as customs functioning was concerned.  Egypt also published all matters TN/TF/M/12 
Page 34  
 
  related to penalties in the official gazette and in the customs magazine.  The intention was to do that 
electronically in the near future. 
235. As far as Article X was concerned, Egypt was aware that, for the system to work in full 
transparency, a reasonable period of time should be gi ven between publications and entry into force of 
provisions and regulations.  In paragraph 10, the subm ission dealt with consular fees, which was as an 
area that had been under discussion in Egypt throu ghout the last year.  The discussions were still 
going on.  There were different opinions about ho w to handle the issue of consular fees.  The 
discussions were not yet conclusive.   
236. The representative of Canada
 expressed appreciation of Egypt’s national experience paper, 
which was very useful.  It gave an indication of wh at a country like Egypt had done and what were the 
requirements for domestic reforms in the area of pe rtinence to the negotiations .  The paper was very 
informative for the consideration of proposals on the table. 
237. Canada saw relevance for some  of its own proposals.  Such a communication helped 
Members to look again at their communications with  a view to advancing the ideas in light of the 
situation in various countries, the TA requirements and how to make sure that the commitments took 
into account the implementation capabilities of deve loping and least-developed countries.  Canada 
would welcome further communications of that nature in the future. 
238. Clarification was sought with respect to the current transit procedures.  The penultimate 
sentence of paragraph 3 said that "Egypt also be lieves that those goods transit movements should be 
timed and the route specified".  What was meant by  "routes specified"?  Did the carrier, when entering 
Egypt, have to provide information as to which rout e he would take for the transit through Egypt, or 
was it that the route was specified by the customs authorities upon entry of the carrier into Egypt?  
239. The representative of Egypt  replied that traders would specify to the customs authorities the 
route they would be taking within the country.  
240. The representative of Jamaica , speaking on behalf of the ACP Group , introduced 
communication TN/TF/W/73 entitled "Issues in the Negotiations on Trade Facilitation and the 
importance of Promoting Development Objectives through Technical Assistance and Capacity 
Building".  
241. The ACP States recognized the potential benef its that would accrue to their countries from 
undertaking trade facilitation measures.  Therefore, in order to contribute to the negotiations, ACP 
Member States had committed to injecting inputs th rough submissions to the NGTF.  The first of 
those projected submissions was especially dedicated to reaffirming some of the key principles on 
which the ACP hinged their participation in the negotiations and on TA&CB.  
242. On the first aspect of reaffirming some of th e key principles, the ACP wished to highlight:  
(i) the need to bear in mind that, although the pro posals made so far were broadly consistent in 
principle with the thrust of ongoing national pr ogrammes in some ACP countries, ACP countries were 
at different levels of development and by extensi on, utilized varying levels of border procedure and 
administration; (ii) the importance the Group attached  to the adherence to the mandate of the NG, and 
(iii) the flexibilities contained in Annex D, including (a) the latitude of Members to ultimately decide 
on the possible format of the final result of the negotiations and the allowa nce for consideration of 
various forms of outcomes; (b) that extent and timi ng of entering into commitments shall be related to 
delivery of the required support and assistance and to  the implementation capacities of developing and 
least-developed countries; (c) that LDCs would be  required to undertake commitments only to the 
extent consistent with their individual needs and capabilities; (d) full reflection of the principle of 
SDT for developing and least-developed countries; (e) the need to make SDT directly operational in  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 35 
 
 
  any negotiated outcome; (f) that the concerns of developing and least-developed countries relating to 
the cost implications of proposed measures shall be effectively addressed; (g) th e need to ensure that 
at the end of the negotiations, there was reten tion of existing policy space and flexibility for 
developing countries in terms of adopting TF measures; and (h) the need to manage delicately, the issue of balance between the legitimate objective of  border control and the desirable goal of trade 
facilitation.   
243. On the second aspect, ACP Member States unde rstood that their development objectives 
could be promoted through technical  assistance and capacity building. 
244. The salient points of the ACP Group's contri bution towards operationalizing TA&CB in the 
context of the negotiations on TF were (i) The need  to clearly identify the needs and priorities of 
developing countries for TA&CB on Trade Facilitation as an important task in fulfilling the letter and 
the spirit of the negotiating mandate; (ii) Such  assistance could and should include financial 
assistance; (iii) Developing target projects or progr ammes of assistance to support the implementation 
of any negotiated outcome; (iv) Strengthening ex isting trade facilitation-related TA&CB programmes 
and forging closer collaboration and enhanced coor dination among relevant international, regional 
and sub-regional organizations in  terms of the delivery of trade facilitation-related TA&CB support to 
ACP countries to help them design and undertake trade facilitation-related projects or programmes 
identified as part of their TF negotiations needs or priorities.  The establishment of an Inter-Agency 
Coordinating Mechanism for Trade Facilitation TA&CB could assist in that regard; (v) In order to 
efficiently source and allocate TA&CB support for developing countries, it was proposed that a special Trade Facilitation Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building Fund be established.  
Contributions thereto should be sourced from bilate ral and multilateral donors; (vi) The identification 
and implementation of TF negotiati ng needs and priorities should be made through national inter-
agency trade facilitation assessment projects.  That  would enable ACP countries to build a complete 
and comprehensive picture of their domestic tr ade facilitation needs and priorities; (vii) The 
development of a human and technical resource base relevant to the TF negotiations in ACP countries 
through trade facilitation negotiations training projec ts and programmes; (viii) Identification of trade 
facilitation-relevant physical and policy infrastruct ure to enable ACP countries to fully maximize the 
benefits of trade facilitation and to effectively comply  with new trade facilitation rules, and lastly (ix) 
The ACP recommended that the WTO Secretariat prepare a report on the extent to which the technical assistance aspects of Annex D were being implemented. 
245. The ACP stood ready to engage in a constructive debate on that issue of critical importance to 
developing countries. 
246. The representative of Moldova
, speaking also on behalf of the Kyrgyz Republic  as another 
small low-income economy in transition, introduced  document TN/TF/W/74 which contained some of 
those countries’ concerns.  
247. Small low-income economies in transition wh ich had recently acceded to the WTO faced 
huge difficulties in their efforts to implement economic and trade policy reforms.  The objective 
economic indicators clearly showed that the level of development of their economies was comparable 
to low-income developing countries and to LDCs. 
248. Both sponsors were landlocked and therefor e faced additional difficulties in economy and 
trade.  Like developing countries, they were concer ned that the likely commitments that would result 
from the Trade Facilitation negotiations might  go beyond their implementation capacities. 
249. Paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Annex D of the General Council's Decision of 1 August 2004 
contained comprehensive provisi ons on SDT and TA&CB for deve loping countries and LDCs.  
Furthermore, paragraph 38 of the Doha Ministerial D eclaration instructed that "priority shall also be TN/TF/M/12 
Page 36  
 
