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On February 22, 2017 the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) had met its two-thirds WTO member ratification requirement as a result of Rwanda, Oman, Chad, and Jordan submitting their acceptance notices, allowing the agreement to enter into force.
According to the announcement the TFA, “…seeks to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods across borders, launches a new phase for trade facilitation reforms all over the world and creates a significant boost for commerce and the multilateral trading system as a whole.”
In 2015, WTO economists conducted a study on the effects of implementing the TFA and listed proposed benefits as follows:
- Average trade cost reduction of 14.3%
- Approximately 1.5 days reduced on the importation of goods; a reduction of 47%
- Almost 2 days reduced on exports; a reduction of 91%
- Exports of global merchandise could benefit by an increase of approximately US$ 750 billion – US$ 1 trillion
Additionally, developing and least developed countries can predict to see a growth in the amount of exported products by as much as 20-35%.
Additional TFA information can be accessed at:
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news17_e/fac_31jan17_e.htm
