The Ninth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, held during 3-7 December 2013 in Bali, endorsed a multilateral Agreement on Trade Facilitation.

The Agreement is an outcome of the WTO trade facilitation negotiation, which was initiated in the year 2004 and concluded in the year 2013 at the aforesaid Ninth Ministerial Conference.

The Agreement contains a set of multilateral rules for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, across international borders through measures such as the publication of information for traders, simplification of documents and procedure prescribed by customs and other border agencies etc. It also aims at enhancing assistance and support for capacity building of developing and least developed countries in this area. It further contains provisions for effective cooperation among WTO Members on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues.

The Agreement shall come into force in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the WTO in this regard.

The Agreement contains a set of disciplines that would help improve border trade procedures involved in import, export and transit of goods, and also bring further transparency in trade administration. For instance, the Agreement provides for – publication of relevant trade related information such as laws, rules and procedures; simplification of formalities and documentation; special facilitation of perishable goods; adoption of risk management system for customs control etc. These measures would reduce transaction costs and bring greater predictability to traders both for agricultural and industrial goods. Moreover, the implementation of these measures by our trading partners would facilitate our exports into those markets.

The information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan in Rajya Sabha today.

Trade Facilitation Agreement streamlines customs procedures and transparency to reduce trade transaction costs and improve export predictability. The Trade Facilitation Agreement establishes multilateral disciplines to expedite movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, by requiring greater transparency, publication of trade-related laws and procedures, simplification of documentation and formalities, and adoption of risk management and special facilitation for perishable goods; it also provides for technical assistance and capacity building for developing and least developed countries and Member cooperation on customs compliance, with entry into force under WTO procedure.