42 An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia and the Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations
While commitments on electronic submission and processing of trade
documents and the establishment of electronic single windows connecting
all relevant agencies and organizations (e.g., similar to Singapore TradeNet)
may not be feasible given the level of computerization and the state of the
ICT infrastructure in many countries of the region, the negotiations
provide an opportunity for developing countries to request and help shape
a well-coordinated technical assistance/capacity building mechanism in this
area. Developed countries may be particularly open to funding electronic
trade facilitation systems in developing WTO member countries, given the
raising concerns about trade security issues.
While there is some convergence in the needs and priorities of the private
sector, the individual country studies revealed that countries remain at various
stages of development and implementation of trade facilitation measures. It
was also established that setup costs of some measures may be significant
for countries with limited resources or with difficult political conditions. Therefore,
commitments on TF measures may need to be divided into groups or lists,
depending on how quickly they can be implemented in all WTO members
and/or on the amount of likely TA/CB and other resources or infrastructure
required (TN/TF/W/82 and W/63).
A detailed look at the case studies and the survey responses as well as the
WTO member proposals, suggests that trade facilitation terms such as single
windows, express clearance, risk management system and even advance
ruling imply slightly different things to different people, even within a same
country. As such, any agreement that will involve complex trade facilitation
procedures (e.g., for risk management and post-clearance audit) will need to
make specific reference to established trade facilitation instruments (such as
specific paragraphs and sections of the WCO revised Kyoto convention).
The disagreements that emerged, even among experts, on the sequencing of
various measures also suggest that a long-term mechanism to deal with
trade facilitation issues (e.g., a WTO working group or committee), as proposed
by various WTO members is likely to be needed (TN/TF/W/62).
As noted by many respondents to the expert survey, trade facilitation measures
considered may not be implemented effectively separately, but as part of an
overall trade facilitation programme (that may include some infrastructure
component). Development of standard trade facilitation technical assistance/
capacity building modules, each including a small set of related trade facilitation
measures, for which countries in need could apply, may be considered.
As the on-going unilateral trade facilitation efforts in the country studies suggest,
implementation of trade facilitation measures has no downside for Governments,
as they do not result in loss of customs revenue, even if trade flows remain
the same. The findings on implementation costs, as well as a significant
number of anecdotal evidence from inside and outside the Asia-Pacific region,