Continuing its work to support the beginning of negotiations on trade facilitation at the next WTO Ministerial Conference, SITPRO together with the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), held a "roundtable" on trade facilitation in Boksburg in Johannesburg on 19-20 June, hosted by the South African Revenue Service. Representatives from 13, mostly developing, nations attended the meeting, from the areas of customs, trade policy and business. The objective of the meeting was to provide a forum for emerging economies to discuss their concerns about beginning negotiations on a trade facilitation agreement in the WTO.
Attendees generally agreed about the benefits of, and the need for, trade facilitation, as well as the advantages of bringing it within the WTO framework, but there was heated debate as to the form an agreement might take. There were also calls for clearer proposals. Some attendees were concerned about signing up to an agreement when they did not fully understand the consequences, as happened in some instances in the Uruguay round, or taking on commitments that they might have trouble implementing. Speaking after the meeting, SITPRO Director Peter Wilmott said that the lack of concrete proposals presented developing countries "with a unique opportunity to contribute to and shape the final agreement".
Delegates were unanimous that technical assistance and capacity building must be included in an agreement, and be tailored to address the specific requirements of recipient countries. They called for more co-operation amongst the donor community and greater communication between the donors and developing countries to avoid the waste of precious resources. They also emphasised that developing countries could not afford to stay on the sidelines during the negotiating process, and they must be prepared to identify and pursue their objectives throughout the WTO negotiations. This Boksburg Group agreed to reconvene in Singapore at the end of July, for the CBC roundtable on trade facilitation for the Asia-Pacific region, to take forward the discussion.
Return to SITPRO News: Issue 46, August/September 2003
