Background studies
61
Costs and benefits of implementing trade facilitation
measures under negotiations at the WTO:
An expert survey
Yann Duval*
Summary
After a review of implementation cost information found in WTO members proposals
to the NGTF and relevant research and policy studies, results of an international expert
survey on the implementation costs associated with 12 trade facilitation measures (TFMs)
relevant to the negotiations are presented. Long-term savings greatly exceed the perceived
implementation costs for all measures considered. However, TFMs under consideration
by the NGTF for possible inclusion in revised GATT Articles V, VIII and X should be
selected carefully as overall cost implications for governments differ significantly across
measures, as does time needed for implementation in LDCs.
The type and extent of technical assistance provided, as well as the amount of
flexibility to be given, may depend on the types of costs involved in implementing the
various TF measures - 5 types of costs where considered in this study. The main cost
component associated with implementing a TF measure may often not be related to
regulatory, training, or equipment costs, but to political costs. Indeed, implementation of
TFMs involves various degrees of change in how things are done, and change is often
perceived negatively, at least in the short-term. Therefore, governments may need time
flexibility for implementing TFMs with perceived high political costs, while they may need
technical assistance in the form of international experts for TFMs involving mainly human
resource training costs, or in the form of grants for those requiring investments in infrastructure
and equipment.
Experts did rank adoption and use of international standards, establishment of
enquiry points, trade facilitation committees and online publication oftrade regulations and
procedures as priority measures, although there was some disagreement on the English
language requirements for publication and the need for single vs. multiple enquiry points.
Provision of advance and binding rulings on tariff classification, valuation, and origin, also
a relatively “low cost” measure, is also given priority. The only “costly” trade facilitation
measure included in the top 5 priority TF measure by the experts is the establishment of
a risk management system. This is not surprising given the significant savings and private
* Trade Policy Section, Trade and Investment Division, UNESCAP. The complete study is available
on the companion CD-ROM to this publication, as well as on the ARTNeT website at:
www.artnetontrade.org. The views presented in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations or any other ARTNeT member or partner. Any remaining errors
are the responsibility of the author(s).