Mr. R. B. Rauniar, Chairperson of the Asian Council on Trade Facilitation from Nepal, reported on the following highlights of the breakout session on trade facilitation:
a. Mr. Rauniar reported on recent developments with regard to activities of multilateral organizations (e.g., ADB, PECC, ICC, and WTO, among others) in promoting trade facilitation in the region and beyond. He also outlined the potential cost reduction that countries are expected to experience from the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) […]
b. Ms. Maria-Peres-Esteve, Counsellor, Council and TNC Division, World Trade Organization from Geneva provided the latest updates on the TFA. She reported that 51 member countries out of the 161 WTO members have ratified the TFA, adding that the ATF could be enforced only when two-thirds of the member countries ratify the agreement. She also highlighted the major WTO activities to improve world trade.
c. Mr. Bryan Clark, Director, Trade and International Affairs, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry elaborated on practical issues and impediments to cross-border trade. He suggested that local governments must act to streamline the procedures and simplify necessary policies for traders. These include those pertaining to visa regime, infrastructure development, transport connectivity, and availability of information about trading countries, among others.
d. Martin Murray, Executive Director, Asia Matters from Ireland, reported that EU countries trade mainly among themselves, with only 10% trading with Asia. The same can be said in Asia; Asian countries trade within the Asian region. This means there is a great potential for strong EU-Asia business relations, Mr. Murray concluded.
