Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation . Newsletter September 2021

 

Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation Newsletter | September 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

It's been a busy few months at the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation. For starters, we began work on a new project in Senegal, aiming to make cross-border trade in agricultural products simpler, faster, and more cost-effective for Senegalese businesses. We also coordinated a meeting between officials at Colombia’s National Institute for Drug and Food Surveillance and their counterparts at Ecuador’s National Agency for Regulation, Control, and Health Surveillance, to share insight into Colombia’s new risk management system for shipments.   In the coming weeks, the Alliance will continue to advance its trade facilitation agenda. This week, we're hosting a session at the WTO Public Forum on the role of trade facilitation in building resilient healthcare supply chains. We’re also launching our third project in Colombia aimed at enhancing the safety and efficiency in agricultural trade for Colombian businesses. At the same time, we’ll also unveil the results of a ground-breaking study on the impact of trust in international trade based on our previous work in Colombia.   Finally, the Alliance is organising an e-Waste Innovation Sprint – also called a hackathon – in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda to find solutions for improving the collection and cross-border movement of electronic waste for reprocessing.   Read on to learn more.

PROJECT LAUNCHES Enhancing the Competitiveness of Plant Product Exports in Senegal The Alliance’s new project in Senegal will introduce electronic phytosanitary certificates, or ePhytos, saving time and money for Senegalese businesses. This is the Alliance’s fourth initiative currently underway implementing the IPPC’s ePhyto Solution. After successfully supporting Morocco, which was one of the first African countries to fully integrate and use ePhyto within its national trade system, the Alliance is now implementing similar initiatives in Colombia, Ecuador, Jordan, and Madagascar.   In Senegal, like in many countries, traders exporting plants or plant products must obtain a paper phytosanitary certificate to show that goods are free from pests and comply with plant protection regulations. Once implemented, this project will enable the Senegalese government to use automated systems to issue, control, and exchange phytosanitary certificates electronically, reducing the risk of erroneous, lost, or damaged documents that result in delays and added costs for traders.   Read More.

IN THE NEWS

Alliance Reaches Early Milestone in Digitising Trade Certification for Businesses in Ecuador Only two months after launching a pair of projects in Ecuador, the Alliance has already reached a key milestone in its effort to strengthen the Ecuadorian Single Window (VUE) and cut red tape on plant shipments.   On 3 September, the Alliance installed the required IT equipment at Customs facilities in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The new equipment will enable a team of 12 IT professionals to begin working with Customs and trade control agencies to increase the number of electronic services provided through the VUE.   “The equipment provided by the Alliance will allow various agencies to work remotely on the incorporation of trade related e-services in VUE and will contribute to the development of the system even after the completion of the ongoing project,” said Diego Maldonado, IT Deputy Director at the National Customs Service of Ecuador.   Read more.

Colombia, Ecuador Exchange Knowledge, Success Stories and Lessons Learned on Risk Management With 31 projects underway and more than a dozen in development, it's no surprise that the Alliance can count on its growing roster of partner countries to spread the word about its success in making trade simpler, faster, and more cost-effective.   After coordinating through the Alliance, officials at Colombia's National Institute for Drug and Food Surveillance (INVIMA) recently met with their counterparts at Ecuador's National Agency for Regulation, Control, and Health Surveillance (ARCSA) to offer insight into Colombia's new risk management system for food and beverage shipments.    "Many thanks to the Alliance for this opportunity to exchange knowledge about INVIMA's risk management strategy," said Carlos Portes de Sucre, ARCSA Ecuador's Technical Director of Health Risks. "The ideas shared in this open dialogue will help us in our efforts to better assess the risk levels of imports and exports arriving at the Ecuadorian border. We hope to begin work on our own initiative in the coming months."   Read more.

COMING UP NEXT WTO Public Forum 2021

This year's WTO Public Forum, which will explore the effects of COVID-19 on trade and how the multilateral trading system can build resilience to the pandemic and future crises, will be held from 28 September to 1 October. Two sessions to mark on your calendar:   1. "Trade facilitation at the crossroads: Is the pandemic changing the way we cut red tape?"  The session will be hosted by the Alliance with representatives from the WTO, UNICEF, Agility, and the Kenyan Private Sector.   Date: 1 October Time: 10:00-11:00 CEST   2. "From half-ripe to fully digital – how to support resilient food systems through digital trade processes." The session will be hosted by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in cooperation with the Alliance and the International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat.   Date: 1 October Time: 13:30-14:30 CEST   Find out more.

Supporting Environmentally Sound Solutions for Moving e-Waste Across Borders In collaboration with the Government of Rwanda and Enviroserve, the Alliance is organising an e-Waste Innovation Sprint to develop solutions for improving the collection and cross-border movement of electronic waste for reprocessing.   This virtual event, also known as a hackathon, will assemble creative minds from all over the world to examine this issue and develop targeted solutions that spark creativity, innovation, and growth. They will spend 60 hours working to find tangible solutions for the collection and cross-border movement of e-waste for reprocessing.   For more information, please contact info@tradefacilitation.org.

ON THE TRADE FACILITATION AGENDA Delivering Targeted Reforms for Small Businesses The Alliance, through its implementing partner, Swisscontact, is building trade reforms in Cambodia that respond directly to the needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and women-led businesses. Our work is supporting Cambodia Post and the Customs authority in linking their respective electronic systems for processing clearances of small packages, saving time and money for local MSMEs, many of them women-owned. In parallel, we will help establish an “e-Trade One Stop Service Portal” for MSMEs to access trade-related information, helping them navigate the complexity of rules and regulations.   Watch this video to learn more. ABOUT THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR TRADE FACILITATION The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is a public-private partnership for trade-led growth, supporting governments in developing and least-developed countries in implementing the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. Alliance projects cut through red tape and end costly delays at borders by bringing together governments and businesses of all sizes as equal partners to deliver targeted trade reforms.     The Alliance is led by the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the World Economic Forum, in cooperation with Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It is funded by the governments of the United States, Canada, Germany, and Denmark.     For more information visit: www.tradefacilitation.org.