1 / 15

National PRO committees The UK Experience

National PRO committees The UK Experience. Peter Wilmott Board Director SITPRO. What is SITPRO?. SImpler Trade PROcedures A government-funded pressure group, constituted as a private company, but with the government as sole shareholder

brody
Download Presentation

National PRO committees The UK Experience

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. National PRO committees The UK Experience Peter Wilmott Board Director SITPRO SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  2. What is SITPRO? • SImpler Trade PROcedures • A government-funded pressure group, constituted as a private company, but with the government as sole shareholder • An organisation with a foot in both the public and the private sector • A centre of expertise on trade facilitation for more than thirty years SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  3. Organisation • A Board of non-executive Directors, with unpaid volunteers from the private sector and representatives of DTI and Customs • A full-time CEO, with executive responsibility • A permanent staff of around ten, drawn from the public and private sectors • An annual budget, provided by the DTI, currently around £1 million SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  4. Mission • Make international trade easier • Simplify border processes and procedures • Reduce the costs that formalities impose on business • Make access to international trade cheaper and easier • Make the supply chain work more efficiently SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  5. Targets • Government bureaucracy and inefficiency • Border processes (customs, tax, health, security, statistics, agriculture, etc) • UK, EU and global rule-making • Supply chain efficiency • Information handling (design of forms and control routines, business processes, etc) • Ancillary services (banking, insurance, brokerage, etc) SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  6. Working methods • Private-sector based working groups • Pilot projects (UNeDocs; Interact project; etc) • Policy positions (eg on WTO trade facilitation agenda, security issues) and behind-the-scenes networking and lobbying • Conferences, seminars, road-shows and publications SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  7. Achievements • Probably the most widely known and respected PRO organisation in the world • Aligned documentation procedures, in UK and Europe • Major contributor to work of CEFACT in UN SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  8. Analysis • Major advantage to have a single-focus organisation, with advocacy skills based on in-depth knowledge and experience • Essential to have legitimacy with UK and global business (ie be of the private sector), but full understanding of government values and processes (ie be with the public sector) SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  9. Analysis • UK model is successful in a plural democracy with government prepared to pay an organisation to criticise it • This model is less likely to succeed in economies with a less tolerant or more volatile political environment SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  10. Alternatives • French model (ODASCE) is self-funded and business-based • More independent, and fully legitimate with business • Less influence on government, and more fragile financially and politically (ie vulnerable to pressure from the administration) SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  11. Alternatives • Chambers of Commerce • Perhaps too narrowly based, with issues of legitimacy with both government and business and risks of conflicts of interest • Varying degrees of freedom from the State may affect independence and ability to influence policy and practice SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  12. Recommendations • Function is more important than form • Trade facilitation crosses boundaries – public/private; inter-ministerial; cross sectoral in private sector – and a holistic view is key to success • Without political will, backed by concrete government action, trade facilitation will not happen SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  13. Recommendations • Some mobilising force is required to keep governments on track • A forum for dialogue is essential, within government, between government and the private sector, and within the private sector • These are the key PRO committee functions SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  14. Recommendations • Form is less important, but funding and organisational details must give independence to the PRO body if it is to be credible, legitimate and effective • Focussing on concrete initiatives leads to greater trade facilitation than abstract debate; these can be regional or sectoral in nature, in order to make quick initial progress and gain support SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

  15. Conclusion • PRO organisations can bring focus and expertise to both the policy and practice of trade facilitation • Their benefits can far outweigh their costs, and their function is more important than their form • For countries to gain from creating PRO bodies, they must be independent, strong, expert, financially resilient and persistent SITPRO Simplifying International Trade

More Related