At the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Trade Facilitation meeting on 21 to 22 October 2026, members advanced the second review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). They reaffirmed their commitment to completing it by year-end. They also shared experiences on key implementation issues, reviewed specific trade facilitation matters raised by members and discussed needs for technical assistance.
Second review of the operation and implementation of the TFA
The committee continued discussions on the second review of the TFA, focusing on the draft factual report examining the agreement’s operation and implementation and members’ proposals for future committee work and recommendations. The chair (France) reported on member discussions in 2026 through a series of formal and informal meetings and outlined a timetable with deadlines and further discussions to finalise the review.
Nine (9) members took the floor, some speaking on behalf of groups. As discussions continued on technical assistance, capacity building and future support for TFA implementation, members broadly reaffirmed their commitment to completing the second review and reaching agreement on a final report by the end of the year.
Experience sharing/thematic discussion
The committee held informal exchanges on experiences related to designing and implementing risk management systems, including the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). Nigeria presented its experiences in this area.
The People’s Republic of China (China) presented on enhancing trade facilitation by sharing cross-agency joint incentives available to Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) to enable fuller utilisation of its programme. Under Article 7 of the TFA, members must provide additional trade facilitation measures related to import, export or transit formalities and procedures to operators who meet specified criteria.
Nigeria outlined its experience implementing trade facilitation measures related to WTO advance rulings. Under Article 3 of the FTA, WTO advance rulings are written decisions issued by a Customs Authority before goods are imported that provide binding guidance on how the goods will be treated when they enter the country.
All presentations are available in the TFA database at:
https://tfadatabase.org/en/trade-facilitation-committee/meeting/2026-06…
Specific trade facilitation matters raised by members
Members raised eight (8) matters regarding other members’ practices at the meeting. Four (4) of the matters were raised for the first time. The 8 matters were:
- West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) - implementation of Article 10.2 of the TFA (raised by Switzerland);
- Indonesia’s Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) requirements for foreign halal products (raised by Australia);
- Indonesia’s customs procedures for intangible products (raised by the United States (US));
- Indonesia’s rewards system for customs officials (raised by the US);
- Sri Lanka’s rewards system for customs officials (raised by the US);
- Thailand’s rewards system for customs officials (raised by the US);
- Italy’s e-commerce handling fee (raised by the US); and
- Romania’s e-commerce handling fee (raised by the US).
Dedicated session on technical assistance and capacity-building support
In line with Article 21.4 of the TFA, the Committee held a dedicated session on technical assistance and capacity-building support to implement the TFA.
Presentations were made by China on “South-South Capacity-Building Cooperation: Working Together to Advance Trade Facilitation”, by Myanmar on “Assessment of Myanmar’s Transit System and Implementing Freedom of Transit”, by Niger on risk management under TFA Article 7.4 and by the US on “USDA’s Food for Progress Program”. Several members took the floor to comment on the presentations.
The Committee heard from six organisations - the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) - that provided updates on their activities in support of TFA technical assistance and capacity building. These organisations also responded to questions regarding their efforts to address the implementation needs of developing and least developed country (LDC) members.
The presentations are available in the TFA Database and the CTF eAgenda.
Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF)
A TFAF representative updated the Committee on its activities since the last meeting. Formally launched in July 2014, the TFAF was created at the request of developing and least developed countries (LDC) members to help ensure they receive the assistance needed to implement their TFA commitments and fully implement the TFA.
About a dozen members took the floor, some speaking on behalf of groups. Several developing-country groups expressed concern about TFAF’s future, noting that the overall climate for donor funding remains uncertain and many TFA implementation gaps remain unresolved.