As the World Trade Organisation headed towards its traditional summer recess, differences of opinion on technical assistance and capacity building emerged across meetings on Trade Facilitation.
At the European Commission's meeting with European business representative organisations, SITPRO joined other European businesses in identifying the need for mutual recognition, support for technical assistance and capacity building and regular consultation between customs authorities and traders as their top priorities. Delegates also felt that all rules should be binding on all WTO Members and that certainty, transparency and predictability were vital.
However, when the WTO Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation met in July, at a meeting with a high level of engagement from Members (particularly developing countries), a new proposal on technical assistance and capacity building was presented by developing countries that placed more emphasis on best endeavours than binding commitments. This also contained the proposal that "verification of capacity acquisition shall be self-determined". It seems that this will be the most contentious aspect of the negotiations. The next meeting has been provisionally scheduled for the beginning of October.
Options for a compromise were discussed at two Boksburg Focus Groups, organised and facilitated by SITPRO and the Commonwealth Business Council, alongside the Geneva-based negotiations. Here participants (representing developing countries' customs and other relevant government officials, and the private sector from across the developing world) brought their wealth of experience and insights to the topics in the informal setting that is the hallmark of the Boksburg process.
On the issue of binding agreements, the Group reiterated their support for their 'ladder' approach to the categorisation of commitments according to the capacity and capability of developing countries to implement them. This approach is based on commitments that can and should be implemented immediately, those that are no less important but require more time, and those that require more time and necessary technical assistance.
SITPRO hopes that the inputs from the Group will help negotiators distil ideas and thoughts when they return to Geneva to continue the negotiations at the beginning of October, in order to ensure that a WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement can become a reality.
Return to SITPRO News: Issue 61, Summer 2007
