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Update on implementation of WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation in SADC

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Update on implementation of WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation in SADC

Elisha Tshuma, Customs and Trade Facilitation Expert, comments on the status of implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in the SADC region

Trade facilitation is the simplification of trade procedures in order to move goods in cross-border trade more efficiently. It includes transparency and professionalism of customs authorities, harmonisation of various standards and conformity to international and regional regulations (Buyonge & Kireeva).

Trade facilitation became a topic of discussion at the WTO’s Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996. After several years of exploratory work, Members formally agreed to launch negotiations on trade facilitation in July 2004. Members concluded negotiations of the Trade Facilitation (TF) Agreement at the WTO’s 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia in December 2013.

The TF Agreement consists of two main sections: Section I sets out the substantive obligations on facilitating customs and other border procedures in 13 articles and Section II contains special and differential treatment provisions for developing and least-developed country Members. The Agreement will help improve transparency, increase possibilities to participate in global value chains, and reduce the scope for corruption.

To benefit from special and differential treatment (SDT), a Member must categorize each provision of the Agreement, as defined below, and notify other WTO Members of these categorizations in accordance with specific timelines outlined in the Agreement:

Category A: Commitments that the Member will implement by the time the Agreement enters into force (or in the case of a least-developed country Member within one year after entry into force)

Category B: Commitments that the Member will implement after a transitional period following the entry into force of the Agreement

Category C: Commitments that the Member will implement on a date after a transitional period following the entry into force of the Agreement and requiring the acquisition of assistance and support for capacity building. 

The ATF will enter into force after ratification by two thirds of Members in accordance with Article X: 3 of the WTO Agreement. Members need to ratify the agreement in their domestic legislation and notify WTO (ITC, 2013).

As at 13 June 2016, 87 members had notified the WTO of the commitments falling in category A. Of these 87 members, 5 had notified WTO of commitments falling in categories B and C. Included in the 87 members were 20 from Africa which meant that 23% of the notifications came from Africa.

TFA Category A notifications July 2016

Source: TFA Facility

As at 5 July 2016, 85 WTO members had ratified the agreement and notified the WTO. This included 11 ratifications from Africa accounting for 12.9% of the total ratifications. The latest member to ratify the agreement was El Salvador which did so on 4 July 2016. The agreement needs 108 members to come into force and only 13 members are remaining to meet the required number.

TFA Ratifications July 2016

Source: TFA Facility

Implementation of WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation in SADC

TFA Implementation SADC July 2016

9 out of 15 SADC countries have either notified the WTO of their category A, B and C commitments. Madagascar, Lesotho, Zambia, Botswana and Mauritius have notified all the three categories while Namibia, Seychelles, Malawi and Tanzania have notified category A.

A third (5 out of 15) of SADC member States have ratified the agreement and notified the WTO. These countries are: Madagascar, Lesotho, Zambia, Botswana and Mauritius

Angola, DRC, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe have neither notified WTO of their categorization nor ratified the agreement. These countries should note that “any commitments not notified will be deemed to fall under category A. Countries need to specifically identify and notify to WTO their category B and C commitments” (ITC, 2013).

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Sources:

http://www.tfafacility.org/updates

International Trade Centre (ITC), 2013: WTO trade facilitation agreement: A guide for developing countries, available at http://www.intracen.org/wto-trade-facilitation-agreement-business-guide-for-developing-countries/

Buyonge, C and Kireeva, I, 2008: Trade facilitation in Africa: Challenges and possible solutions, World Customs Journal, vol 2, no. 1, available at: http://worldcustomsjournal.org/Archives/Volume%202%2C%20Number%201%20(Apr%202008)/05%20trade_facilitation_in_africa_challenges_and_possible_solutions.pdf

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