United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

1. Trade Facilitation bodiesto reachCONSENSUSand COOPERATION Geneva, Switzerland, 31 Oct – 1 Nov 2006 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Trade Facilitation Bodies

2. IMPORTANT:Promote cooperationat national and regional levels Trade Facilitation Bodies

3. Ministry of Trade Ministry of Transport Ministry of Finances Door-to-door Logistics Trade facilitation measures Customs reform & modernization Private Sector Coverage of Trade Facilitation Reduce transaction costs Monitor external trade flows Trade Facilitation Bodies

4. TF implementation needscooperation at national level • Between the institutions concerned by foreign trade: Finances, Commerce, Transport; • With the private sector in the trading community (importers and exporters); • With services providers: transport operators, banks, insurance companies… Trade Facilitation Bodies

5. Types of TF bodies • Policy-oriented: • Pro-bodies (back to WP4 and Rec.#4) • NTTFC (UNCTAD TA projects) • In the context of WTO negotiations: • Inter-Institutional Committee (JITAP); • Coordination committee (World Bank pilot studies). • Operation-oriented: • Various types of coordination platforms in the context of the establishment of Single Window and Port Community systems. • Corridor-based clusters to facilitate transit operations. Trade Facilitation Bodies

6. USERS of trade & transport services Governmental Authorities PROVIDERS of trade & transport services The Three Key Players NTTFC Trade Facilitation Bodies

7. National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee A national forum to propose, discuss, consult and search consensus between commercial parties and governmental authorities on facilitation measuresto improve international trade & transport. Trade Facilitation Bodies

8. Inter-Institutional Committee • Part of Joint Integrated TA Program (JITAP)aimed at building trade-related capacities in African countries towards effective participation in trade negotiations. • Inter-Institutional Committee (IIC) to provide for participatory national coordination and management of trade policy formulation, monitor the implementation of WTO Agreements, and prepare for trade negotiations. • Platform for, inter alia, coordinating and undertaking consensus building among government institutions, as well as between government and the private sector, academia, civil society and other stakeholders. • Benin, Burkina-Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania. Plus: Botswana, Cameroon, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal and Zambia. Trade Facilitation Bodies

9. TF Negotiations Coordination Group • WB-proposed mechanism to ensure participation of DCs and LDCs WTO Members in the current WTO negotiations on TF. (WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiations Support Guide) • Coordinating agency: • Overall responsibility for coordinating input on trade-related negotiations; • Single point of contact between GVA-based negotiators & home-based experts; • Development of a contact list of government agency experts & creation/operation of a Trade Facilitation Negotiations Coordination Group. • Trade Facilitation Negotiations Coordination Group: • Single point of contact for other government agencies in their response to requests originating from GVA-based negotiators; • Consolidate responses from home-based experts for GVA-based negotiators; • Responsible for communications within government in relation to the progress of the negotiations and issues arising out of those negotiations. Trade Facilitation Bodies

10. Some expected outcome Policies reflectinga consolidation of national public and private interests • By-products: • For the private sector: to have access to the corridors of Ministries. • For the public sector: to seek support and understanding on Government’s actions. • For TA providers: to serve as a « sounding board » before implementing changes… • But also: • Creation of ownership among stakeholders. • Provision of specific services (e.g. organization of conferences, training events, surveys, etc.) • Coordination of regional programmes on TF. Trade Facilitation Bodies

11. BORDER Cooperation mechanisms Country A Country B Bilateral consultationson trade & transport issues Government Authorities Min. Trade,Finances (Customs), Transport, Interior, Foreign Affairs, etc. Government Authorities Min. Trade,Finances (Customs), Transport, Interior, Foreign Affairs, etc. NTTFC, Clusters,Public-Private Partnerships NTTFC, Clusters,Public-Private Partnerships Regionalcoordination Private sector Chambers of Commerce, professional associations, corridor-based interests (around projects such as: ICD, Free Zones, etc.) Private sector Chambers of Commerce, professional associations, corridor-based interests (around projects such as: ICD, Free Zones, etc.) Professional networks Trade Facilitation Bodies

12. Conclusion • Facilitation bodies have been created to accomodate major changes and new processes related to developments in: • Documents • Containerization and Multimodal Transport • Computers, EDI and ICTs • They should be dynamic and capable of reacting to traders’ needs by conveying to regulatory authorities concrete information on key problems and possible solutions. • Their mandate must evolve with the development stages of countries. Trade Facilitation Bodies