  accorded to small, vulnerable and transition econo mies" in the area of technical cooperation and 
capacity building.  However, for the small low-inco me countries in transition, though their level of 
development was quite low, no specific flexibiliti es and/or provisions were agreed so far. 
250. Therefore, Moldova and the Kyrgyz Republic requested the NGTF to agree that Members 
which were small low-income econom ies in transition be also grante d special flexibilities with regard 
to trade facilitation and be provide d with adequate TA&CB in accordan ce with paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 
6 of Annex D of the General C ouncil's Decision of 1 August 2004. 
251. The representative of Barbados
 indicated full support for the ACP submission and the 
statement by Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group.  The paper not only reaffirmed and presented Barbados' perspective on the conditions for ensuring a successful outcome of the negotiations but also 
provided a specific blueprint on how the TA&CB mandate could be concretely established and 
implemented. 
252. The proposed coordinating mechanism was one possible structural option Barbados was open 
to discuss further, but there were some  precepts in the paper which were absolute.  On the principles 
which would be difficult to dilute, were in pa rticular, the overriding principle described in 
paragraph 2, and the recognition by all ACP Members of the benefits of a developmental nature that 
would result from enhanced TF measures.  That re cognition was, however, conditional on the issues 
mentioned in paragraph 5 being addressed, as that woul d be necessary to ensure  sustainability of those 
benefits. 
253. Therefore, the issues of capacity, appropriate  technical and financial measures, technology 
transfer, training and infrastructure enhancement had to be addressed.  Section 3's elaboration of a 
time dictated provision of TA was of primary im portance as it reaffirmed the need for TA&CB to 
premier that process pre, during and post textual ne gotiations.  Specific consideration of the type of 
assistance required in the three phases was also detailed, especially the importance of a needs 
assessment as the most crucial initial step. 
254. Session 4 of the paper elaborated on the area of  monitoring and evaluation, which was an 
important concept both for the providers and recipients  of the assistance.  That structure would also be 
of prime importance in determining whether Me mbers had received sufficient and appropriate 
assistance to allow them to take on board any oblig ations which might result from those discussions.  
Barbados hoped for Members to give careful consid eration to the proposal as Members collectively 
attempted to realize all aspects of the mandate. 
255. The representative of Senegal
 supported the statement by Jamaica on behalf of the ACP 
Group and drew attention to the role of infrastru cture, which seemed to be taboo in the NG.  
256. The ACP dealt with that matter on page 4 when  referring to the "key areas for funding of 
Trade Facilitation TA&CB".  The Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration required the move into 
focussed drafting mode.  In that context, the focu s had to include the question of infrastructure, 
according to Senegal's analysis, and not set that aspe ct aside, as the report prepared before Hong Kong 
had done.  Senegal insisted on that because the re flection on TF in the light of Annex D had to go 
beyond the improvement and clarification of the provisions of Articles V, VIII and X. 
257. As regards transit, one should be  concerned with the coherence and efficiency of the transit 
environment, because investment would be require d correlative to the improvement introduced to 
those provisions, physical infrastructure and equipmen t regarding ports and roads.  The focus had to 
ensure that the modalities that would be obtained took into account the TA needs, to evaluate the 
infrastructure investments and the technical assistance for their financing. It was something that had to 
be underlined due to its importance for the efficiency required in the discussions.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 37 
 
 
  258. The representative of Mauritius  supported the ACP submission and the statement made by 
Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group.  Mauritius viewed the development dimension as a major 
feature of the trade facilitation negotiations.  That  was clearly spelt out in Annex D and had also 
recently been reiterated in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
259. It was without doubt that the current negotia tions and eventual implementation of trade 
facilitation measures would require the mobilization of resources, both financial and technical, to 
assist developing countries in that area.  Hence,  Mauritius viewed the TA&CB component as key to 
the work of the NGTF.  There had been several submissions on that aspect already such as the African 
Group paper on how to operationalize the TA&CB component.  The ACP submission offered some 
further ideas on how that could be done, such  as by the establishment of an Inter-Agency 
Coordinating Mechanism. It also identified so me key areas for funding.  Mauritius hoped that the 
submission would contribute to moving forward the discussion on that particular aspect of the 
negotiations. 
260. The representative of Tanzania  supported the submission by the ACP Group regarding the 
promotion of development objectives through TA&CB.  It was important to sequence the 
recommendations on TF endorsed by Ministers in Hong Kong.  They should at least serve as a 
guideline for further negotiations on that area.  Fi rst, Members should narrow the focus on proposals 
that they considered to constitute elements of TF.   Many proposals had been put forward by various 
Members since the start of the negotiations a nd some of them went beyond the mandate.  
261. Second, technical and financial assistance s hould be operationalized by starting with the 
establishment of a Coordination Mechanism to channe l that important requirement as proposed in the 
submission.  Third, the identification of need s and priorities should follow as it was key for the 
determination of which elements constituted trade facilitation.  
262. The representative of the European Communities  welcomed the ACP paper which addressed 
some very important aspects of the mandate in a mo re concrete manner. Memb ers had to work further 
on many of the proposals contained in that document.   
263. The European Communities had a very profound relationship with the ACP countries through 
the successive Lomé Conventions and, more re cently, the Cotonou Agreement.  The ACP were 
principle development corporation partners.  Thr ough the European Development Fund, about half of 
Europe's development aid was provided to the AC P countries for developmental purposes.  The EC 
had decided shortly before Hong Kong in the Europ ean Council that it would increase the provision of 
trade-related assistance to around 2 billion Euros par annum, from 2010 as the combined assistance 
for trade-related aid from the Communities and its member States.  It was roughly a doubling of 
existing aid provisions in the trade area.  It was very clear already that a large proportion of that increase in the EC cooperation programmes and aid woul d be in the area of trade facilitation, where, 
as the OECD had noted in a recent report, there ha d been a 250 per cent increase in the amount of aid 
being channelled globally to trade facilitation si nce the Doha Ministerial Conference in 2001. 
264. The Communities intended to fulfil completely that  aspect of the mandate in terms of being a 
cooperation partner and providing technical assistan ce to ACP partners and to developing countries 
who might need help with the implementation of an y future trade facilitation provisions in the WTO. 
265. With respect to the proposal to have some kind of a multilateral fund for the implementation 
of a future TF agreement, the EC would continue  to provide technical assistance bilaterally and bi-
regionally.  It had been the preference of indivi dual ACP countries and ACP sub-regions to maintain 
that bilateral and bi-regional channel for the desi gn and implementation of de velopment aid, including 
in the trade field.  That was what the EC planned to continue.   TN/TF/M/12 
Page 38  
 
