Title: UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Strategy to Promote Efficient and Secure Trade in the AsiaPacific Region
1UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Strategyto Promote
Efficient and Secure Trade in the Asia-Pacific
Region
- UNESCAP Committee on Managing Globalization,
Third session, Part I, 12-14 September 2006,
Bangkok, Thailand - Noordin Azhari
- Chief
- Trade Efficiency and Facilitation Section
- Trade and Investment Division
- UNESCAP
2Facts and figures
- The cost of trade procedures may range from 2 to
15 per-cent of the traded goods value - OECD estimated that a one per cent reduction of
trade transaction costs of traded goods value
would bring annual gains of about 40 billion US
on a world-wide basis - For APEC economies a five per cent reduction in
trade transaction costs in 2006 will raise APECs
GDP by 0.9 per cent (around US 154 billion)
3Current Drivers
- WTO trade facilitation negotiations
- Just-in-time operations and a need for swift flow
of data and information - Trade and security
- Regional trade arrangements and initiatives in
Asia and the Pacific
4UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Strategy
- Mission
- Promoting the simplification, harmonization,
standardization of procedures and related
documentary requirements in international trade - Goals
- Reducing Trade Transaction Costs
- Improving Trade Security
- Approach
- Integrated approach to trade and transport
facilitation, including ICT applications
5Resources
- UNESCAP in-house expertise
- ARTNeT programme on trade facilitation
- Pooling expertise from other international
regional agencies (UNCTAD, UNECE, UN/CEFACT, WB,
WTO, WCO, ADB) - Global Facilitation Partnership for
Transportation and Trade http//www.gfptt.org/
6CBP - Capacity Building Programmes Awareness and
Training iii. Creating awareness and organizing
training courses and workshops for member
countries
KR - Knowledge Repository for Trade
Facilitation ii. Developing and maintaining a
repository and virtual communication mechanism
for trade knowledge and TF current conditions,
indicators, needs and priorities for continuous
analysis and TF-improved recommendations
APNET - Asia Pacific Network for Efficient Trade
i. Facilitating a regional forum for policy
makers, practitioners and resource persons from
government and private sectors to share lessons
learned, develop and promote trade facilitation
measures suitable for the Asia-Pacific region
7Strengthening Regional Cooperation
- Establishment the Asia-Pacific Network for
Efficient Trade APNET is proposed to - Provide a regional collaborative and coordination
platform for the national trade facilitation
coordination mechanisms (NTTFC organs) - Promote the establishment and strengthening of
national trade and transport facilitation bodies - Identify trade facilitation requirements of
traders and governments - Formulate, coordinate and promote trade and
transport facilitation strategies, action plans
and best practices among UNESCAP countries.
8Promoting National Coordination Mechanisms for TF
- Good practices in implementing TF measures
require cooperation of three main players
government agencies, logistics service providers,
and traders - Assisting member states to establish National
Trade and Transport Committee and supporting
institutions - Providing training and technical assistance to
strengthen the capability of NTTFCs - its lead
agency, inter-government and private key
stakeholders
9Assessing Needs, Priorities and Implementation
Costs
- Conducting benchmarking study and analysis of
current conditions, impediments to trade, and
indicators of TF-related performances
(quantitative qualitative) - Identifying opportunities for improvement
- Refining and promoting assessment/benchmark
tools, and assisting member states to build human
and institutional capacity to regularly conduct
TF self assessment - Recommended assessment tools available
- UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework
- UNESCAP Time/Cost-Distance Analysis
- WB Trade and Transport Facilitation Audit
- WCO Time Release Study
- WCO Self Assessment Checklist of GATT Articles V,
VIII, X - UN/CEFACT Benchmarking Guidelines
10Simplification, Standardization and Harmonization
of Trade Procedures and Documents
- Providing studies, trainings and advisory
services to - Simplify formats and contents of trade documents
- Develop aligned trade documents set
- Using TF tools available
- UN Layout Key for Trade Documents
- UN Trade Facilitators Toolkit for trade documents
- WCO Customs Data Model and UN Trade Data Elements
Directory
11Promoting ICT Application for Trade Facilitation
- Promote and assist member states to develop
strategies and action plans to establish
single-window and ICT-enable paperless
environment - Based on recommendations and instruments
- Guidelines for establishing Single Window
(UN/CEFACT Recommendation 33) - Handbooks and Roadmap for Paperless
Trade(UNESCAP TF Handbook, UN/CEFACT Roadmap) - UNeDocs (UN Electronic Trade Documents project)
- WCO Customs Data Model
12Next Steps
- Establishing the Asia-Pacific Network for
Efficient Trade (APNET) - Updating UNESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework
- Developing Trade and Transport Facilitation
Database - Providing capacity building support for enhancing
institutional and human capacities to implement
trade facilitation - Assessing implementation costs of trade
facilitation measures - Developing the Asia-Pacific Knowledge Repository
for best practices
13THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!