After over a month since the Baltimore bridge collapse, the first commercial vessels have started to move out of the Port of Baltimore via newly opened 35-feet channel.
he first commercial vessels have started to transit through the limited access channel at the Francis Scott Key Bridge site, in conjunction with scheduled passages for a limited number of commercial vessels into and out of the Port of Baltimore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) said.
The channel, named the Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel, opened on Thursday, April 25 as part of the response effort to the suspension of vessel traffic at the Port of Baltimore, following the collapse of the Key bridge.
The channel has a controlling depth of at least 35 feet (around 11-12 meters) and provides a crucial route for vessels that have been stranded in the Port of Baltimore following the bridge collapse, offering them a path back to the open waters. It is the fourth alternative channel opened near the wreckage site, and runs the length of the northeast side of the federal channel, providing additional access to commercially essential traffic.
The first vessel to pass the channel was Balsa 94, USACE Baltimore said. Balsa 94 is a general cargo ship built in 2019 and sailing under Panamanian flag. The ship’s registered owner is Eastern Capital Marine from Panama, according to the data from VesselsValue. The ship was guided through the channel by two tugs, and the vessel continued its voyage toward Canada.
Source: World Cargo News, article by Jasmine Ovcina Mantra, 26 April 2024
South Africa has requested WTO dispute consultations with the European Union concerning certain aspects of the regime imposed by the European Union on the importation of South African citrus fruit. The request was circulated to WTO members on 24 April.
South Africa is challenging the EU’s prohibition on the importation of South African citrus fruit affected by the fungus “citrus black spot” (Phyllotactic citricarpa). South Africa claims the EU measure appears to be inconsistent with various provisions of the WTO’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
Further information is available in document WT/DS624/1
This is the second dispute case initiated by South Africa regarding the EU’s import measures on citrus fruit. In July 2022, South Africa initiated a case challenging EU phytosanitary requirements for the importation of oranges and other citrus products related to the pest Thaumatotibia leucotreta, known as false codling moth (DS613).
What is a request for consultations?
The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.
African ports struggle with cargo influx as companies reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea.
The Red Sea crisis has created a ripple effect, causing a surge in vessel calls and congestion at African ports in the last quarter of 2023.
As a response to the heightened number of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea, numerous shipping companies are rerouting their ships to the Cape of Good Hope on Africa’s southern tip.
The trip adds around 3,000 nautical miles and days (if not, weeks) to the sailing times of vessels together with higher fuel expenses and maintenance requirements.
At the same time, the demand surge at African ports has pointed to the widening efficiency gap between African ports and other global regions.
“The Red Sea crisis is highlighting the wide gap in efficiency between ports in Africa and other world regions, despite heavy investment in port infrastructure on the continent over the past decades, particularly under China’s Belt and Road program,” Turloch Mooney, Global Head of Port Intelligence & Analytics at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
Despite this growth, several terminals in Africa found themselves grappling with the escalating demands, leading to extended ship waiting times and a decline in ocean and yard productivity across many key ports.
Based on a report from S&P Global Market Intelligence, in the fourth quarter of 2023, business at the main African container ports witnessed a year-over-year improvement, marked by substantial growth in vessel calls and container movements. While this surge reflected a positive trend for the region, it concurrently posed challenges to terminal and port infrastructure.
Overall, the port productivity in Africa experienced a significant setback, plunging by more than 18%, primarily attributed to a pronounced deterioration in vessel waiting times. Noteworthy exceptions to this trend were observed at the ports of Tanger-Med and Mombasa, which not only defied the prevailing challenges but managed to enhance productivity despite a notable increase in container volumes.
However, the general yard productivity at the main African ports witnessed a decline during Q4 2023. Import container dwell times increased by almost 10%, reaching 5.4 days, while export container dwell times surged by nearly 90%, exceeding 8.5 days, the report said.
The consequences of these inefficiencies were reflected in the World Bank–S&P Global Market Intelligence Container Port Performance Index, where almost one-third of the bottom 50 ports were situated in Sub-Saharan Africa, underscoring the persistent challenges impeding the region’s trade sector development and hindering aspirations for more significant involvement in international supply chains.
The Office of the President has today announced the appointment of Mrs Varsha Singh,as the new Commissioner General of the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC).
