Brussels, 11/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the conference in Bali, which should seal an agreement at the WTO, 27 countries and international organisations have stated their commitment to providing support for the developing world.
The EU and the industrialised economies - Australia, Canada, United States, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland - this week reaffirmed their commitment at the WTO to provide technical assistance for the programmes to facilitate trade with developing countries. This was done alongside various UN organisations (UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank, IMF and WDO) and regional organisations (EBRD, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank).
Trade facilitation is made up of measures aimed at simplifying, modernising and harmonising imports of goods, improving the levying of taxes at borders, and export and transit procedures, mainly customs requirements. The possible measures include the simplification of rules and the reduction, standardisation and digitalisation of formulas. Trade facilitation is due be the subject of a partial agreement, in the context of the Doha Round multilateral talks at the WTO, during the ministerial conference of the organisation early December, in Bali.
Trade facilitation reform offers tangible benefits to economic growth and development. The recognition of such gains is reflected in the widespread continuation of trade facilitation initiatives in many developing and less advanced countries and regional cooperation organisations throughout the world. An agreement at the WTO would bring significant momentum to those initiatives, leading to even greater reduction of trade costs, the declaration adopted in Geneva on 8 July states. Commitments in favour of trade facilitation programmes increased by 365% in 2011, amounting to over $381 million. (EH/transl.jl)