THE Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) among World Trade Organization (WTO) members has helped global supply chains to carry on, but more needs to be done to allow economies to recover from the pandemic.
This is according to WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who highlighted the role of TFA—which entered into force five years ago—in supply chain resilience.
“WTO members’ efforts to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement over the past five years have been vital for global supply chain resilience, which is more than ever important amid the demands for a sustainable recovery from the pandemic,” she said.
Among the TFA commitments include streamlining of trade procedures, expediting approvals for perishable goods, opening of information portals, she enumerated.
All these measures were deemed crucial in delivering food, vaccines, medical products and other essential supplies across the borders.
But “there is more work to be done,” Okonjo-Iweala, citing the need to extend help to small businesses and developing economies, both of which were seen as the most adversely affected by the pandemic.
“The full implementation of the TFA, supported by aid for capacity building from partners, will be necessary to help economies bounce back and better withstand future shocks,” she added.
TFA entered into force on February 22, 2017 following the acceptance of two-thirds of the members, including the Philippines.
It contains commitments in expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including those in transit. The measure also has provisions catering to developing and least-developed countries (LDC) for capacity building to implement the agreement.
WTO said its members have committed to implement 74.3 percent of their TFA obligations as of February 22. For the Philippines, its current rate of implementation is at 98.3 percent.
“The TFA is the first WTO agreement in which developing and LDC members can determine their own implementation schedules and seek to acquire implementation capacity through the provision of related assistance and support,” WTO noted.
In an event earlier this month, WTO Deputy Director-General Anabel González stressed that trade facilitation is strongly linked with economic resilience, which was revealed during the pandemic.
“Throughout the pandemic, trade facilitation has played a life-saving role in keeping trade in food and other essential supplies flowing,” she said. “Trade facilitation enabled complex supply chains—some spanning as many as 19 countries—to be stitched together in record time, to provide the specialized inputs and capital goods needed for large-scale production of life-saving Covid-19 vaccines.”