Mrs Singh, a South African national, has over 28 years’ experience in tax, customs, transfer pricing, trade facilitation international relations, and building organisational excellence and driving sustainable development.
She holds a Master of International Customs Law and Administration from the University of Canberra, Australia, as well as a Master in Business Administration from the Management School of Southern Africa, South Africa.
Mrs Singh has occupied several strategic management positions in the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), being instrumental in the establishment of the Forum.
Mrs Varsha Singh’s appointment as the new Commissioner General of SRC will take effect from 1st April, 2024.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a counterfeit version of a rare watch that was shipped from India and destined to a home in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Richard Mille 8 Automatic Winding Tourbillon Smiley watch – which had a $1.2m price tag when launched – is particularly desirable because it is a limited edition with only 50 of them made. The timepieces have changed hands for around $3.8m. CBP officers seized the fake watch on November 16 in Cincinnati.
“Black market sellers attempted to reproduce the look-alike Richard Mille RM 88 Smiley, but it takes one glimpse at the merchandise to know it’s a fake,” said CBP in a statement.
“The packaging, lack of fine details, its originating country and the fact that the shipment was uninsured all aided the officer’s determination that the merchandise was a counterfeit. The day after the fake Richard Mille watch was seized, another shipment of fake watches was confiscated with a worth of nearly $900,000.
In December 2021, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the European Union (EU) successfully signed a partnership agreement for a comprehensive programme on the implementation and application of rules of origin (RoO) for enhanced Intra-African trade, commonly referred to as the EU-WCO Rules of Origin RoO Africa Programme. This 48 months initiative aims to support the African continent to improve its capacity to deal with rules of origin and ultimately to support the harmonized and well-coordinated implementation and application of the rules of origin under Annex 2 of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other regional and international commitments.
The AfCFTA is a landmark achievement in fostering regional integration to unify the African continent and further its socio-economic development. Under the AfCFTA Agreement, it is the rules of origin – establishing the nationality of products produced in Africa – that will determine whether preferential trade liberalization can be a game changer for Africa’s industrialization.
The EU-WCO RoO Africa Programme was launched on 19-20 July 2022 in Accra, Ghana, complementing and building up on the EU-WCO HS Africa Programme success.
The Programme provides tailored-made demand driven technical assistance, with an emphasis on training, and includes diagnostic and needs assessments, forums and consultations, Guidelines, Manuals and Standard operating Procedures and implementation of flagship initiatives.
The EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme aims to facilitating and increasing intra-African trade, trade between Africa and Europe, and between Africa and the rest of the world. The Programme is a concrete step taken by the European Union and the World Customs Organization in consultation with key stakeholders to support African partners in the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The outcome of the Programme is that beneficiaries at continental (AfCFTA Secretariat and African Union Commission), regional (African Regional Economic Communities – RECs) and national level (African Customs Administrations, Government Administrations and Private Sector) implement and apply the rules of origin in compliance with Annex 2 of the AfCFTA and in line with international commitments and best practices.
On 26 January each year, the Customs community comes together to celebrate International Customs Day. As we gather to commemorate this important occasion, I am filled with a profound sense of honour and anticipation in my first year as Secretary General. While this year’s celebration is especially significant for me, its wider importance in part comes from it marking the launch of our new theme: “Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose”.
This year, we are embarking on a path that challenges us to both reaffirm our longstanding partnerships and to boldly forge new alliances. Our world has changed dramatically over the last decade and continues to do so, presenting us with unprecedented challenges, including rapid technological advances, environmental and health crises, and complex geopolitical and economic dynamics. These conditions require that the global Customs community take a forward-thinking approach to its work and seek solutions that are not just based on its own knowledge and resources, but are supplemented by the support of stakeholders.
The theme for 2024 is a strategic call to action, urging us to broaden our perspectives, think creatively, and embrace innovative approaches. This is essential for Customs administrations to maintain their role in facilitating global trade and ensuring security in a rapidly evolving environment.
In 2024, we focus on deepening and enriching our established relationships to ensure they continue to be strong, relevant, and mutually beneficial. At the same time, we aim to actively seek and establish new connections with a wider range of stakeholders, including financial institutions, environmental organizations, NGOs, and academic institutions.
