WTO Launches Website for TFA Facility

 

The TFAF was created at the request of developing country and least-developed country (LDC) members to help ensure that they receive the assistance needed to reap the full benefits of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and to support the ultimate goal of full implementation of the new Agreement by all members. The TFAF will support these countries in assessing their specific needs and identifying possible development partners to help them meet those needs through a diverse number of activities.

The Facility was formally launched on July 22, 2014 by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and became operational on 27 November 2014.  The website can be accessed in English, French and Spanish.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement broke new ground for developing and least-developed countries in the way it will be implemented. For the first time in WTO history, the requirement to implement the Agreement was directly linked to the capacity of the country to do so. In addition, the Agreement states that assistance and support should be provided to help them achieve that capacity.

To benefit from this, developing and LDC members must notify the WTO which provisions they will implement when the Agreement enters into force or, in the case of LDCs, within one year after entry into force (Category A commitments); which provisions they will implement after a transitional period following the entry into force of the Agreement (Category B); and which provisions they will implement on a date after a transitional period following the entry into force of the Agreement and that require the acquisition of assistance and support for capacity building (Category C).

The aim of the TFAF is to help ensure that this assistance is provided to all those needing it.  The website provides background on the Agreement and the TFAF,  information on programmes that support implementation of the Agreement,  as well as information on national contact points for trade facilitation in developing and LDC members.

The website also provides information on TFAF support related to the preparation of Category A, B and C commitments, assistance and support for capacity-building, and applications for TFAF grants where no other funding sources are available to developing and LDC countries to meet their implementation needs.  The website is a “work in progress” and will be continuously updated to provide useful information for WTO members.