UNIDO’s Approach to Trade Facilitation

Compliance with international standards has become ever more important in the 21st century. Goods exported from developing countries often fall at the last fence when they arrive at the border of their destination country and are rejected on sanitary or quality grounds. Such rejections result in major financial losses for the producers and can seriously damage the reputation of their home country. At best, the goods must be shipped back to their place of origin and, at worst, such as in the case of perishable agri-foods, the entire consignment will be destroyed at the point of entry.

With so much of the emphasis in Trade Facilitation placed on the need to remove red tape and improve customs procedures at the border, it is easy to overlook the fact that one of the first challenges to successful access to export markets starts at the factory gate as goods begin their long journey to regional and global markets. In this respect, the requirements of WTO’s new Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), following on the heels of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS).

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