In a bid to simplify and harmonise the export, import and transit procedures across borders, a global pact on trade facilitation has formally come into force with four new countries ratifying it on Wednesday.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the first multilateral deal concluded in the 21-year history of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is expected to reduce the cost of trade significantly.
As per the WTO norms, any agreement comes into force when two-thirds of its 164 members ratify the deal.
Rwanda, Oman, Chad and Jordan submitted their instruments of acceptance to WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, fulfilling the required threshold of 110, according to a WTO announcement.
Bangladesh ratified it in September last as the 94th member and 12th LDC member.
The TFA obliged the WTO members to reduce all kinds of red tape in their customs by adopting paperless trade or the exchange of data and trade documents electronically. They are also bound to make all the trade related information readily available for their trading partners.
The Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh, have been relaxed for delayed (one year) implementation of the agreement while the developed countries will have to do this immediately.
"Bangladesh has already advanced significantly for fully implementing a good number of trade facilitation measures," said a senior official of the ministry of commerce. "But we have to work more on finalising our commitment before submitting it."
The members have to notify the WTO on their implementation status in three categories - immediate, delayed with a time frame and depend on availability of the technical assistance.
The TFA as agreed by the members in the Bali ministerial conference in 2013 had outlined 38 trade facilitation measures.
When contacted, Mr Manzur Ahmed, adviser to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said that Bangladesh is mostly on track to implement the agreement.
"Both the public and the private sectors are working together to ease the complex procedure of trade," he added.
He said that a very important step of introducing the Single Window (SW) system was at an advanced stage. The SW facilitates electronic communication between the traders and the relevant government agencies. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is the lead implementing agency of the system.
Bangladesh has also launched its own trade portal to make all the trade related information available online.
Mr Ahmed, however, cautioned that due to some political intervention, digitalisation and electronic transaction procedures might face some setbacks.
"The government needs to pay attention in this area and should not allow any political interest while selecting firms and operators to develop software and run critical services," he added.
According to an official press statement issued by the WTO, full implementation of the TFA is forecast to slash members' trade costs by an average of 14.3 per cent, with developing countries having the most to gain.
It also said that the TFA is also likely to reduce the time needed to import goods by over a day and a half and to export goods by almost two days, representing a reduction of 47 per cent and 91 per cent respectively over the current average.
asjadulk@gmail.com
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
