> Consult the guide to downloading files.

N.B. You should download these documents rather than calling them into view through the browser since the formatting may change (eg. paragraph numbering) when viewed through the browser.

News  back to top

Introduction  back to top

Brief information on trade facilitation
links to the trade facilitation section of the WTO Guide “Understanding the WTO”.

The mandate  back to top

Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration
  
  

The July 2004 package (WT/L/579):
The mandate for these negotiations is set out in Annex D of that decision (“Modalities for Negotiations on Trade Facilitation”).
> Explanation
> Text of Annex D

> Doha Ministerial Declaration, November 14, 2001, item 27

Singapore Ministerial Declaration December 13, 1996 (see item 22) (WT/MIN(96)/DEC)
> Browse text
> download

Negotiations on Trade Facilitation  back to top

> The Launching of negotiations on trade facilitation
  

> Negotiation documents: all documents pertaining to the negotiations (legal framework, WTO Member proposals, minutes of meetings, etc.)

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building in the Context of the Negotiations  back to top

• Technical Assistance and Capacity Building provided by the WTO Secretariat
• Information provided by WTO Members on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
• Trade facilitation information and activities provided by other International Organizations

Needs Assessment  back to top

• WTO Self-Assessment Questionnaire and Inventory — TN/TF/W/59

Official WTO Documents submitted by Other Organizations  back to top

• WCO Self-Assessment Checklist for Articles V, VIII and X TN/TF/W/16
• World Bank's WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiations Support Guide — TN/TF/W/51

Overview of Trade Facilitation Work in the WTO  back to top

> Trade Facilitation Meeting Schedule

> The Launching of negotiations on trade facilitation

As part of the “July Package”, the General Council on 1 August 2004 decided by explicit consensus to commence negotiations on trade facilitation.

Overview — Last update: February 2005
2004   2003   2002   2001   2000   1999   1998

> Current Chairperson

Selection of WTO Director-General and Deputy Director-General Speeches on Trade Facilitation  back to top

• Director-General Speeches
    
  Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Introductory Statement at the WTO/ APEC Roundtable on Trade Facilitation, Geneva, Switzerland, 10 February 2005
    
  Mr. Mike Moore, Welcome Speech at the Workshop on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building in Trade Facilitation, Geneva, Switzerland, 10 May 2001
    
  Mr. Renato Ruggiero, Opening address at the WTO Trade Facilitation Symposium, Geneva, Switzerland, 9 March 1998
    
    
• Deputy Director-General Speeches
    
  Roderick Abbott, Speech at the launching of the World Trade Point Federation website, Geneva, Switzerland, 19 February 2003
    
  Andrew Stoler, Speech about Trade Facilitation in the Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Geneva, Switzerland, 30 May 2002

Special events  back to top

• 11 December 2006: World Bank Seminar on Needs, Priorities and Costs for Implementation of Measures Proposed in the WTO Trade Facilitation negotiations — a Comparative Study Based on a Sample of Six Developing Countries. Held at the WTO, Geneva, Switzerland.

Links to non-WTO sites open in a new window.

• UNECE Symposium on Single Window Standards and Interoperability, 3-5 May, Geneva
    
• OECD Conference on Trade Facilitation entitled “Negotiating on Trade Facilitation: Implications for Developing Countries”
  Colombo, Sri Lanka, 18-19 October 2005
    
• APEC/WTO Trade Facilitation Roundtable 2005, Geneva, Switzerland, 10 February 2005
  (Programme)
    
• Workshop on technical assistance in trade facilitation, Geneva, Switzerland, 10-11 May 2001
  > See the programme
  > See the presentations