Trade facilitation - UN ECLAC

The entry into force of the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement in early 2017 raises new opportunities and challenges for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this context, the Division of International Trade and Integration covers a wide range of trade facilitation issues such as: advance rulings, independent appeal mechanisms, advanced publication and notification of new regulations, stakeholder consultation, import-export regulations, risk management, pre-arrival processing, post-clearance audit, authorized economic operators, expedited shipments, national trade facilitation committees, single windows, cooperation among government agencies and modernization of customs agencies.

For the last 2 years, ECLAC has collaborated with the other UN Regional Commissions in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Western Asia to conduct a Global Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade to gather information on trade facilitation measures and strategies implemented at the national, bilateral and regional levels. The results of the survey enable countries and development partners to understand and monitor progress on trade facilitation, support evidence-based public policies, share best practices and identify capacity building and technical assistance needs. The first report was published in 2015 (http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/38946/1/S1500869_en.pdf) and as of March 2017, the second Global Survey is underway.

In addition to the global survey, UN ECLAC has been providing technical assistance and capacity building to countries in the region on trade facilitation matters. This includes the following activities:

• Evaluation of the Impact of deepening customs unions in Central America;
• WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: Next Steps for Implementation;
• WTO Valuation Agreement and its application;
• Authorized Economic Operators and Mutual Recognition Agreements; and
• Modernizing customs laboratories.

Expert meetings include:

• Implementing National Trade Facilitation Committees: Experiences in South America.