Source: the WTO site

The Trade Facilitation Agreement: An overview

The Trade Facilitation Agreement has three sections:

• Section I contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It clarifies and improves the relevant articles (V, VIII and X) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. It also sets out provisions for customs cooperation.

• Section II contains special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions that allow developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) to determine when they will implement individual provisions of the Agreement and to identify provisions that they will only be able to implement upon the receipt of technical assistance and support for capacity building. 
• To benefit from SDT, a member must categorize each provision of the Agreement and notify other WTO members of these categorizations in accordance with specific timelines outlined in the Agreement.

• Category A: 
• provisions that the member will implement by the time the Agreement enters into force (or in the case of a least-developed country within one year after entry into force)  
• Category B: 
• provisions that the member will implement after a transitional period following the  entry into force of the Agreement 
• Category C: 
• provisions 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.

For provisions designated as categories B and C, the member must provide dates for implementation of the provisions, as outlined in the following factsheets:

> Special and differential treatment for LDCs
> Special and differential treatment for developing countries

• Section III 
• contains provisions that establish a permanent committee on trade facilitation at the WTO, require members to have a national committee to facilitate domestic coordination and implementation of the provisions of the Agreement. It also sets out a few final provisions.

WTO's TFA has entered into force - Acuerdo sobre Facilitación del Comercio de la OMC entra en vigor

The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement has now entered into force. It is the first WTO agreement allowing Developing Country Members to determine which commitments they will be able to implement right away, and which commitments will need a period of transition. The report by BRIDGES here bellow is  worth reading carefully.

Mauricio López Dardaine

"Muchos de los países menos adelantados (PMA) sufren problemas de mala conectividad por encontrarse en un área remota, no tener acceso al mar o ser pequeños estados insulares, en los que la infraestructura de transportes es a menudo deficitaria. Como resultado de ello, el costo medio del comercio es mayor en los PMA que en los países en desarrollo. 

"Por ejemplo, mover un contenedor a través de una frontera es el 43 % más caro. Estos costos afectan de manera desproporcionada a las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME), que en ocasiones no disponen de los medios y la capacidad para acatar normas complejas. 

"Los altos costos del cumplimiento de los procedimientos aduaneros y de fronteras y de otras medidas no arancelarias (MNA) representan cargas significativamente altas en comparación con su pequeño volumen comercial. Esto hace que las PYME no sean proveedoras competitivas y dificulta su integración en las cadenas de valor regionales y mundiales. Se cree que el Acuerdo sobre Facilitación del Comercio, (que será vinculante para todas las agencias en las fronteras, no solo para las autoridades aduaneras, de los 159 Estados miembros de la OMC), será benéfico para todos los operadores. Varios países en desarrollo, en especial los PMA, están preocupados por su aplicación, por lo que el Acuerdo ofrece cierta flexibilidad y se ha incluido asistencia técnica para poder implementarlo..." Fuente: Centro de Comercio Internacional "Acuerdo sobre Facilitación del Comercio de la OMC - Una guía de negocios para los Países en Desarrollo"

Source: Bridges Volume 21 - Number 6

WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement 

Takes Effect

23 February 2017

The World Trade Organization announced on Wednesday 22 February that the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has now entered into force, having surpassed the minimum requirement of 110 ratifications from members.

“The Trade Facilitation Agreement is the biggest reform of global trade this century,” said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo on Wednesday in confirming the news.

“It sends a message about the power of trade to support jobs and growth around the world – in developed and developing countries alike,” he continued.

The landmark agreement aims to cut customs-related red tape, easing the flow of trade between countries by simplifying customs procedures, speeding up the clearance of goods, supporting cooperation among customs officials, and otherwise making it quicker and more efficient for goods to cross borders.

The four ratifications announced on Wednesday included Chad, Jordan, Oman, and Rwanda, according to the Geneva-based trade body. Together with the previous 108 ratifications received, there are now 112 WTO members which have approved the deal in their domestic legislatures and submitted their “instruments of acceptance” to the organisation.
Under WTO rules, any new or revised trade agreements require approval by two-thirds of the organisation’s membership, which now numbers 164 members.

An innovative deal

The TFA’s entry into force has already drawn a public welcome by numerous WTO members in the hours since the news first broke, with officials citing the deal’s potential to slash trade costs, facilitate the involvement of smaller companies on the international trading scene, and support the increased participation of poorer countries in global value chains.

While estimates vary, some agencies such as the Organisation for Co-operation and Development (OECD) have placed the potential reduction in trade costs at approximately 11-15 percent for low-income and upper middle income countries, though this level would depend on the country involved and the agreement’s actual implementation in practice.

WTO data further suggests that African and least developed economies are the ones which stand to see the greatest savings as a result of the deal.

Notably, the TFA is the first WTO agreement that is structured in a way that allows developing country members to determine which commitments they are able to implement straight away, versus those which will require a transition period and potentially technical assistance and/or capacity-building.

“TFA is an innovative, modern agreement. We now need to implement it [and] deliver on its benefits,” said Harald Neple, the Norwegian Ambassador to the WTO who currently chairs the organisation’s General Council, according to a post on social media site Twitter.