  266. In addition to the Geneva nego tiations, the EC also engaged in negotiations with the six ACP 
sub-regions of Economic Partne rship Agreements (EPAs), wh ich were broad development 
cooperation agreements that would replace the Co tonou Agreement.  Trade Facilitation was a very 
important component of the EPAs. Through those instruments, the EC helped to build regional 
capacities for TF, in particular regional transit syst ems and regional infrastructure.  In doing so, one 
could "kill two birds with one stone" in (i) helpi ng ACP partners and sub-re gions to build regional 
capacities for TF to improve competitiveness and stimulat e growth and, (ii) through the same vehicle, 
helping partners to meet the emerging commitments  that Members were discussing in the WTO.  
267. With respect to the question of a coordination mechanism and how to design or improve 
existing ones, the EC shared some of the ideas e xpressed in the ACP paper.  Members had to find 
different or improved means to cooperate and coordinate between development partners and 
international organizations.  Coordina tion had to take place in two ways a nd at two levels.  First of all, 
within individual countries.  There had to be coordination on the ground between the country in 
question and bilateral and multilatera l donors.  That was absolutely a pre-condition for a coherent aid 
design and implementation.  Secondly, as mentioned by  the ACP, there had to be some kind of means, 
some platforms for cooperation and transparency in  Geneva, between developm ent partners, bilateral 
donors and multilateral organizations. 
268. The EC had made proposals along those lines in prev ious submissions.  It was certainly a very 
important element of a post-Round implementati on phase in that area to have some kind of 
cooperation or transparency mechanism to support the implementation by WTO Members of future 
WTO provisions and to ensure that progressive implementation was matched and was supported by 
appropriate development aid.  The EC was keen to work further with colleagues on giving more 
precision to that idea in the weeks ahead. 
269. The representative of Cuba
 associated her delegation with the main issues set out in the ACP 
document and with the statement by Jamaica on beha lf of the ACP Group.  Three fundamental aspects 
had to be mentioned. 
270. The document tried to establish an equilibrium between disciplines and SDT, technical 
assistance and capacity building.  The proposals referred  to concrete actions wh ich were to take place 
before, during and after the negotia tions on trade facilitation, in line with the foreseen mandate.  
Further, the proposed measures had to benefit each and every Member participating in the 
negotiations.  Cuba and other de veloping countries wished to achieve concrete gains from the 
negotiations. 
271. The representative of Rwanda  fully supported the introductory remarks by Jamaica on behalf 
of the ACP and urged Members to support the principles highlighted in the ACP submission. 
272. The debate was not too wide on that particular issue.  Rwanda was not sure whether that was 
due to the fact that it had been introduced la te or because Members were still reflecting on the 
submission.  Rwanda wished to know whether ther e would be another chance to discuss it. Maybe it 
would be better to discuss it informally.  Ther e were many ways of coming up with some common 
ground.  Rwanda was thankful to the EC for their observations.  Rwanda did not want to talk about 
whether it preferred bilateral or  multilateral support – it would proba bly be both – but would engage 
in bilateral discussions to have a common understanding on that issue. 
273. Rwanda wished to talk about the sequencing between needs assessments and the rules it  
intended to agree on.  It was Rwanda's understandi ng that the needs assessments would be based on 
rules that would be agreed on.  He did not know whether Members would wait until there was 
agreement on the draft Agreement and then assess th e cost implications.  One could still assess now  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 39 
 
 
  and continue to do the assessment la ter on.  It would be a continuous exercise to make sure that the 
TA&CB to be provided would capture the costs implications.  
274. For that purpose, it would be importa nt to have clear provisions on TA and CB, which were 
two different matters, with CB covering infrastructure,  and to have clear modalities.  Members had to 
clearly identify detailed modalities on how TA&CB would be addressed in the coming months so 
that, even if the assessment would be made after the agreement, the cost implications could be fully 
addressed. 
275. The representative of Kenya  associated his delegation with the submission by the ACP and 
with the statement by Jamaica.  The submission clearly demonstrated the importance the ACP countries attached to TF, in particular to the cust oms reform process which continued to remain very 
high on the agenda of the ACP countries.  The paper, as well as other submissions discussed earlier, 
revealed clearly that the issue of capacity bu ilding was the cornerstone of any successful customs 
reform process.  That was why the issue of TA &CB was a very important one in the discussion. 
276. The ACP submission put forward some ideas on how to implement that issue in the context of 
the mandate.  Its suggestions merited consideration.   Kenya looked forward to further engagement on 
that issue, hoping that, at the end of the day, one  would be able to achieve something the ACP felt 
comfortable with.  
277. The representative of Trinidad and Tobago
 associated her delegation with the statement by 
Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group, which high lighted the importance the Group attached to 
TA&CB. 
278. The ACP states were convinced that benefits c ould be derived from trade facilitation.  What 
the submission sought was to identify ways in wh ich the TA&CB aspect of the mandate could be 
operationalized.  With respect to the coordinating mechanism, Trinidad and Tobago was heartened by 
the intervention of the EC, as it shared its inte rpretation that there would be some forms of 
coordination in the post negotiating implem entation phase, which was very important. 
279. The representative of Zimbabwe  associated her delegation with the statement by Jamaica on 
behalf of the ACP.  The need fo r TA&CB was well articulated in para graph 6 of Annex E of the Hong 
Kong Declaration and no repetition was needed.  Zi mbabwe believed that trade facilitation was of 
great benefit to Zimbabwe as a country, and for the ACP Group as a whole. 
280. The proposal by the ACP gave some clear indica tion as to how the matter could be considered 
further.  It was pleasant to note that Members were willing to look into that matter, so that Members 
got some results at the end.  Zimbabwe also wi shed to emphasize the point made by Cuba when 
indicating the need for results at each and every stag e of the negotiations so that Members were clear 
as to where they were going, took stock of the shor tcomings, and collectively tried to look into the 
issues to see how best to address them. 
281. The representative of Zambia  fully associated his delegation with the statement made by 
Jamaica on behalf of the ACP countries.  
282. The representative of the United States  welcomed the ACP paper.  Paragraph 5, in particular, 
captured a challenge.  With regard to the question of a coordinating mechanism, it was no secret that 
the US was very cautious about something that smac ked of new international bureaucracies.  The US 
delegation agreed, however, that one had to look at  developing a coordinating mechanism.  The US  
approach to the question was tripod and very si mple: Member-driven, Member-partnership, and 
Member-ownership. TN/TF/M/12 
Page 40  
 
