Four bodies formed to work out ways to implement TFA

Bangladesh set priorities for implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) focusing on simplification of the existing procedures of cross-border trade, reducing the number of documents required for imports and exports and assessing the capacity for execution of the accord.
The Third Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Committee meeting held Sunday at a city hotel formed four working committees to finalise the issues before implementing the TFA endorsed in the 9th WTO ministerial conference in Indonesia's Bali in December last.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the ministry of commerce organised the meeting in association with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Around 80 stakeholders from government offices, private sector and representatives from donor agencies attended the meeting.
Chief Executive Officer of Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) Mostofa Abid Khan presented an overview of the WTO TFA in the introductory session.
NBR member (Customs and VAT) Md. Farid Uddin moderated the meeting. IFC expert Brian J O'Shea, commerce ministry representative Hafiz Maisoon, Md. Hafizur Rahman, director of the WTO Cell of the ministry of commerce, among others, spoke on the occasion.
A representative of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh ((PRI) presented a paper on Bangladesh's trade facilitation challenges.
However, the working committees will sit together next month to find the ways of implementation of the TFA.
Issues like simplifying customs regulations, port development and electronic payment against imported goods are some of the major components the working committees will focus on.
The committees will work closely with representatives from the private sector to adopt policies for ensuring coordinated border management for exports and imports. They will identify the bureaucratic complexities in cross border trade and will try to find the simplest export/import process.
On finalisation by the committees, the issues will be placed in the next WTO meeting likely to be held in July next.     
The PRI paper identified challenges including undervaluation and overvaluation.
"The more complex the import tax structure is the greater the challenge is for trade facilitation as complexity accentuates the barrier to movement of goods across borders," the PRI paper said.
The PRI conducted the research on trade facilitation behalf of the WTO.
The PRI paper recommended introducing electronic approval procedures in exports and imports.
The paper suggested introduction of the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) that would aid electronic customs clearance to save time and transaction costs.
Md. Hafizur Rahman said air transport was 'inefficient due to congestion and lack of capacity at the air terminal.' The terminal is run as a monopoly. So, options to increase competition should be explored, he added.
He also said the Exchange Control Rules should be amended as restrictive foreign exchange controls constrain foreign direct investment.
"The trucking industry needs a reform strategy for modernisation and improved performance. Most trucks deployed are not designed to carry containers. Long transit time and congestions limit the movement of containers by road," he said adding that cross-border movement of trucks could be allowed to reduce congestions at land ports.
Speakers at the workshop also said a full-pledged testing centre should be set up in Chittagong besides the central one in Dhaka.
They also said Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) should be engaged in testing other products instead of only consumer products.