“Better border procedures and faster, smoother trade flows will revitalise global trade to the benefit of citizens in all parts of the world. Small companies, that have a hard time navigating daily bureaucracy and complicated rules, will be major winners,” said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.

Other officials in the trade and development community have also suggested that this reduction in trade costs could yield benefits on other fronts as well, specifically by freeing up or creating resources to fulfil other essential needs.

“New technologies and institutional reforms can improve governance, reduce entry barriers, and pull the informal sector into the formal sector. And with less paperwork to dodge, and fewer palms to grease, public revenues go up. This generates new resources for spending on essential services,” said Joakim Reiter, the Deputy Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in a press release.

Azevêdo similarly noted that the potential gains from the TFA could be manifold, especially for developing and least developed countries (LDCs).

“Developing countries could increase the number of products they export by 20 percent, while LDCs could see an increase of up to 35 percent,” said the WTO chief, suggesting that these countries could also have an easier time accessing other overseas markets and thus insulate themselves from “external economic shocks.”

Many in the business sector have also responded favourably to the news, with the International Chamber of Commerce ‘s (ICC) Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal terming it a “watershed moment for global trade.”

“The entry into force of the agreement could not come at a more important moment given the imperative to make global growth more inclusive," Mittal added, noting that the TFA’s work to address onerous customs systems could be a boon to smaller companies, including in developing economies.

Over 12 years in the making

Negotiations for the TFA were concluded in December 2013 at the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia, following round-the-clock negotiations among trade ministers to finalise the first new multilateral deal since the WTO opened its doors in the mid-1990s. The trade deal has been open for ratification since November 2014. (See Bridges Daily Update, 7 December 2013 and 27 November 2014)

The process to negotiate such a trade facilitation deal kicked off in 2004, following previous working-group level discussions on which of the so-called “Singapore issues” should be added to the WTO’s Doha Round of trade talks. (See Bridges Weekly, 28 November 2013)

While the future of the Doha agenda topics remains in flux, the TFA was able to move forward as part of an “early harvest” of issues that seemed the readiest for an agreed outcome.

Though the ratification process has now taken a few years, that time has allowed for other preparatory efforts to get underway, including the announcement of funding commitments from various countries and other financial streams to help provide the technical support and capacity building that some developing countries will need to implement certain provisions.

Within the WTO, a preparatory committee has also been at work over that timeframe to undertake steps such as collecting the relevant notifications from members of which TFA provisions they will implement immediately – the “Category A” commitments – and which ones may require additional time or support.

There have also been various training courses in place to help prepare WTO members in implementing the TFA in practice, including advanced courses hosted at the global trade body for the chairs of national trade facilitation committees.

A Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) has also been in place since late 2014 to help WTO members determine their support needs and who they could partner with to address them, among other functions.

Mercosur worth watching closely

While Argentina co-chairs the G-20 Trade and Investment Working Group in Berlin, President Macri is meeting President Temer in Brasilia. Argentina will then chair the G20 as from the end of 2017, and also organise the WTO Conference in Buenos Aires around that time.

While world trade is beginning to adjust (or trying to adjust) to the new administration in Washington, this meeting in the framework of a state visit to Brazil by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, is an event worth of  consideration. There hasn't been a gathering of   such relevance for a number of years between the two big economies of Mercosur.

To judge whether the importance of what is being signed really means what is written, we shall have to wait a little while. However, both countries will have a unique oportunity of turning words into facts, because during the first half of 2017 Argentina sits at the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur, while during the second half, following the traditional alphabetical order, it will be Brazil's turn to preside the block.

There shall thus be no excuses for lack of executive action.

Mauricio López Dardaine 

Mercosur - Cuaderno de Bitácora

En momentos en que la navegación por los mares del comercio internacional se ha tornado agitada, no parece inapropiado tomar algunas notas en nuestro viejo cuaderno de bitácora, aún en la era del GPS.

Por eso este comentario será breve, apenas un apunte de navegación.

Cuando grandes naciones como Méjico se ven sumidas en un profundo desconcierto, el Brexit aparece menos firme y con más dudas que hasta hace poco, esta importante reunión de los dos grandes países del Mercosur, el Brasil y la Argentina, da toda la impresión de que en este rincón del sur de América se busca fortificar la integración para seguir, después  de no poco tiempo, abriéndose al mundo. EFTA, Japón y Canadá, además de la India, figuran en la agenda. En el primer caso los primeros pasos ya fueron dados. Con Canáda hubo escarceos no muy productivos hace un tiempo, pero que sirven de antecedente  (y ahora con el NAFTA entre paréntesis, podría ser el momento), con la India hay como base un acuerdo no muy profundo pero que constituye una plataforma sólida para avanzar, por cierto con la debida prudencia.

Y ya  que del Mercosur hablamos, quizá no esté de más tener anotado en nuestro cuaderno de navegación que hay agendada una reunión con Venezuela para este 9 de febrero, en razón de la controversia planteada por este país cuando fuera suspendido del bloque el pasado diciembre, por las razones conocidas por ustedes.