  283. The United States agreed with Rwanda's statement on the assessment having to be a 
continuous exercise.  But the importance was, at le ast for the moment, to begin.  Several tools had 
been put forward to that end.  Members had to begi n the process so that one could feed into the NG's 
work and continue to do so.  
284. The representative of Egypt
 supported the ACP submission.  Many countries of the ACP 
Group were Members of the large group of African c ountries and of the African continent.  Egypt was 
delighted that there was a very detailed subm ission on how to operationalize S&D and TA&CB.  
Those ideas would be very useful to guide Members'  work in the coming period.  It was useful to 
introduce it early in the year so that Members could make use of it.  
285. The Chairman  asked whether there was any point delegati ons wished to revert to with respect 
to contributions previously received. Additional information on one such earlier proposal had been 
provided by Australia (JOB(06)/22/Rev.1)), supplementing its nationa l experience paper 
(TN/TF/W/66) by seeking to address key elements of  the discussions held at the October meeting.  
286. The representative of Sri Lanka  commented on a proposal submitted by India and the United 
States the previous year on the establishment of  multilateral mechanisms for the exchange and 
handling of information between Members (TN/TF/W/ 57), expressing its support for that proposal.   
India had followed up with another useful cont ribution in document TN/TF/W/68.  Based on the 
result of an analysis of that proposal by the Core Group established in Colombo as a result of the 
World Bank Trade Facilitation Negotiation Support Project, which comprised key stakeholders, Sri 
Lanka wished to co-sponsor document TN/TF/W/68.  
287. It was a very useful submission.  Sri Lanka had some bilateral arrangements for sharing 
information.  Its experience showed that those bilateral arrangements had not yet produced the 
expected results.  Sri Lanka believed that a solu tion at a multilateral level was more efficient and 
could contribute to achieving some of the objectiv es of the negotiations.  One of those objectives was 
to have appropriate controls wh ich could facilitate the smooth rel ease of goods.  Sri Lanka believed 
that the proposed mechanism would help to exped ite the clearance of goods while at the same time 
maintaining the necessary level of control.  India' s submission had also elaborated the appropriate 
methodology for how that multilateral mechanism coul d be operationalized.  In particular, the paper 
had come up with solutions on how to deal with the confidentiality aspect of exchange of information, 
which was a key concern for several Members.  Ther e was now need for a great deal of TA for setting 
up that kind of cooperation mechanism.  
288. The Chairman  said that work in support of the negotiations had also been continued by the 
participating international organiza tions, touching upon several crucial aspects.  Details of that work 
would now be explained.  
289. The representative of the WCO  said that, from the perspective of an implementation agency, 
some of the proposed WTO commitments might be best implemented with an implementation guide 
containing technical details and best practices.  In that regard, the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention 
and its supporting initiatives, including the Customs Data Model, could provi de implementation tools 
of WTO trade facilitation commitments in a compleme ntary way.  Several WTO Members had in fact 
proposed a WTO commitment to use WCO instruments.  
290. The WCO therefore wished to share the mo st recent development regarding the WCO 
Revised Kyoto Convention, which had entered into force on 3 February.  Prior to that, the accession 
to the instrument was limited to the Contracting Parties to the original convention, i.e. merely 
63 countries.  The entry into force opened up the door to the remaining over 100 countries.  The 
current number of Contracting Parties to the revi sed Kyoto Convention was 44; and the number was 
expected to grow rapidly.  Together with the development of the TF negotiations, the WCO believed  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 41 
 
 
  that an increase in the number of co untries meeting or pledging to meet  that international standard in 
their customs operations would significantly cont ribute to the progress of the WTO negotiations. 
291. Another important element the WCO wished to  comment on was the effective provision of 
TA&CB.  The interventions of the development part ners showed that they were willing to assist in 
that regard once the needs and priorities were we ll identified and donor coordination was established. 
It appeared that the potential beneficiary countries also shared the importance of those elements.  
Taking account of those elements expressed by both  sides, the WCO had established a Capacity 
Building Directorate and enhanced its capacity to r espond to the demands in that area.  Its current 
focus was to conduct a diagnosis with a view to assisting its Member Customs administrations to 
implement the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure  and Facilitate Global Trade.  Once the future 
WTO commitments on TF shaped up more clearly, the WCO would contribute to the provision of 
TA&CB for their implementation.  With respect to the capacity building during the course of the 
negotiations, the WCO was pleased to continue the work in close cooperation with the other Annex D 
organizations. 
292. The representative of Djibouti  appreciated the contributions made by Members for the present 
meeting as well as the comments by the WCO, partic ularly in discussing TA&CB.  After all, what 
Members were discussing was facilitating international trad e.  But, prior to doing that, there had to be 
some follow up regarding the capacity in the field, did not exist in the case of Djibouti. Everybody 
was aware that, regionally and nationally speaking,  there was no capacity.  Therefore, Djibouti was 
interested in a recipe for what to do on the local le vel.  For instance, there ought to be daily contacts 
on the ground, but that had to happen through faxes and telephones and there was a lack of 
infrastructure. 
293. The infrastructure question had to be borne in mind.  There was no point in discussing trade 
facilitation if ships came in, unloa ded goods and left and there was no capability to continue sending 
out those goods due to lack of infrastructure in te rms of roads, rail or otherwise.  Members had to 
reach a consensus within the WTO, either bilatera lly or multilaterally, for countries such as Djibouti 
to be able to set up preferential patterns so as to  remedy the existing total lack of capacity in 
infrastructure. 
294. The representative of the World Bank  informed the NG that the World Bank, together with 
the other Annex D organizations, had been very  active in supporting the negotiations.  Their 
combined work focussed on three key areas: (i) a ll organizations were involved in promotion and 
advocacy to highlight the benefits of trade fac ilitation and to encourage Members to seek a positive 
and ambitious outcome; (ii) sharing of information on relevant tools, instruments and international 
standards they had developed and/ or maintained; and (iii) providing advice and assistance to Members 
to support their own work on determining needs and priorities for technical assistance related to the 
negotiating agenda. 
295. The World Bank's support for the negotiations ha d been focused mainly on overcoming some 
of the practical constraints that many developing and LDC negotiators faced in playing an active role 
in the trade facilitation negotiations.  Unfort unately, most developing and LDC Members only 
maintained small offices in Geneva and, as a result,  were extremely limited in their capacity to deal 
with issues arising from negotiations .  As underlined by Sri Lanka earlier, with a practical example of 
their own limitations, negotiators had little ready access to the required technical advice and guidance 
from their capital-based experts, which in turn limited the capacity of negotiators to actively and 
effectively participate in, and cont ribute to, the negotiation process. 
296. In recognition of that, the Bank launched a Trad e Facilitation Negotiations Support Project in 
February 2005.  The project was designed to assist Members with limited resources in Geneva to establish practical support mechanisms in their capitals  to provide Geneva-based  negotiators with real TN/TF/M/12 
Page 42  
 
  time analysis and advice on the content and implicati ons of proposals that had been tabled in Geneva.  
Funding support for the project had to date been pr ovided by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
the UK Department for Internationa l Development (DFID), and the EC. 
297. To date, the project incorporated two compone nts.  Component I involved the development 
and distribution of a Trade Facilitation Negotiation Support Guide to assist Members to establish 
appropriate support mechanisms in their capitals.  The Guide, which was now available in English, 
French and Spanish, provided a series of de tailed guidelines on how to establish and manage 
negotiation support groups in Member's capitals and how to improve the level of communication 
between content area specialists  and Geneva-based negotiators. 
298. Component II consisted of a seri es of national pilot workshops designed to promote the use of 
the Bank's Guide and to demonstrate the usefuln ess of capital-based support groups to Geneva-based 
negotiators.  Pilot workshops had been conducted in  Jamaica, Uganda, Sri La nka, Benin and Peru, and 
the results achieved had been shar ed with all WTO Members.  Furt her workshops were envisaged for 
2006.  The World Bank had also participated in workshops and seminars organized by the WTO 
throughout the world, by the OECD and by other organizations.  
299. The next step, component III, would consist of  a series of regional seminars designed to 
provide an opportunity for Geneva -based negotiators and capital-based  specialists to discuss needs, 
priorities and implementation issues on a regional basi s.  The first of those seminars would be for 
Africa, organized in cooperation with the Africa Uni on.  The second was scheduled to be held for the 
Caribbean, organized in cooperation with the Cari bbean Regional Negotiating Machinery.  Both of 
those activities would be financed by the EC a nd were scheduled for the first half of 2006. 
300. The key principle that underpinned the Bank's support for the negotiations to date was the 
assumption that the most appropriate people availa ble to analyse the proposals and look at their 
implications already existed in member countries a nd just had to be brought together with their 
negotiators in Geneva to define national positions.  
301. While the value of the work undertaken so far had been acknowledged by WTO Members and 
had made a positive contribution to  the quality of the negotiation pro cess, negotiators continued to be 
hampered by concerns about the potential cost s associated with implementation of any new 
commitments that might flow from the negotiations.  
302. Unfortunately, while some worthwhile resear ch had been undertaken by the OECD, the 
WCO, and others on the costs of implementing a ra nge of TF measures, most of that did not link 
closely to the negotiating agenda and therefore did no t answer some very basic questions about costs.  
In many cases, work had already been initiated be fore the negotiations progressed.  Likewise, while 
the work undertaken by the Bank to date under Components I and II of the project had provided 
valuable insights into potential im plementation readiness, it did not provide detailed information on 
the resource implications and technical assistance needs associated with an y new commitments that 
might be agreed. 
303. It was clear, however, that many developing-country and LDC Members were reluctant to 
agree to proposals until such time as they had a cl earer understanding of the cost implications and, 
where necessary, the likelihood of appropriate TA&CB support being made available by donors. 
304.
 Component IV was therefore designed to establis h some indicative data on the potential costs 
and implementation issues that were likely to face developing and LDC Members.  Given the specific references to the provision of appropriate TA&CB su pport contained in Annex D, the project was also 
designed to inform the donor community about the potential resource and support requirements they 
were likely to face in terms of implementation of an Agreement in the future.  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 43 
 
