RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/C/W/70
28February 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-0887)
Council forTrade inGoods
11March 1997
TRADE FACILITATION
Background Note bytheSecretariat
I. Introduction
1. MinistersinSingaporedirectedtheCouncilforTradeinGoods(CTG)"toundertakeexploratory
andanalytical work, drawing onthework ofother relevant international organizations, onthe
simplification oftrade procedures inorder toassess thescope forWTO rules inthisarea"
(WT/MIN(96)/DEC).
2. Following thisdirective, theCTG requested theSecretariat tocompile information inrespect
ofworkalreadydoneorbeingdoneonthesubjectoftradefacilitationinotherinternationalorganizations,
including non-governmental organizations byMay1997. Asafirststepinthiscompilation, theCTG
requested thattheSecretariat provide, atthenextmeeting oftheCTG scheduled for11March 1997,
anoverview oftheorganizations from which ithadobtained information, aswellasareas oftrade
facilitation inwhich theseorganizations haveundertaken work(G/C/M/17). Thepresent noteresponds
tothisrequest forpreliminary information.
3. Itmustbenoted thattrade facilitation isaconcept thatcancover abroad range ofactivities.
TheSecretariat hascontacted those international organizations which areknown tobeactive inthe
area,whether through administering conventions, agreements orotherinstruments, providing technical
assistance and/or setting standards. Inthiscontext itisimportant tonotethatthiswork cutsacross
anyandallsectors ofeconomic andcommercial activity. Therefore, theexploratory work hasnot
confined itself toanyspecific sectors buthasbeen guided bythesectors inwhich thevarious
organizations areworking.
II. Organizations contacted
4. Thefollowing organizations, which havebeencontacted bytheSecretariat, haveprovided
information, either through direct contacts orwritten material, ontheiractivities. Ashort description
oftheareas inwhich theiractivities arefocused, based ontheinformation provided orally orthrough
written materials, isalsoprovided below.
A. International inter-governmental organizations
(i) United Nations Conference onTrade andDevelopment (UNCTAD) -UNCTAD originally co-
operated withtheUNECE byproviding technical assistance toimplement thestandards developed
bytheUNECE. After theCartagena Conference in19921,UNCTAD began itsowninitiatives in
thecontext ofits"Special Programme forTrade Efficiency". Itsobjective istofacilitate andencourage
participation ofdeveloping countries andparticularly small andmedium sizedenterprises ininternational
1UNCTAD VIII, heldatCartagena deIndias, Colombia, February 1992.G/C/W/70
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trade. Itsmain activities focus ontheTrade Point Programme andtheTrade Point Global Network
fordisseminating information2;ondrawing upandimplementing practical recommendations and
guidelines through cooperation withother organizations oncustoms matters (WCO), information for
trade (ITC), business practices andtrade facilitation (UNECE), transport, banking andinsurance,
andtelecommunications; andtechnical assistance through theTRAINFORTRADE program, the
ASYCUDA customs reform program, andother informatics assistance.
(ii) United Nations Commission onInternational Trade Law(UNCITRAL) -UNCITRAL was
established topursue theharmonization andunification ofthelawofinternational trade through the
development ofUNconventions. Main areas ofactivity include preparing conventions onthe
international saleofgoods andrelated transactions (United Nations Convention onContracts forthe
InternationalSaleofGoods),internationaltransportofgoods(UnitedNationsConventionontheCarriage
ofGoods bySea)andthepreparation ofrulesforinternational commercial arbitration andconciliation.
(iii) United Nations Economic Commission forEurope (UNECE) -UNECE isactive intrade
facilitation through theWorking Party ontheFacilitation ofInternational Trade Procedures (WP.4),
which isbeing replaced bytheCentre forFacilitation ofProcedures andPractices forAdministration,
Commerce andTransport (CEFACT). WP.4 developed andissued 26Recommendations which contain
toolsforefficient procedures intheformofstandards, recommended practices, model procedures in
avariety ofareas (codes andabbreviations, invoice layout key,transport, terms ofpayment, packing,
customs, EDI,etc.)relating tointernational trade. UNECEdeveloped andmaintains theUnited Nations
Electronic DataInterchange forAdministration, Commerce andTransport (UN/EDIFACT) which is
theonlyinternational standard forElectronic DataInterchange. TheUNECEisalsobuilding aModel
ofInternational Trade Transaction (ITT) whose eventual goalistoprovide aframework thatidentifies
thestages ofthetrading process anddirects theactions therein.
(iv) United Nations Economic andSocial Commission forAsiaandthePacific (UNESCAP) -In
cooperation withtheUNECE inmany ofthelatter'sactivities, UNESCAP isinvolved intraining
oftheUN/EDIFACT, information exchange through computer linkages, andtechnical assistance in
thecountries ofAsiaandthePacific.
(v) International CivilAviation Organization (ICAO) -ICAO 'sactivities comprise facilitation of
international airtraffic andairtransport services through theConvention onInternational CivilAviation.
TheConvention includes standards andrecommended practices designed tofacilitate international
movement ofgoods byair.
(vi) International Maritime Organisation (IMO) -Through theadministration oftheConvention
ontheFacilitation ofInternational Maritime Traffic, theIMO pursues thesimplification, reduction
anduniformity offormalities, procedures anddocumentary requirements relating tomaritime transport.
TheConvention contains standards andrecommended practices tofacilitate international maritime traffic
andprevent unnecessary delays toships, passengers andcargoes.
