Geneva, Switzerland, on 02-03 May 2018, an official meeting of the WTO Trade Facilitation Committee (hereinafter – the Committee) was held and attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine.
The Committee considered 63 notifications of members, including Ukraine, regarding deadlines for the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (hereinafter – the Agreement), as well as information on the need for technical assistance as well as export and import procedures.
In addition, according to agenda of the Committee’s meeting, participants considered presentations of members (USA, Turkey, Brazil, Moldova, EU, China and Macedonia) on positive experience in establishing and functioning of National Committees on Trade Facilitation and implementation of certain provisions of the Agreement.
When considering the aforementioned issue, the Ukrainian representative informed members on the establishment and launching of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation as a Trade Facilitation Agreement Working Group being member of the International Trade Council at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 17.04.2018.
The second day of the Committee’s meeting was devoted to the problematic issues related to the implementation of certain provisions of the Agreement, reviewing technical assistance programs aimed at support and development of members potential, as well as cooperation with donor organisations.
The main issues of the implementation of the Agreement raised by members during the meeting included introduction of the institution of authorized economic operators, as well as a “single window” and necessary technical assistance to address these issues.
In addition, within the framework of this session, delegations of the United States of America and the European Union made presentations on the operation of donor organisations of these members as well as support and capacity building programs for developing and less developed countries. Representatives of the World Bank also made their presentation on this issue.
The Ukrainian delegation, in its turn, informed members on the measures for implementation of the Agreement and needs for technical assistance required by Ukraine to properly fulfil its obligations.
At the same time, the Ukrainian representative emphasized on the importance of providing technical assistance not only through sharing the experience and best practices, but also in the form of financial aid aimed at infrastructure projects necessary for proper implementation of the Agreement.
The Ukrainian delegation also thanked the USA delegation for fruitful cooperation and technical assistance provided by the Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce to the Ukrainian public authorities aimed at support and capacity building.
Moreover, during the meeting, a new Chairman of the Committee was elected – Ambassador of Lithuania Dalia Kadišienė.