Por supuesto que la negociación del Mercosur con la Unión Europea ha estado al tope de la lista en esta reunión entre la Argentina y el Brasil, si de negociar hablamos, pero como aquellos que seguimos este tema de cerca hemos tenido tantas frustraciones en los últimos años, nos pareció prudente dejar esta mención en un margen de nuestro cuaderno de navegación... al menos hasta ver algunos frutos.

Mauricio López Dardaine

The End of Multilateralism and Plurilateralism?

Memorandum of January 23, 2017

Withdrawal of the United States From the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement 

Memorandum for the United States Trade Representative

" It is the policy of my Administration to represent the American people and their financial well-being in all negotiations, particularly the American worker, and to create fair and economically beneficial trade deals that serve their interests. Additionally, in order to ensure these outcomes, it is the intention of my Administration to deal directly with individual countries on a one-on-one (or bilateral) basis in negotiating future trade deals. Trade with other nations is, and always will be, of paramount importance to my Administration and to me, as President of the United States. Based on these principles, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct you to withdraw the United States as a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), to permanently withdraw the United States from TPP negotiations, and to begin pursuing, wherever possible, bilateral trade negotiations to promote American industry, protect American workers, and raise American wages. You are directed to provide written notification to the Parties and to the Depository of the TPP, as appropriate, that the United States withdraws as a signatory of the TPP and withdraws from the TPP negotiating process. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register."

Signed: Donald Trump 

Dilema para analistas del comercio mundial

¿Cómo exportar cerrando las importaciones?, he aquí la cuestión, como diría Hamlet.

Pero el nuevo presidente de los Estados Unidos viene de plantear esta paradoja.

"Recortar" el NAFTA con México y Canadá. Elevar el arancel a las exportaciones chinas. He aquí dilemas que se plantean, ante todo a aquellas grandes empresas de capitales estadounidenses que han ido armando cadenas logísticas basadas en países como México y China.

Aquí no pretendo sino empezar a meditar, con la mente lo más fría posible, lo que -al menos con lo que hemos aprendido de economía a partir de 1930- resulta una ecuación de la cual el mundo no conoce la respuesta. O, contrario sensu, sabe que si a un país le imponen barreras y restricciones a los bienes que exporta, la retaliación resulta inevitable.

Nadie puede decir hasta dónde podrá avanzar la nueva administración norteamericana, ni con qué obstáculos se va a topar, ni cuál será ese obstáculo que la obligue a replantear la ecuación o sufrir consecuencias no previstas.

Lo que sí está claro es que para países como los que integramos el Mercosur se presentan riesgos y oportunidades; oportunidades que podremos aprovechar en la medida que podamos anticipar algunas de las consecuencias más probables.

El fuerte de la Argentina sigue siendo la producción y exportación de materias primas de origen agropecuario, y en una menor medida, la exportación de algunas de dichas materias primas procesadas.

Como analistas nuestra función es, en primer lugar, obligarnos a estudiar este cambiante escenario. A pocos días de la asunción de Donald Trump se plantea un primer escenario. Pero se trata de un escenario que va a sufrir modificaciones durante todo 2017, a medidas que las reacciones de los otros grandes jugadores mundiales se hagan sentir.

Estemos atentos para anticipar -aunque sea un par de jugadas- de lo que está por venir.

Mauricio López Dardaine 

Nuestros mejores deseos - Our best wishes - Nos meilleurs voeux

En el cierre de un año indudablemente diferente -obviemos decir lo complicado que ha sido- hay cuestiones que no deberíamos dejar de apuntar: el poder expresarse más libremente, el resurgimiento del campo, el volver a formar parte del mundo como un todo y el impulso que la Argentina le está dando a las energías renovables. Los errores, ese vaso medio vacío,  es algo que señalan diariamente diversos medios (es su tarea) y no es  quizás el momento de reiterarlos.

A todos ustedes que de una manera u otra nos vienen siguiendo desde hace tiempo, Gracias por sus constructivas críticas y siempre valiosos aportes.

A todos, nuestros fervientes deseos de una Navidad en Paz.

Y gracias a todos aquellos que nos han enviado ya sus saludos navideños y a quienes no hemos podido aún responderles directamente.

 At the end of a year that is coming to an end surrounded by more unknowns that those with which it started, let us thank you, our friends, for your wise criticism and generous contributions.

To all of us who one way or another are involved in Sustainable Development, even with the unknowns surging after the US election, 2016 has shown a steady progress towards our sustainable development goals. We shall keep on striving towards all that remains to be done in 2017.

Our best wishes for a Xmas in Peace,

À vous qui suivez notre blog depuis 2012, merci de vos critiques constructives et vos sages commentaires. Du point de vue du développement durable, l'année ferme avec un gros point d'interrogation, même si durant 2016 le monde a fait pas mal de progrès en matière de changement climatique après la COP de Paris de 2015. Les énergies renouvelables aussi continuent à se développer, notamment chez nous en Argentine sous la nouvelle administration. 

On devra renouveler nos efforts en 2017.

Aujourd'hui, pour vous tous, nos meilleurs voeux pour un Nöel en Paix.

Mauricio López Dardaine

Maximiliano López Dardaine

Estudio López Dardaine