Definition:  With the negotiations on trade facilitation, WTO Members aim at further accelerating the movement, clearance, and release of goods. The negotiations are based on the clarifying and improving aspects of the GATT Articles V, VIII and X,  enhancing technial assistance and support for capacity building in trade facilitation, and developing provisions for effective cooperation between customs or any other border agency on compliance issues. The negotiations on trade facilitation are part of the Doha Round of Trade Negotiations and a Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation has been set up in October 2004 to conduct the negotiations.

Overview: The negotiations on trade facilitation have been ongoing since Ocotber 2004 pursuant to the mandate given to WTO members in the Doha Ministerial Declaration in 2001 and the General Counticl Decision of 1 August 2004 (The "July Package" and its Annex D). The basis of the negotiations is the review of the existing provisions of GATT Article V ("Freedom of Transit"),  Article VIII ("Fees and Formalities connected with Importation and Exportation") and Article X ("Publication and Administration of Trade Regulations"). With the negotiations WTO Members seek to strengthen trade facilitation disciplines as another cornerstone of the multilateral trading system.

The negotiations are based on a bottom-up process driven by delegations' proposals submitted to the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation. By the end of 2006, more than 70 trade facilitation measure had been put forward for considertaion. These measures measures were grouped into 14 categories, ranging from the publiction of trade-related regulation to the clearance and movement of goods and the cross-border exchange fo customs information. During 2007 and 2008, these provisions were further consolidated, so that in early 2009 42 measures grouped in 12 categories remained on the table of the NGTF. By than the proposed measures have been drafted using legal language. The chair of the NGTF issued a draft consolidated negotiating text based on the review of Members' proposals undertaken in the OCtober and November meetings of the NGTF. THe document is availableon the WTO website under the document code TN/TF/W/165 or in the reference reading section of this website

Reference Documents and Information: The World Trade Organization's webpage on Trade Facilitation includes information about the preceding work, the underlying regulatory framework and Ministerial mandates, as well as WTO technical assistance and training activities. The WTO page on the Negotiations describes the ongoing negotiating process. Via the WTO page Negotiation Documents, you can access all submitted proposals, as well as the latest WTO compilation of proposals (Document TN/TF/W/43 and its revisions).

Substantive proposals: The issues dealt with in Article V are covered in more detail under the GFP topic Transit, and also under Trade Logistics and Transport. Many of the issues dealt with in Article VIII are covered by the GFP topics Border Agency Modernization, Customs Issues, and E-Commerce and the corresponding sub-topics. Many of the Article X issues are covered by the GFP topics Customs Issues and Partnerships and the corresponding sub-topics. A set of UNCTAD Technical Notes that cover technical aspects related to specific proposals made at the NGTF, a set of broader GFP Explanatory Notes, WCO Information Sheets on trade facilitation measures and Customs Issues, as well as UN/CEFACT recommendations are relevant reference readings on these issues.

Implementation Issues: The challenge in these negotiations is to draft a set or rules than can be applied uniformly all WTO members , while allowin flexibilities for developing countries in the application of their commitments. Developing countries have the concern that they do not have sufficient capacity and resources to implement the new commitments, that the new commitments are not in line with their development needs and priorities, and the technical assistance for capacity acquisition for the implementation of the commitments can not be ensured.

To address these implementation concerns, delegations work along the assumption that the special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions for developing counrties should guarantee flexibility in implementation, and make the application of developing countries' commitments conditional to the delivery of technical assistance by developed and donor WTO Members. With such a conditionality the SDT provisions would go beyond existing provisions on SDT in other WTO agreements. These existing provisions have been very much criticised for their operational ineffectiveness and weak legal character. The developments on the issue of SDT in the negotiations on trade facilitation will therefore have an impact beyond the NGTF. The discussions on the details of the SDT provisions and an implementation framework for the new agreement are still ongoing and are led by a friend-of-the-chair.

Technical Assistance: In Annex D it is also recognized that the provision of technical assistance and support for capacity building is vital for developing and least-developed countries to enable them to fully participate in and benefit from the negotiations. Relevant international organizations, including the IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and the World Bank are invited to undertake a collaborative effort in this regard. UNCTAD, World Bank and WTO, in cooperation with each other and with IMF, OECD and WCO are organizing capacity building events to accompany the negotiating process. OECD has embarked on a project that aims to strengthen the design, delivery and evaluation of technical assistance and capacity building for trade facilitation. The United Nations regional commissions (ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, and ESCWA) as well as UN-ESCAP - supported ArtNet are also organizing seminars and undertaking studies related to the WTO negotiations in their respective regions.  

In a joined effort by the Annex D organisations, the WTO Secretariat, and other partners so-called trade facilitation technical assistance self-assessments have been undertaken in more than 80 developing countries. The WTO Secretariat is administering a trust fund for this purpose and developing country Members and Observers can still apply to benefit from assistance to conduct such an assessment based on the methodology developed by the World Bank and further refined by the partner organisations.