 
  305. In addition, as a secondary objective, it was envi saged that the in-country work that would be 
undertaken as a part of the project would lead to the development of a gap analysis and costing tool that could be used by all Members to more accura tely identify their techni cal assistance needs relative 
to the negotiating agenda, regardless of whether the project visited their country. 
306. Component IV would consist of a series of seven in-country case studies.  Countries would be 
chosen on the basis of objective criteria but woul d include countries from each of the World Bank's 
regions and at different stages of development. 
307. It was expected that a team of experienced Cu stoms and TF specialists would visit each of the 
seven countries to conduct a detailed assessment to determine any gaps between current systems and 
procedures and the specific measures currently unde r consideration in the WTO negotiations.  While 
it would not be possible to address all the individual  proposals under consideration, an illustrative and 
representative list of them considered most likely to form the basis of a new agreement would be 
selected.  In addition to determining any gaps th at might exist, the assessment would identify the 
probable costs associated with any TA&CB needs that  might be made out.  Issues such as the most 
appropriate sequencing of any technical assistance interventions and the potential for alignment with 
existing reform and modernization plans/ programs would also be determined.  
308. While the proposed approach would result in de tailed data for only seven countries, it was 
likely that such information would assist to in form all WTO Members of the approximate costs 
involved and would provide some broad "order of ma gnitude" information that was likely to lead to a 
greater sense of confidence that the costs associ ated with a new Agreement were not beyond the 
means of many countries. 
309. Agreement had already been reached with th e International Moneta ry Fund to provide 
technical support to the project via the secondment of suitably qualified Customs and trade facilitation 
experts for each of the seven proposed missions.  Likewise, the World Customs Organization had 
agreed to allocate one of their experienced techni cal officers to participate in the project.  UNCTAD 
would participate in the study to the extent that their resources allowed.  At a minimum, they would 
provide technical advice to the study team and would act as a formal peer review of the project 
outputs.  The OECD would also contribute as a fo rmal peer reviewer.  Therefore, while being 
managed by the World Bank, the project was very  much a collaborative effort of all Annex D 
organizations.  Funding for the seven in-country assessments was being provided by DFID and the 
EC. 
310. In terms of next steps, the first pilot assessment  mission was expected to be conducted in East 
Africa in late March 2006 followed, after a period of fine tuning of the methodology, by six additional 
assessment missions.  Periodic reports on progress a nd initial findings would be made to all WTO 
Members and Annex D organizations during the NGTF meetings scheduled to be held in April and 
May, and during the Regional Seminars for the Africa and Caribbean regions.  If the proposed 
timetable was met, it was expected that a final re port would be available for consideration by WTO 
Members, looking at all issues involved, including the determined costs, in advance of the 2006 
summer recess.    
311. The World Bank acknowledged the support of all donors in preparing the project and noted 
the collaborative effort of all Annex D organiza tions in response to a clear demand from the NG. 
312. The representative of Barbados
 commended the World Bank for its work and the donor 
organizations, in particular DFID and the EC, for the initiative to organize those assessments in the 
Caribbean region in the first or second quarter of th e year.  That was exactly the type of assistance the 
Caribbean required as it brought together the act ual negotiators and the customs experts for a TN/TF/M/12 
Page 44  
 
