The Director-General is currently on an official visit to the Caribbean.  DG Azevêdo was in Jamaica on 18-19 January, where he met with senior government representatives and gave a speech at the University of the West Indies.  DG Azevêdo continues the visit on 20 January in Barbados.

Jamaica is the 67th WTO member to ratify the TFA. Its instrument of acceptance was received by the WTO on 19 January. The Agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO membership has formally accepted the Agreement. 

Concluded at the WTO’s 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, the TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.

In addition to Jamaica, the following WTO members have also accepted the TFA: Hong Kong China, Singapore, the United States, Mauritius, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Niger, Belize, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, China, Liechtenstein, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Togo, Thailand, the European Union (on behalf of its 28 member states), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, Guyana, Côte d’Ivoire, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Kenya, Myanmar, Norway, Viet Nam, Brunei Darussalam, Ukraine, Zambia, Lesotho, Georgia and Seychelles.

The TFA broke new ground for developing and least-developed countries in the way it will be implemented. For the first time in WTO history, the requirement to implement the Agreement was directly linked to the capacity of the country to do so. In addition, the Agreement states that assistance and support should be provided to help them achieve that capacity.

Under the Agreement, developing and least developed countries are to notify the WTO which provisions of the TFA they will implement upon entry into force of the Agreement (so-called Category A notifications); which provisions they will implement after a transitional period following the entry into force (Category B); and which provisions they will implement on a date after a transitional period following the entry into force and that require assistance and support for capacity building (Category C).

A total of 78 Category A notifications have been received to date.  Jamaica submitted its Category A notification in February 2015. Zambia became the first WTO member to submit its Category B and C notifications on 7 January. The notifications are available on the WTO’s trade facilitation webpage at www.wto.org/tradefacilitation. 

A Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) was also created at the request of developing and least-developed country members to help ensure that they receive the assistance needed to reap the full benefits of the TFA and to support the ultimate goal of full implementation of the new agreement by all members. The WTO’s dedicated website for TFAF can be accessed at www.TFAFacility.org.

Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has the potential to increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion per annum, according to the WTO’s flagship World Trade Report released on 26 October.  Significantly, the Report also found that developing countries will benefit significantly from the TFA, capturing more than half of the available gains.

The World Trade Report 2015 is available here.