These new partnerships will infuse our efforts with fresh perspectives and innovative solutions. Our collaboration this year is about aligning all our partnerships with the overarching mission and values of our Customs administrations. We aim to ensure they contribute meaningfully to our objectives of trade facilitation, border security, and the resilience of global supply chains.
Incorporating a broad spectrum of voices and perspectives into our strategies is also paramount. Doing so will ensure that our strategies are comprehensive and more resonant with the global community we serve.
We are also committed to continuously evaluating and refining our partnerships to maintain their effectiveness and relevance. Such a dynamic approach is vital in an ever-changing global landscape, and increases our ability to achieve meaningful results in line with our critical mission.
Lastly, as we think about the enablers of our engagement, we must look to the value of cutting-edge technologies and data analytics. These will enhance our understanding and engagement with partners, thereby increasing our responsiveness and effectiveness.
As we begin this year and take this day to reflect on our mission, our accomplishments, and our way forward, I hope that our efforts – as Customs and with partners – will advance us toward a safe, prosperous, and inclusive future.
I am deeply appreciative of your support and dedication to making International Customs Day a noteworthy occasion, and for promoting and acting upon our 2024 theme throughout the year.
I wish you a productive and engaging International Customs Day.
View of Durban city and harbour, South Africa – Hongqi Zhang
Africa’s biggest harbour will be partly owned and operated by the Philippines’ International Container Terminal Services Inc., a first for South Africa’s national ports company.
The company, ICTSI, has been selected as an equity partner to run and expand Durban Container Terminal Pier 2.
Almost three-quarters of the freight volume moved through the eastern port goes through the terminal, accounting for 46% of South Africa’s total port traffic, according to state logistics company Transnet.
This agreement “is a key catalyst for repositioning the Port of Durban as a container hub port,” Transnet said in a statement on Monday.
South Africa is seeking to boost private participation in its ports, the poor performance of which is a drag on the economy. In a 2021 World Bank index of container port performance, Durban ranked 364th out of 370, and two other Transnet ports were in the bottom 10.
Transnet will own a 50% plus one share in a new company that will manage the terminal for 25 years and will seek to boost its annual capacity to 2.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEU’s, from 2 million, it said.
Ultimately Transnet wants to boost Durban’s total container capacity to 11.4 million TEUs from 3.3 million. ICTSI, which operates terminals across six continents, was one of six bidders for the contract, Transnet said. It didn’t specify whether ICTSI will pay for its stake or whether it will have to fund the expansion.
An announcement on the port of Ngqura will follow, Transnet said.
The WTO issued today (6 July) the 2023 edition of “World Tariff Profiles”, an annual publication providing comprehensive information on tariffs imposed on imports by over 170 countries and customs territories. The report — jointly prepared with the International Trade Centre and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) — also provides data on non-tariff measures, such as anti-dumping actions, countervailing duties and safeguard measures.
One-page profiles provide an overview of each economy’s tariffs broken down by product group. The profiles also show the tariffs imposed by its main trading partners.
Summary tables provide comparisons of the average “bound” or maximum tariff each economy may apply to imports and the average tariffs it applies in practice. Data is provided for agricultural and non-agricultural products as well as for “all products”. Import and export profiles provide comparisons on the value of imports for each economy, the level of export diversification, and relevant tariff data.
The publication also contains two special topics. The first analyzes the evolution of market access over 16 years of “World Tariff Profiles”, highlighting trends for applied and bound tariffs across product groups, regions and level of development. It reveals a modest improvement in trade opening, with the average tariff for all products declining from 10.1 per cent in 2006 to 8.9 per cent in 2021.
The second topic looks into the product classification system used by the WTO for trade statistics and policy analysis. It underlines that the 2023 version of the WTO’s Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN) Categories, containing a new two-tier structure for 22 MTN categories with a total of 72 MTN sub-categories, will facilitate more precise analysis of trade patterns.
Digital development requires an intersecting set of policy interventions, international cooperation and support from Governments across the continent, in order to create an environment in which the digital economy can thrive. The foundation of this is connectivity – devices, electricity and internet access. Without these fundamentals, engagement with the digital economy will still occur, but it will be piecemeal and uneven. For African economies, there is a genuine risk of being left behind and exacerbating the digital divide.
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and SARS will host a Regional Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Awareness Engagement Session from 29 to 31 May 2023 at Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg to promote visibility and uptake of the AEO Programme within the SACU region.
