A workshop organised by European Union (EU) and World Bank (WB) will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from June 8-10 to discuss trade facilitation and customs' reforms in the region.
The purpose of the workshop is to help the countries in the region to understand better the issues behind any eventual negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on this topic and to discuss the wider context of trade facilitation (TF), customs reform and development.
A brief discussion of all the TF aspects would be included from infrastructure to the standards to the elimination of red tape:
How does the bank, other development agencies and WTO define as TF? Why is TF so prominent?
Discussions around fall of formal barriers and hence importance of behind the border measures, evidence of the TF's impact on development, export promotion and growth evidence from the region and other countries, role of customs in the development, revenue generation and TF would be included in the workshop.
The WB experts will give a presentation on experience with the TF and customs reforms, as what has been the bank's experience with the trade facilitation and customs reform? Why has it proven so difficult, political economy of the customs reforms and what are the lessons learned?
Multilateral aspects of the TF would also be discussed including basic principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), WTO and TF, Doha mandate, key issues involved within the legal framework of the WTO, current status of work, an examination of WTO members' proposals on TF and future prospects.
Under discussion would also be tools for TF: global facilitation audit report, WB revenue administration tool kit, ICC customs guidelines, ICC integrity and security tool kit, WCO customs capacity building diagnostic framework and strategy, and Apec/WCO revised Kyoto convention self-assessment guide.
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