Trade Facilitation Agreement

The objectives of the subject «Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)» are the following:

1. Understand the pillars of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. Know the concepts of substantive provisions in the scope of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation
3. Analyse the provisions on special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries

Description - WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)

With the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the WTO members established a new legal framework for the necessary reforms to be implemented for trade facilitation. It was created in the 2001 Doha Round.

The objective of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is to establish a legal framework that allows the reform of trade facilitation at a global level, speeding up the movement, release and customs clearance of products.

The substantive obligations of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) include the obligation to publish as well as access to information, appeal channels, trade procedures simplification, customs clearance processes, cross-border customs cooperation among the institutions that operate at the border, the reduction of non-tariff measures, the use of information technologies...

Also included provisions related to special and differential treatment of the Trade Facilitation for least developed countries (LDCs) and developing countries (LDCs), including technical assistance.

The WTO has other agreements related to trade facilitation:

1. Agreement on Customs Valuation
2. Preshipment Inspection
3. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
4. Agreement on Rules of Origin

See also:

1. Customs and the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
2. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
3. Non-automatic Import licensing, quotas and prohibitions
4. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
5. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
6. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
7. Safeguards. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)

Member countries of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA): Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini (Swaziland), European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Russian Federation, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

1. Countries in process of accession to the World Trade Organization: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros, Curacao, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Holy See (Vatican), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Uzbekistan, Syria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, East Timor, Yemen
2. Government with observer status: Turkmenistan
3. Non-member country: North Korea