This session, which is intended for Customs officials, partner government agencies, and the Private Sector, is also an opportunity to demonstrate partnership between the Private Sector and Government to ensure that the benefits offered by the AEO Programme provide greater access to African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) markets. The three-day engagement further aims to promote the AEO Programme among traders in order to create awareness about the accreditation programme to prospective authorised traders.
The AEO is a flagship programme that is envisaged to support industrialisation and the trade agenda; to enable the region to achieve improved administrative efficiencies including through digitisation, as well as automation of data exchange; to reduce the time and cost associated with cross-border trade; improve compliance and security of the supply chain; and enhance competitiveness of the SACU member states.
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) has adopted and prioritised the implementation of the AEO Programme to strengthen compliance, safety, and security within the supply chain. Consisting of five member states, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho, SACU aims to address inefficiencies related to cross border movements amongst Customs and Partner Government Agencies.
The long-term impact of the AEO Programme includes improved revenue collection, reduction in entry and circulation of illicit trade within SACU, ease of facilitation of market access, and competitiveness of firms that are based in the SACU region.
To date, all SACU member states have established and are implementing their respective AEO Programmes, with a total of 176 Accredited Economic Operators under the AEO Programme. As of 2 May 2023, the uptake in member states is as follows: Botswana (3); Eswatini (2); Lesotho (10); Namibia (1); and South Africa (160).
SARS aims to achieve 300 accredited traders with AEO-accreditation status by the end of 2024. Of the current 160 authorised traders, 155 possess AEO-Compliance (AEO-C) and 5 AEO-Safety (AEO-S) accreditation.
Public engagements that create awareness about the accreditation programme to prospective new authorised traders are of significant importance, not only for South Africa but also for African countries alike to foster bilateral relations while keeping up with the changing dynamics of the international supply chain.
Source: Article authored by Nadine Metuba, 26 May 2023 – SA Revenue Service (SARS)
The following is a blog article by Taku Fundira, published via Tralac dated 28 March 2023.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is set to be the largest free trade area (FTA) in the world with 54 of the 55 members of the Africa Union being signatories to the Agreement. The AfCFTA if fully implemented, is expected to provide a major opportunity for African countries to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), diversify exports, boost intra-African trade, boost growth, reduce poverty, foster economic inclusion, and promote sustainable economic development.
Currently, countries are not trading under the AfCFTA trading regime, however, Phases I and Phase II negotiations have been completed albeit tariff concessions and rules of origin (RoO) negotiations for some products are still underway. These two issues, partly attribute to the reasons why it is not yet possible to trade under the AfCFTA. Phase III negotiations are currently underway and include protocols on additional topics such e-commerce. Trade and Women and Youth in Trade Protocol which was added to the AfCFTA agenda has since been concluded is expected to be approved later in 2023.
The Guided Trade Initiative
Despite countries, not yet trading fully under the AfCFTA, a pilot initiative called; the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) which aims to stress test trading in goods between member countries within the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA was launched in Accra on 7th October 2022. Eight countries are participating in this pilot. Tanzania following Rwanda, Kenya, and Ghana, have begun trading under the GTI. The AfCFTA GTI has identified 96 products, including tea, coffee, processed meat products, sugar, and dried fruits, to be traded among the participating countries. Tanzania aims to sell 10 products under the AfCFTA’s GTI including coffee and glassware. Plans are underway to have a similar GTI for services subject to State Parties agreeing on modalities.
Initial assessment of the GTI reveals that there remain significant challenges for African countries to trade smoothly and boost intra-African trade mainly because non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade remain prevalent, massive infrastructure gaps especially transport infrastructure pose a threat to the success of not only the GTI but also to the AfCFTA. For Africa to make the most of free trade, the continent must address these challenges. Estimates suggest most African landlocked countries face high transport prices which are three to four times more than in most developed countries. Several institutional, political and other factors that combine to limit competition, encourage corruption, discourage investment and encourage informal activity attribute to the prevalent high prices in Africa.
