The newly formed Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation — hosted by the Centre for International Private Enterprise, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) — will formally commence activities within the next few weeks.
This follows its establishment by the three private-sector organisations to support implementation of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
The Alliance will provide a platform to leverage business expertise and resources in the implementation of customs and border reforms.
“While it is widely recognised that private-sector engagement will be critical for successful implementation of the TFA, the Alliance is the first initiative to provide a global platform to bring business closer to the process of enacting reforms under the agreement,” said Richard Samans, head of the Centre for the Global Agenda at the (WEF).
According to him, the Alliance will support TFA-related projects in 12-15 developing countries on an annual basis, and this will include identifying trade bottlenecks and working with governments to implement reforms to enable trade for local enterprises.
“It will also work to remedy the limited private-sector awareness of the TFA in some sectors and markets,” said Samans.
The Alliance, launched during the WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference last month, is supported by the Canadian, German, United Kingdom and United States governments. In addition, a number of multinational companies have already committed to working with the Alliance — including A.P. Møller-Mærsk, DHL, Wal-Mart, eBay and Huawei. Other partners are expected to join the initiative as its activities commence in the coming weeks.
