The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement
The TFA constitutes a new legal framework for trade facilitation, and complements other existing Trade Facilitation instruments, such as the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention or the TIR Convention. It was launched with expectations of cutting delays and costs related to administrative procedures, border controls and documentary requirements, increasing predictability, and modernizing administrative practices. The potential economic benefits of the TFA are well documented.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) entered into force on 22 February 2017. Although WTO Members had already adopted the text of the Agreement at the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali in December 2013, the entry into force of the Agreement became official when 2/3 of WTO Members accepted the Protocol of the Amendment of the WTO Agreement, which was adopted by the General Council (GC) on 27 November 2014. This threshold of Members’ ratifications was reached in February 2017. The updated list of Members that have accepted the Protocol can be found on the WTO website.
Objectives of the Trade Facilitation Agreement
The Agreement is the successful conclusion of a long negotiating process that started at the first WTO Singapore Ministerial Conference in 1996, and lead to the inclusion of trade facilitation into the agenda of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations in 2001.
The substantial negotiations were launched in August 2004 with the mandate to:
- clarify and improve relevant aspects of the GATT Article V, GATT Article VIII, and GATT Article X with a view to further expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods,
- draft provisions for effective cooperation between Customs and other agencies on trade facilitation and Customs compliance issues, and
- enhance technical assistance and capacity building in this area.
Structure and Content
The TFA is structured in three sections, 24 Articles and has one Annex.
- Section I contains the substantive obligations, grouped in 12 Articles;
- Section II (Articles 13-22) includes the provisions on special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed country members; and
- Section III (Articles 23-24) contains institutional arrangements and final provisions.
With the entry into force, the focus of governments has moved to the implementation of the Agreement. All provisions of the Agreement are binding on WTO Members that have accepted the Protocol of Amendment. However, a large number of countries will need to build implementation over time.
The Agreement creates a specific implementation mechanism whereby developing and least developed countries can build these capabilities under a monitored and transparent process.