Non-tariff trade costs extremely high
Latest available data from the World Bank on non-tariff trade costs (NTTCs) reveal that on average goods traded between African states accrue 292% ad valorem equivalent (AVE) in NTTCs. Non-tariff trade costs include among others, transport costs; direct and indirect costs associated with differences in languages and currencies, cumbersome import, and export procedures. Despite commitments by regional economic communities (RECs) to reduce NTTCs through mechanisms such as the NTB online monitoring mechanism under the Tripartite FTA and under the AfCFTA demonstrate the importance of ensuring that NTBs do not impede intra-Africa trade, reducing NTTCs.
Tralac has produced an infographic on intra-Africa NTTCs using the ESCAP – World Bank Trade Cost Database which can be found on the tralac website and it reveals the following:
Over a 10-year period (2011 – 2020) there have been no significant changes in non-tariff trade costs (NTTC). NTTCs decline by 2% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the review period (2011-2020).
Agricultural products’ NTTC remain much higher than manufacturing products’ NTTCs over the review period (2011-2020), although declining relatively much faster over the last 5 years relative to manufacturing products’ NTTCs. Between 2016 and 2020, agricultural and manufacturing NTTCs declined by 2.5% (CAGR) and 1.4% (CAGR) respectively.
The average intra-Africa NTTC on agriculture and manufacturing in 2020 (latest available data) is 330% (AVE) and 253% (AVE).
Intra-REC NTTCs are lower than between RECs (inter-REC)
COMESA has the highest average intra-REC NTTCs (285% AVE) and EAC has the lowest (135% AVE)
ECOWAS has the highest average inter-REC NTTCs (347% AVE) and EAC has the lowest (269% AVE)
ECOWAS – EAC inter-REC average NTTCs are the highest at 416% (AVE) followed by ECOWAS – COMESA at 389% (AVE)
SADC and COMESA’s inter-REC average non-tariff trade costs are more or less the same at 300% (AVE) and 306% (AVE) respectively
Based on these findings it is not surprising why intra-Africa trade has remained low averaging 18% of Africa’s global trade over the past decade. Intra-Africa trade remains regional and limited to neighbouring countries partly due to these NTTCs which if left unchecked will hamper the goals of the AfCFTA. Therefore, their reduction can be a gamechanger for the AfCFTA and more specifically for African economic development.
Trade facilitation key to reducing NTTCs
The extent to which the AfCFTA will be effective to reduce trade costs depends importantly on governments addressing NTBs, including in services markets. Trade facilitation becomes key to the success of reducing NTTCs, by improving trade and customs procedures as well as facilitating the relationship between businesses and government agencies at the border to reduce costs, while protecting the intended regulatory objectives. Estimates from the UNECA (United Nations Economic for Africa) project that intra-Africa trade could double through enhanced trade facilitation and the reduction of NTBs in the AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA Agreement provides a legal framework with specific undertakings for trade facilitation and the elimination of barriers contained in Annex 3 on Customs Co-operation and Mutual Administrative Assistance; Annex 4 on Trade Facilitation; and Annex 8 on Transit. Annex 3 deals with trade facilitation in customs administration. Within RECs efforts to reduce NTBs have yielded significant progress (e.g., Tripartite FTA NTBs monitoring mechanism), however more needs to be done on trade facilitation as little progress has been made here.
What needs to be done?
A limited number of Strategic Corridors has been identified considering their potentialities to facilitate sustainable, efficient, smart, resilient, fair, affordable, secure, and safe mobility and trade within Africa.
State parties should be serious about implementing their trade facilitation obligations or fulfilling their duties under the AfCFTA Agreement and therefore legally binding and justiciable mechanisms should be put in place to ensure transparency, certainty and predictability. These must be complemented by regional and national instruments and measures. In effect Member States should implement their binding obligations. State parties’ customs authorities/agencies should be capacitated and coordinated. This would go a long way in improving trade facilitation governance in Africa and leveraging AfCFTA benefits.
Financing the AfCFTA and associated trade facilitation measures will go a long way in ensuring the success of regional integration in Africa. Furthermore, transport infrastructure should be prioritised. It is important to note that projects are already in progress to boost the development of continent-wide infrastructure. For example, Tanzania’s construction of the Standard Gauge Railway Project is expected to provide a safe and reliable means for efficiently transporting people and cargo to and from the existing Dar-es-Salaam port. Other large projects underway include the Trans-Maghreb Highway in North Africa, North-South Multimodal Corridor, the Central Corridor project, and the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway project.