  brainstorming exercise on what had been done, what had to be done, and what were the capabilities of 
providing what kind of assistance.  Barbados w ould be interested in hosting such a project. 
313. The representative of Djibouti
 paid tribute to what had been said by the World Bank.   It was 
what Members had to work on in the future.  All in stitutions involved had to actively participate in 
that exercise.  It was what was needed to make progress and  to identify needs regarding TA&CB in 
the field.   
314. It was equally important to take into account the very essential needs of the delegates both in 
Geneva and in the capital.  The delegates negotiati ng in Geneva were not al ways properly reimbursed 
for their work.  They had to be appropriately invo lved in the negotiations.  Sometimes, there were 
handicaps in taking part in negotiations.  It was extremely important, for instance, that there was 
proper reimbursement for participati ng in the Geneva talks.  The World Bank had really "hit the nail  
on the head" in many areas.  It was somethi ng that could come to light in the summer. 
315. The representative of Paraguay  thanked the World Bank for the broad overview of their 
projects to support the negotiations and the future implementation of the commitments.  Paraguay had 
benefited from the Guide Book, which had been very  useful in enabling the training of institutional 
groups in Paraguay which were suppor ting the negotiators in Geneva. 
316. Paraguay was also thankful to the WTO for th eir seminars and workshops which had helped 
train people in the capitals and make them aware of  the importance of the negotiations.  Those people 
where then appropriately equipped to support work in Geneva.  
317. The representative of Egypt  sought clarification on the regional seminars organized to discuss 
needs and priorities.  The World Bank had mentioned that a first such seminar would be organized in 
Africa with the African Union.  Information was so licited on the nature of the seminar. Was it only to 
discuss needs and priorities based on the different other activities that took place in 2005 and the outcome of those activities?  Egypt commended the work carried out by the World Bank in that 
respect.   
318. He also wondered whether there was any partic ular methodology being followed with respect 
to those regional seminars in relation to discu ssing needs and priorities.  Egypt was keen to 
understand those issues early so that it could also prepare itself in the light of the coordination 
activities of the African Group in Geneva. 
319. The representative of Rwanda
 thanked the World Bank for its  initiative which allowed for 
progress to be made in the negotiations.  Assessing needs, particularly in East Africa, was a very good initiative.  Rwanda was happy to see that take pl ace.  Rwanda also wished to thank the other 
organizations for their work, particularly the WCO and UNCTAD, as well as the donor countries.  
Their help was very timely and would allow to a dvance the negotiations in that particular area. 
320. The representative of Malaysia
 commended the World Bank and the WCO on their previous 
and still scheduled programmes and practical pr ojects which undoubtedly provided the coherence 
expected of international organizations in  providing TA&CB as mentioned in Annex D. 
321. From the World Bank’s presentation, Malaysia wondered whether any project covered any of 
the countries in the Asian region, specifically ASEAN, as there were also LDCs in ASEAN that 
would need special attention in terms of TA&CB in the negotiations and tr ade facilitation overall. 
322. The representative of Sri Lanka  thanked the World Bank for the plan put in place to support 
developing countries both at the negotiation and the im plementation stage.  As a beneficiary of the 
Trade Facilitation Negotiations Support Project, Sri Lanka had commended its value.  There had also  TN/TF/M/12 
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  been a useful forum organized by the OECD in Colo mbo last October with the participation of many 
developing countries.  One of its sessions had addressed the issue, and had reflected on the 
implementation cost of possible WTO trade facilitation measures.  
323. Chile’s submission was very useful.  The Single Window concept was a good example.  
There were different degrees of a Single Window.  Wh at would be the costs associated with the kind 
of mechanisms envisaged?  Similarly, when talking about standardization of documents, it had to be 
known what kind of standardization, what was th e process, what were Members' commitment and 
what kind of costs were involved?  There were many other specific proposal s where it was not clear 
what exactly the future commitm ent was to be and what the associated costs were.  Sri Lanka 
welcomed the idea of providing some examples in that regard.  
324. The representative of the World Bank  said that it was helpful to hear that Members generally 
supported the work the Bank was intending to carry out in the year ahead. 
325. With respect to the question from Egypt on the content and methodology for the regional 
seminars and studies, the regional seminar the Worl d Bank hoped to conduct in partnership with the 
African Union going to be a particularly formal se minar with a series of conventional presentations.  
It was rather an opportunity to bring together  representatives from Africa, including all linguistic 
groups, to talk together about the agenda.  It did,  of course, cover needs and priorities as well as 
implementation issues.  But the agenda would be developed by the groups themselves.  The World 
Bank believed that if the right people were brought together to look at issues relating to TF, the 
outcome was likely to be positive and ambitious. 
326. When the World Bank had brought customs people together, it had found them to be very 
update and positive about the negotiations.  And the Wo rld Bank wished that to continue in fora such 
as the one organized for Africa and for the Caribbean .  In the case of the African one, which would be 
held either in Geneva or close to Geneva, all A frican Union Members would be invited to attend in 
terms of their Geneva-based delegation.  The Wo rld Bank would be bringing in representatives of 
each of the Secretariats of the various econom ic groups throughout Africa for the event.  
327. In the case of the Caribbean even t, the World Bank hoped to host that in the Caribbean.  It 
would bring together customs and trade people from each country and bring a small number of 
Geneva negotiators to the region. 
328. The regional studies, on the other hand, and the country or case studies were quite different.  
The World Bank was going to look at implementati on issues in relation to six categories, analysing 
the regulatory and legislative costs and difficulties,  the institutional costs and problems, the human 
resources and training issues that had to be iden tified, and the costs and whether there were any 
equipment or infrastructure expenses.  Those were important aspects.  The Bank was not looking at infrastructure in terms of ports, roads, railways a nd the like.  Those were TF issues, but not addressed 
in the negotiations.  What one was talking about were relatively minor equipment costs associated 
with IT, such as refurbishment and similar ma tters directly related to the negotiations. 
329. The World Bank was also looking at political ad ministrative challenges and costs as it was of 
the view, that, as confirmed also by the conducted wo rkshops, many of the barriers to implementation 
of the measures under negotiation did not lend them selves to being fixed by TA&CB.  When the 
World Bank put people together to look at those issues, they had mentioned time and again that the barriers to the implementation of some of those me asures did not require TA.  Rather, they required 
the goodwill of governments and cooperation between  different Ministries and departments.  And 
those things could not be solved easily through TA. TN/TF/M/12 
Page 46  
 
  330. The World Bank would also be looking at any costs, recurrent or operating ones, associated 
with new initiatives that would be implemented as a result of that. 
331. As for Malaysia's question associated with th eir region, there would be a needs assessment 
and cost of implementation study in East Asia.  Th e selection of the countries had not yet been made.  
With respect to the comments by Sri Lanka, they ha d been a very good support of the work the World 
Bank had done to date.  Sri Lanka  really had made good use of the pilot project carried out in its 
country as reflected in Sri Lanka's now activ e participation in the negotiations.    
332. The World Bank would not go back to any of the countries it had already worked in.  The 
seven countries selected for the case-studies woul d be seven new countries, because the World Bank 
wished to work with as many count ries as possible.  As a bi-product of that process, the World Bank 
would be developing, along with th e other Annex D organizations, a te mplate called "gap analysis and 
costing tool".  That tool would be made available to all Members.  It could be used by the countries 
themselves irrespective of whether there was a combined Annex D mission or not.  At the same time, the World Bank was trying to obtain further funding support, so that the process could be done in as 
many countries as possible.  The Bank hoped to find some experts who would be able to assist with 
doing costing exercises on a country-by-country basis.  It would not be possible to go into every 
country, but it was intended to reach as many as pos sible with the support of the many donors at a 
bilateral, regional and multilateral basis. 
333. The Chairman
 expressed his thanks to all Annex D or ganizations for the way they had come 
together to cooperate in that area.  It was an ex cellent response to the ideas tabled in the ACP paper. 
Work on the issue of cost, as well as on other matt ers in relation to the NG's discussions, had also 
been carried out by the OECD. 
334. The representative of the OECD  wished to comment briefly on some recent work taking place 
in the OECD in support of the negotiations on trad e facilitation.  While the OECD had several areas 
of work, it only wished to comment on three of them.   
335. The first project the OECD wished to report on was its work on the costs of introducing and 
implementing trade facilitation measures.  The OE CD had undertaken an in-depth study of the 
concrete experiences in 16 non-OECD countries from developing and transition areas.  Six of them 
were LDCs.  The OECD had been looking in that  work at a series of measures which had been 
brought up in the discussions in the NG for possibl e inclusion in a future WTO agreement on trade 
facilitation, measures such as publication and availab ility of information, pre-arrival clearance, risk 
management, post-clearance audit and border-agency coordination.  These studies were carried out in 
cooperation with the WCO and UNESCAP.  That ma terial had enabled the OECD to provide an 
analysis, particularly concerning the relative comple xity of implementing those various measures, its 
magnitude and other challenges in implementing them .  The OECD hoped to be able to report on that 
in more detail later.  
336. With regard to that work, the OECD was par ticularly interested in the communication from 
the ACP Group which suggested work on experience with implementing trade facilitation tools.  The 
paper also called for a review of TA&CB and ope rational recommendations on how to improve and 
enhance the provision of TA&CB for TF.  That pr oposal appeared to correspond to the project the 
OECD had been describing.  The OECD would be  happy in the future to contribute to any 
consideration the NG might wish to take on those issu es.  It would equally be happy to contribute with 
work on TA&CB assessments.  
337. The second area of work the OECD wished to mention had been taken up by Sri Lanka.  The 
OECD had organized a Global Forum on TF in Colo mbo in October 2005.  For that, the OECD had 
received excellent cooperation from the Government  of Sri Lanka and financial support from the  TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 47 
 
