CARICOM: Implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement

Source: Jamaica Observer

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation, commonly known as the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), is the success of the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade negotiations. After several years of exploratory work, in 2004 it was decided to negotiate this agreement.

Of the new issues which were proposed for negotiations, trade facilitation was the easiest to be accepted by WTO developing country members, who were also members of the World Customs Organization (WCO). Many of these countries, including Caricom countries, were already modernising their Customs procedures. Jamaica began its Customs modernisation through the Public Sector Transformation and Modernization Programme which commenced in 1996.

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