In conclusion, reducing the NTTCs will be a gamechanger for the AfCFTA. What’s needed is for Member States to rise to the occasion by concluding the outstanding negotiations, especially resolving teething issues with respect to specific products especially outstanding RoO issues and finalising tariff concessions. Furthermore, the political, social, and economic environment should be managed both at the regional and national levels with the ultimate goal of ensuring the success of the AfCFTA.
The latest version of the Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Compendiumcontains a number of new features and aims to comprehensively support Customs administrations, Cross-Border Regulatory Agencies (CBRAs) and international organizations in strengthening implementation of CBM in various fields. The concept of CBM has existed for many years and refers to a coordinated approach by border control agencies, both domestic and international, in the context of seeking greater efficiencies in managing trade and travel flows, while maintaining a balance with compliance requirements.
The updated version of the Compendium briefly describes various WCO instruments and tools that are relevant to further supporting CBM implementation. Among these are the Revised Kyoto Convention, Risk Management, Single Window, the WCO Data Model and the SAFE Framework of Standards. It also recognizes that CBRAs are guided in their work by other international standards, and that it is necessary for both Customs and CBRAs to acquire a working knowledge of each other’s standards in order to arrive at a common understanding that enhances CBM.
The Compendium also includes a new section on cooperation between the WCO and the UPU. This section sets out potential opportunities for cooperation between Customs administrations and designated postal operators, including the exchange of advance electronic data aimed at improving risk management, trade facilitation and control of postal items, particularly in the context of growing e-commerce via post.
Furthermore, the updated Compendium includes (in Annex I) examples of CBM-related practice and experience in the context of two countries, namely, Botswana and Finland. There is scope for other examples to be added during the next review/update of the Compendium.
The Customs-Police Cooperation Handbook, developed by the WCO and INTERPOL, has also been included in the Compendium (appended as Annex 2). The Handbook presents a clear approach for Customs administrations to assess their current level of efficiency and effectiveness in cooperating with their respective Police authorities, and encourages Customs administrations to explore avenues to further strengthen cooperation.
Against this backdrop, the WCO stands ready to support its Members with the implementation of the updated version of the CBM Compendium, with a view to improving cross-border trade and ensuring the security of international supply chains.
he WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) led to a US$ 231 billion increase in trade, particularly in agriculture, according to estimates for the first couple of years of its implementation presented to the Committee on Trade Facilitation on 22 March. Developing members and least-developed country (LDC) members that have made commitments under the landmark agreement posted the most gains, the estimates find.
Based on estimates for the years 2017-2019, WTO economists attribute to the TFA an average 5% increase in global agricultural trade, 1.5% in manufacturing trade and 1.17% in total trade. These increases are largely driven by the trade growth in LDCs, where agricultural exports rose by 17%, manufacturing exports by 3.1%, and total exports by 2.4% under the TFA. The estimates further point to a 16-22% increase in agricultural trade between developing members that have made TFA commitments. These estimates are conservative, as large gains have already been realized, particularly in manufacturing, in anticipation of the Agreement’s entry into force and by developed members making full commitments since the start of the TFA’s entry into force, as noted in previous studies.
In 2015, the WTO forecast that complete implementation of the TFA could lead to an increase of up to 2.73% in global trade flows by 2030. The latest estimates note that as the benefits of the Agreement continue to be realized, the trade and welfare gains are likely to expand. Stronger increases for manufacturing trade may still be detected after more years of TFA implementation for developing members as well. The latest estimates are part of the Secretariat’s ongoing work tracking the impact of the TFA.
The TFA, which entered into force on 22 February 2017, 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.
The TFA is the first WTO agreement in which developing members and LDC members can determine their own implementation schedules and seek to acquire implementation capacity through the provision of related assistance and support. Developed members were required to implement all provisions of the TFA from its entry into force. As of 22 March 2023, notifications submitted by WTO members indicate that they have committed to implement 76.1% of TFA obligations.
The estimates were presented at the meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation upon WTO members’ request, in line with recommendations from the first review of the TFA in 2021. The next TFA review is scheduled for 2025.
At the meeting, the Committee also considered notifications from members regarding TFA measures, presentations of national experiences and suggestions to enhance trade facilitation implementation, and specific concerns on customs procedures. The next committee meetings are scheduled for 15-16 June and 3-5 October.
What Happened to the Portcullis? 
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