 
  governments of the UK and Korea.  It was a very useful opportunity for a policy dialogue to share 
work on costs and benefits from OECD and other or ganizations with a wide audience of developing 
countries and LDCs, including a number of Geneva de legates, and to discuss how best to link future 
commitments in the area of TF to the implementation capacities of WTO Members. 
338. Work on trade facilitation also took place in the OECD Development Assistance Committee 
(DAC).  The DAC project on trade facilitation res ponded to the WTO General Council invitation to 
the OECD and other relevant international organiza tions to undertake collaborative efforts in order to 
ensure that TA&CB for tr ade facilitation be effective, operati onal and coherent as noted in Annex D 
of the July Package.  It also responded to a number of proposals Members had made during the negotiations regarding the need for an inventory of past assistance and for further work to be 
undertaken on a co-ordination platfo rm for TA&CB for trade facilitation. 
339. The first phase of that project had now been comp leted, which consisted of a review of past 
TA&CB efforts for TF.  The Review was composed of two main elements. 
340. First, a statistical overview of official as sistance committed between 2001 and 2004, based on 
the WTO/OECD Trade Capacity Building Database and the OECD Creditor Reporting System.  Main 
findings included: (i) The important increase in  the volume of commitments for TA&CB for TF, 
which rose by 225 per cent from 2001 to 2004, reaching a total of 328 million USD in 2004.  In addition to that, donors also committed in 2004 14.8 billion USD to infrastructure support, almost half 
of which was targeted at supporting transport and st orage development. (ii) Interestingly, LDCs and 
other low income countries only benefited from 32 pe r cent of total TF-related commitments in the 
2001-2004 period.  Those countries coul d nevertheless benefit from higher levels of assistance if they 
determined, at country level, that TF reforms were an important development priority and integrated 
those reforms within national development stra tegies, since donors usually pledged funding and 
aligned their programming around such strategi es. (iii) The major donors for TA&CB for trade 
facilitation were the European Commission, the Wo rld Bank and the US, which had together provided 
86 per cent of the total volume of assistance.  Their assistance had often taken the form of multi-year 
programmes that included a wide range of interv entions, targeted at supporting several TF-related 
issues, such as institutional and legal reform; huma n resource training; customs management reforms, 
and cooperation between border agencies. (iv) Sma ller donors, such as, for example Sweden, Norway 
and the Netherlands, had mainly channelled thei r assistance through programmes implemented by 
multilateral agencies such as UNCTAD. 
341. The second part of the Review was made up of  four country case studies and four regional 
case studies that featured different types of interventions, supported by one or more donors.  Lessons 
learned from those cases and from existing good practices in TF-related assistance were then summarized.  
342. The case studies highlighted the relevance of  the key principles endorsed in the Paris 
Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, namely the importance of partner country ownership and 
leadership; donor alignment with partner country  systems and development strategies; donor 
coordination and harmonization; results-based mana gement and mutual accountability for results.  
The cases also illustrated a number of elements that  were of particular significance for effective 
assistance in the area of trade facilita tion, such as:  (i) Partnership with the private sector – which was 
crucial not just to ensure releva nce and ownership of the reform programme and donor support for the 
latter, but also to allow for co-financing of so me reforms and for sustainability after donors had 
exited; (ii) Second, the need to leverage on exis ting tools and organizations for the design, delivery 
and monitoring and evaluation of trade facilitation reforms and donor interv entions, such as, for 
example, WCO and World Bank diagno stic tools and performance indicators.  (iii) Finally, the case 
studies also illustrated the benefits and challenge s associated with regional TA&CB approaches.  
Regional programmes were often considered cost-e fficient and particularly suited for landlocked TN/TF/M/12 
Page 48  
 
  countries where transit corridors and customs ar rangements required a high degree of regional 
coordination.  Yet, such programmes made alignmen t to specific national contexts and priorities more 
difficult.  OECD research provided some examples of how those challenges had been addressed in practice. 
343. The OECD was now about to embark on th e second phase of its project, building on the 
findings of the Review, in order to examine how  future TA&CB for trade facilitation could be 
delivered most effectively, what capacity ga ps had to be addressed, and what funding and 
coordination mechanisms would be most appropria te.  More specifically, the OECD would, among 
other things, examine (i) how donor approaches c ould best be adapted to different situations, 
capacities and needs of partner countries; (ii) the adequacy of existing mechanisms for matching aid 
supply with partner country demands; and of exis ting donor co-ordination sch emes; (iii) how existing 
donor pledging mechanisms could best be leverage d; and (iv) how bilateral donors and multilateral 
agencies could best finance TA&CB for trade facilitation.  Research would take account of proposals made by WTO Members so far and of any relevant  recommendations that might be issued by the 
WTO Task Force on the IF and the Task  Force working on Aid for Trade.  
344. In terms of organization of work, the DAC  Review had benefited from guidance and 
comments from experts in other Annex D organiza tions, such as the World Bank, UNCTAD and the 
WCO.  The OECD intended to continue such co llaboration, as well as consultations with partner 
countries and private sector stakeholders, in phase 2 of the project. 
345. The Chair
 informed the Group that UNCTAD wished to give an update on its technical 
assistance activities. 
346. The representative of UNCTAD  reported on UNCTAD's contribution to the TF negotiation 
process.  Thanks to the support of Sweden and Spain, UNCTAD had established a Trust Fund on TF 
at the beginning of 2005.  That Trust Fund allowed UNCTAD to carry out various types of activities, such as (a) the elaboration of Technical Not es on tabled TF measures at the NGTF.  UNCTAD 
prepared 20 technical notes of which 12  were already available on its website.  The rest was in the 
process of final editing; (b) the organization of 4 regional workshops on WTO negotiations on Trade 
Facilitation in Bangkok, Lusaka, Geneva, and Port of  Spain.  In each of those regional workshops, 
UNCTAD had the participation of three Geneva  delegates and the cooperation from the WCO, 
regional commissions and regional organizations;  (c ) the organization of two one-day Round Tables 
on WTO negotiations on Trade Facilitation in Gene va.  One Round Table had been organized with 
representatives from the Core Group and from GRULAC.  
347. UNCTAD had also (d) taken advantage of the Tr ust Fund to secure participation of joint 
WTO/UNCTAD Regional Workshops on WTO nego tiations on Trade Facilitation.  UNCTAD 
participated in five WTO-organized Workshops in Ch ina, Guatemala, Argentina, Tunisia, Namibia, in 
four of which UNCTAD had arranged for the pa rticipation of Geneva-based delegates. (e) 
Furthermore, the Trust Fund had allowed some UNCT AD staff to participate in events related with 
the ongoing WTO negotiations on Trade Facilitation, such as the APEC Meeting of Trade Ministers 
in June 2005 in Korea, and the Meeting of Trad e Ministers of LLDCs on Trade Facilitation in August 
2005 in Paraguay;  UNCTAD had also engaged in a very specific activity and demand-driven activity 
with Angola Customs with whom UNCTAD organi zed a National Seminar on TF.  Finally, UNCTAD 
had also carried out a short TF advisory mission to the government of Paraguay.  
348. (f) The Trust Fund also provided UNCTAD with th e flexibility to secure participation of LDC 
experts in specific events.  For example, on th e occasion of the September meeting of the NG, 
UNCTAD had tried to allow some of those LDC e xperts to not only attend that session but also a 
meeting of the GFP and an Expert Meeting held back-to-back with the NG session.    TN/TF/M/12 
 Page 49 
 
