National trade facilitation workshop for private sector in Seychelles |09 August 2016

A two-day workshop is being held this week to help businesses understand the terms, potential benefits and practical use of the technical measures of the new World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA).

It will also equip them to successfully contribute to the design, implementation and monitoring of the TFA.

The WTO TFA is an important tool for economies to improve their business environment. It is fundamental to increasing the competitiveness of the economy and attracting investment.

The training will involve the participation of the private sector and aims at identifying  the measures in the TFA that help resolve cross border inefficiencies, knowledge on strategies and measures stipulated in the TFA for Seychelles, and determine how to become part of the regulatory and implementation process of the TFA.

The workshop will take place today and tomorrow at the Eden Bleu.

Concluded by WTO members in December 2013, the TFA promises greater trade efficiency by targeting administrative barriers to trade which are some of the issues that delay the movement of goods and services and increase trade costs, which are often passed to consumers.

These costs affect small and medium enterprises the most as they often lack the means and capacity to comply with complex rules.

The high compliance costs with customs and border procedures and other non-tariff measures (NTMs) represent significant charges relative to their smaller volumes of trade. This makes them uncompetitive as suppliers and hampers their integration into regional and international value chains.

For businesses, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), operationalising the TFA is a path to internationalisation, which will allow them to access international value chains at lower cost and at greater speeds.

And SMEs can most benefit from the agreement by having a sound understanding of how the new procedures and requirements will complement their business priorities.

Like other WTO agreements, the degree to which the intended benefits of the TFA can be actually realised will depend on how it is implemented in national law and practice. While implementation is the primary responsibility of the WTO members, businesses play a critical role in the consultative process to advise authorities as to how the agreement is best applied in the national environment.