26/01/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 24 January, Nepal submitted its instrument of ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), bringing the number of countries that have ratified the agreement, concluded at the ninth ministerial conference of the WTO in December 2013, to 108. The TFA contains a raft of rules to simplify and streamline customs procedures and increase the participation of developing countries in global trade. Only two more ratifications of member countries are now needed to secure the entry into force of the TFA which, once fully in place, could reduce the costs of trade by 14.3%, benefiting the developing countries first and foremost, and swelling the volume of global trade in goods by $1 trillion a year. (EH)