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Concluding Seminar "Implementation of the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation: challenges, opportunities and needs”

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Recommendations

of the Concluding Seminar

“Implementation of the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation: challenges, opportunities and needs”

 

1. The concluding seminar on the assessment of the readiness of Ukraine to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 19 November 2015. It was organized with support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine (MEDT); the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Ukraine); and prepared in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); the United States Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP); the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); the Interagency Working Group on Trade Facilitation and Logistics in Ukraine (IWG); Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics (KNUTE) and the Association of Transport-Forwarding and Logistic Organizations of Ukraine “Ukrzovnishtrans”. The objectives of the seminar were to present to international organizations, development partners and investors, and to Ukrainian stakeholders, the reports prepared with assistance from UNECE, USAID and CLDP on the readiness of Ukraine to implement the TFA, and contribute to the process of coordination of technical cooperation for the implementation of the TFA. These reports will be published.

 

2. The seminar discussed the following recommendations:

As the UNECE, USAID and CLDP reports highlighted the need to improve the administrative capacity of the Ukrainian regulatory agencies to implement the TFA, the international community and the Ukrainian regulatory agencies implementing trade facilitation measures are requested to consider assistance to Ukraine for building national institutional capacity to implement the TFA. This may include methodological assistance for assessing additional time and budget requirements, and drafting implementation plans. It could also include training and technical assistance to regulatory agency staff to help them implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

As Ukraine has already ratified the TFA, it is recommended that it should focus, as a matter of highest priority, on implementing those measures of the TFA, which have been notified as category A on 1 August 2014, but for which no real capacity for implementation was identified in the UNECE-UNCTAD, USAID and CLDP reports. Therefore, concentrating on the following measures should be considered a top priority-

Establishing a National Trade Facilitation Committee, which should coordinate all activities in support of the TFA, including:

• publication of all relevant information (laws, bylaws, forms, procedures, etc.) – notably create an inventory of all relevant information, including places of publication, in order to assist the creation of an all-encompassing trade facilitation portal for Ukraine (TFA art. 1.1);
• publication on Internet by all relevant regulatory agencies and translation of all relevant information cited in the TFA (TFA art.1.2);
• pre-arrival processing (TFA art.7.1); 
• implementation of trade facilitation measures for Authorized Economic Operators (develop: criteria; procedures of designating AEOs; legislation and monitoring mechanisms) (TFA art. 7.7);
• trade facilitation for perishable goods (TFA art. 7.9);
• border agencies cooperation (TFA art.8);
• further strengthening of the capacity of relevant government agencies that will be involved in the full functioning of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation.

The Government of Ukraine may consider the possibility of notifying the WTO secretariat on TFA measures categorized as B (measures for which Ukraine would need more time for implementation) and C (measures for which Ukraine would need more time and international technical assistance for implementation), using the findings of the UNECE-UNCTAD[1] and USAID reports, as well as the recommendations of the validation seminar, organized by UNECE, CLDP, MERT and ICC Ukraine, given the progress which the authorities of Ukraine will achieve at that time.

The relevant regulatory agencies are requested to finalize their work on clarifying and developing plans with budgets and timelines for the implementation of category B and C measures and to send this information to the Secretariat of the Interagency Working Group on international trade facilitation and logistics in Ukraine by e-mail info@singlewindow.org for generalization and further submitting to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.

The Cabinet of Ministers is requested to appoint a national agency responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the TFA, and hold it accountable for the development of a work programme for this implementation, including the establishment of a National Trade Facilitation Committee. This would reflect the obligations of Ukraine that would stem from its ratification of the TFA, in particular of Article 23, paragraph 2 (National Trade Facilitation Committee), using the experience of the Interagency Working Group on Trade Facilitation and Logistics. The committee should include representatives of all relevant regulatory agencies, business associations, chambers of commerce, the EUBAM working group on trade facilitation and other stakeholders in trade facilitation in Ukraine. 

The participants recommend creating a mechanism for the further involvement of the international development partners in this process, with the participation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Interagency Working Group on International Trade Facilitation and Logistics and the international development community. The future National Trade Facilitation Committee may develop a table outlining the possibilities for legal and TFA implementation assistance that could be provided by various development partners.

 

3. The development partners participating in the seminar – USAID, UNECE, CLDP, EUBAM, the World Bank Group, GIZ, noted some areas (including measures in the TFA that had already been notified as A), in which they would be ready to assist. Notably, CLDP is ready to assist with Article 1.1 (Publication), Article 7.1 (Pre-arrival Processing), Article 7.4 (Risk Management), article 7.5 (Post-clearance Audit), Article 7.6 (Establishment and Publication of Average Release Times), Article 7.7 (Trade Facilitation Measures for Authorized Operators), Article 7.8 (Expedited Shipments), Article 8 (Border Agency Cooperation), Article 10.3 (Use of International Standards), Article 10.4 (Single Window), Article 11 (Freedom of Transit); USAID with articles 1.2 (publication on the Internet), 7.4 (risk management) and 7.7 (trade facilitation measures for Authorized Economic Operators); the World Bank Group could be engaged through its Trade Facilitation Support Program; GIZ with quality assessment infrastructure; UK Customs with building capacity for a general Customs modernization reform as required by the TFA; UNECE with Article 10.3 (Use of International Standards), Article 10.4 (Single Window) and Article 23.2 (National Trade Facilitation Committee) and a national trade facilitation strategy; ITC in helping business benefit from the TFA, notably in the framework of the National Trade Facilitation Committee.  

EUBAM in coordination with the EC/DG-TAXUD/AEO Network, will continue  to assist in the implementation of Article 7.3 (Separation of Release from Final Determination of Customs Duties, Taxes, Fees and Charges), Article 7.5 (Post-clearance Audit), Article 7.7 (Trade Facilitation Measures for Authorized Operators) and with Article 7.7.2 (c) (financial solvency, including, where appropriate, provision of a sufficient security/guarantee), and Article 23.2 (National Trade Facilitation Committee) where EUBAM suggested to include already existing EUBAM Trade Facilitation Working Group under  the National TF Committee structure.

EUBAM called for coordination of activities in the implementation of AEO with a view towards AEO mutual recognition according to Article. 80 (i) of the EU-UA Association Agreement (mutually recognise, where relevant and appropriate, authorised traders and customs controls).

 

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