(vii) International Trade Centre (ITC) -TheITCdoesnotdevelop anyofitsownstandards or
guidelines inthisareabutprovides technical assistance onthepractical applications ofthose developed
andmaintained bytheUNECEandtheISO. They work withtheprivate andpublic sectors primarily
through tradesupport/promotion institutions withtheprinciple aimofassisting small andmedium sized
enterprises toenter intointernational trade transactions.
2TheTrade Point Programme andtheGlobal Trade Point Network wereofficially launched attheUnited Nations International
Symposium onTrade Efficiency, Columbus, Ohio, USA, October 1994.G/C/W/70
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(viii) OrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD)-TheOECDTradeCommittee
covers ahostofmarket access issues which touch inpartonaspects oftradefacilitation. Among other
topics, work hasbeencarried outonissues ofregulatory reform andelectronic commerce. Under
OECD auspices, theArrangement onGuidelines forOfficially Supported Export Credits wasconcluded.
ThisArrangement provides theinstitutional framework foranorderly export credit market involving
official intervention.
(ix) World Bank -TheWorld Bank finances technical assistance projects andactivities related to
trade facilitation. These activities aredispersed among theregional centres oftheBank. Oneproject
wascarried outinco-operation withtheWorld Customs Organization. Inaddition, theInternational
Economics Department hascompleted threestudies onthecosts, benefits, andbestpractices inapplying
information technology totrade facilitation.
(x) World Customs Organization (WCO) -Core activities oftheWCO comprise work on
simplification andharmonization ofcustoms procedures through development andadministration of
conventions, suchastheKyoto Convention andtheIstanbul Convention onTemporary Admission.
Through itsCustoms Reform andModernization Programme, theWCO seeks toincrease customs
efficiency andadvocates co-operation between customs administrations. Other activities include the
development andmaintenance ofrulesconcerning tariff nomenclature intheHarmonised Commodity
Description andCoding System (HSSystem), customs compliance andcombat ofcorruption (Arusha
Declaration). Inco-operation withtheWTO, theTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation and
theTechnical Committee onRules ofOrigin (fortheharmonization ofnon-preferential rulesoforigin)
operate under theauspices oftheWCO.
B. International non-governmental organizations
(xi) International AirTransport Association (IATA) -IATA 'swork embraces virtually every aspect
oftheairtransport industry including technical, operational, legal andsecurity matters aswellas
facilitation (cutting redtapeandstreamlining procedures atairports).
(xii) International Chamber ofCommerce (ICC) -Through itsCommittee onCustoms andTrade
Regulations, theICCseeks tosynthesize thebusiness viewontrade facilitation issues. Itpromotes
anddevelopsinstrumentsthataimatharmonizationofcommercialpracticesamongtradersanddeveloped
theICCInternational Customs Guidelines. In1996, theICCconcluded aco-operation agreement with
theWCO topromote andsupport customs reform. TheICChasalsoestablished close working
relationships withUNCTAD andtheUNECE.
(xiii) International Chamber ofShipping (ICS) -TheICSco-ordinates theviews oftheinternational
shipping industry onmatters ofcommon interest, inthepolicy-making, technical andlegalfields of
shipping operations. Itworks onharmonization andsimplification ofcommercial tradepractices related
tomaritime transport; development oftheICSStandard BillofLading, which isusedworldwide as
amodel forthedesign ofB/Lforms.
(xiv) International Organization forStandardization (ISO) -Although itspurpose istodevelop and
harmonize global standards toreduce inefficiencies ininternational commercial transactions, specific
tradefacilitation activities relate toworking withUNECEondeveloping standards andadopting certain
UNECE standards asISOstandards anddisseminating theirwide use. Forexample, ISOadopted
UNECERecommendation No.3asISO3166which contains country codes; anditworked withUN
ECE onISO4217 which contains analphabetic codefortherepresentation ofcurrencies, etc.In
addition, ISOisworking withUNECEandtheInternational Electrotechnical Commission ondefining
thebaseline unitsofaninternationally agreed Basic Semantic Repository (BSR). ThiswillprovideG/C/W/70
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aninternationally agreed database forusebydevelopers ofsoft-ware forawiderange ofapplications
including EDI.
(xv) International Road Transport Union (IRU) -TheIRUworks onsimplifying andreducing
formalities, procedures anddocumentary requirements relating toroadtransport. TheIRUisthe
international guarantor oftheTIRsystem (Customs Convention ontheInternational Transport ofGoods
Under Cover ofTIRCarnets), established in1959under theauspices oftheUnited Nations Economic
Commission forEurope.
Inaddition, information hasbeenrequested fromtheInternational Association ofPorts andHarbours .
C. Regional Organizations andfreetrade agreements orcustoms unions
With regard totrade facilitation initiatives within andbetween regional organizations andfreetrade
agreements orcustoms unions, thefollowing havebeencontacted bytheSecretariat:
APEC
ASEAN
EUROPEAN UNION
MERCOSUR
NAFTA
III. Provisions intheWTO (Uruguay Round Agreements andtheGATT 1994) related totrade
facilitation
GATT1994-ArticleV(FreedomofTransit);ArticleVII(ValuationforCustomsPurposes);ArticleVIII
(Fees andFormalities connected withImportation andExportation); Article IX(Marks ofOrigin);
andArticle X(Publication andAdministration ofTrade Regulations).
Uruguay Round Agreements -Agreement onImport Licensing; Agreement onRules ofOrigin;
Agreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994 (Customs Valuation Agreement);
Agreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade; Agreement onPreshipment Inspection.