 
  349. (g) In total, Trust Fund activities had invo lved 44 developing countries (17 LDCs); 43 
participants attended one or anot her of the activities (18 from LDCs), and there was participation of 
24 Geneva-based delegates (6 from LDCs). 
350. Furthermore, within the consensus-build ing mandate, in September 2005, UNCTAD had 
organized an Expert Meeting on TF to review th e prospects and opportunities of TF with national 
experts and private sector stakeholders.  The discu ssions at that Expert Meeting covered the following 
issues (i) Trade and Transport Facilitation and De velopments; (ii) Trade Facilitation and Regional 
Integration, and (iii) Private sector expectati ons from the WTO negotiation Process on TF.  In 
addition to the national experts, there were also a number of resource persons taking part in that 
Expert Meeting from partner organizations such  as the WTO, World Bank, Regional Commissions, 
but also the EU, COMESA, the Economic Coope ration Organization and private sector-related 
institutions. 
351. UNCTAD had also produced two documents of in terest to the work of the NGTF.  These 
documents constituted the first two parts of a Handbook on TF.  One document explained National 
Facilitation Committees, while the other compiled the Technical Notes produced so far.   
352. It had to be stressed that those activities were generally carried out in coordination and 
cooperation with the international organizati ons listed in paragraph 8 of Annex D.  
353. As for work in 2006, UNCTAD planned to prep are more technical notes, to organize four 
Regional Workshops and two Round Ta bles in Geneva, to ensure participation in WTO-organized 
Workshops with attendance of three Geneva delegates,  to carry out ad hoc events in coordination with 
developments within the WTO NGTF, and to ma ke an ad hoc contribution to the World Bank 
initiative. 
354. Furthermore, UNCTAD hoped to organize, in the second part of 2006, an Expert Meeting on 
trade facilitation issues.  The precise theme of that meeting was still to be decided, but UNCTAD was 
thinking of border-crossing and transit opera tions, in relation with ICT developments. 
355. The representative of Paraguay  commended UNCTAD for the work they were carrying out 
despite the fact they had scant human resources in the logistics branch.  Paraguay was receiving a 
great deal of help from UNCTAD for assessing its n eeds and priorities, which was vital for Paraguay 
to be able to negotiate effectively in the NG.  UNCTAD had also provided support in an informal 
framework with its work with other Latin America countries. 
356. More information was sought on the planned work shops.  In what regions were they going to 
take place?  Paraguay would also like to know whether the Round Tables in Geneva would be 
dedicated to any specific issues or would they d eal more generally with the negotiating process. 
357. The representative of Egypt  commended the work carried out by UNCTAD which had been 
very useful for Egypt and many African delegations  which participated quite actively in many of 
those activities.  More information was solicited on the Round Tables taking place in Geneva and on 
their timing and the subjects that would be discussed. 
358. The representative of Cuba  commended UNCTAD on its outstanding job in conjunction with 
the Trust Fund.  It was very good that experts from  capitals were able to take part in meetings 
organized in September.  Cuba followed the work carried out through the Fund very closely. 
359. The representative of UNCTAD  replied to the questions by Paraguay regarding the dates for 
the coming workshops that UNCTAD would be par ticipating in the WTO workshops but would also 
organize its own.  The one which UNCTAD had sche duled so far was a workshop in Panama, set to TN/TF/M/12 
Page 50  
 
  take place some time after Easter.  It had been decided to do it in Panama so that UNCTAD could 
hold it back-to-back with two WTO national wo rkshops, one in Honduras and one in Cuba.  
UNCTAD was going to attend the national workshop in Honduras, would then go to Panama to 
organize its regional workshop for Central Ameri can countries and some Caribbean countries, and 
would then go to Cuba.  There would be at least one UNCTAD  member of staff in each of those 
activities. 
360. The others were still to be seen, probably in coordination with the World Bank initiative. 
UNCTAD might try to discuss with the World Bank to find out where they wanted to go so that 
UNCTAD could then organize Regional Workshops in the same place.  
361. As for the question regarding the round table,  it was really demand-driven.  Last year, 
UNCTAD had been approached by two groups w ho wanted to discuss some issues and sought 
substantive expertise.  As a response, UNCTAD had brought in Customs Experts with a specialization 
in transit issues.  UNCTAD had just launched the process and provided some input to the discussion.  A similar scenario had occurred with GRULAC , who had also asked UNCTAD to provide the 
facilities.  There were no pre-determined them es for the meeting.  It was totally open. 
362. UNCTAD hoped that the two opportunities UNCTAD foresaw for 2006 pointed in the same 
direction.  Perhaps a group of countries wished to discuss particular issues together or prepare for a 
document.  UNCTAD would sit with them and give first thoughts on what they wanted to discuss.  
Then it was up to them.  Previous experience had been quite interesting.  
363. The representative of the Secretariat
 informed that with respect to the first regional seminar 
scheduled to be carried out in cooperation with UNCTAD, the WCO and the World Bank, invitations 
would be issued in approximately two weeks, leaving only two weeks for people to register.  
Members were therefore urged to pass them on ra pidly, especially since the participants were 
expected to do some preparatory wo rk ahead of the meeting.  Timely information of the participants 
would add a lot of value to the workshop. 
364. The Chairman  said that the discussions reflected the continued open dialogue amongst all 
Members inside and outside the meeting room and en couraged delegations to carry on the informal 
dialogue.  He was also encouraged  to see that the ongoing excha nge seemed to enable Members to 
build upon each others' ideas.  The tabled papers  represented a collating and conversion of various 
inputs, which inspired conf idence for the road ahead. 
365. The Negotiating Group took note  of the statements made. 
B. AD HOC ATTENDANCE OF RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS , INCLUDING THE 
IMF,  OECD,  UNCTAD,  WCO  AND THE WORLD BANK, AT THE NEXT MEETING OF THE 
NEGOTIATING GROUP  
366. The Chairman  suggested inviting relevant internati onal organizations, including the IMF, 
OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and the World Bank to attend the next meeting of the NG on an ad hoc basis, as provided for in the Work Plan. 
367. It was so agreed
. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS  
368. The Chairman  addressed the issue of the Group's next meeting, informing that meeting 
facilities had shown rooms to be available for the time  from 5 to 7 April.  Subsequent meetings could 
be held on 6-7 June and 24-26 July.   TN/TF/M/12 
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  369. It was so agreed . 
370. The meeting was adjourned . 
__________