Speaking at a recent WTO event in Marrakech targeted at parliamentarians from more than 20 African countries, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) again strongly supported the views also expressed by the WCO of the importance of a harmonized approach to the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Underlining that 85% of the TFA articles are to be implemented by Customs agencies, Ms. Donia Hammami, ICC, recommended at the meeting: "We should not reinvent the wheel and make use of trade facilitation tools and instruments that are already available. ICC therefore very much welcomes the World Customs Organization Mercator Programme that pulls together the necessary guidance for a unified approach to implementation."

The ICC also encouraged the participating parliamentarians to move forward in creating national committees on trade facilitation (NCTF) as stipulated in the TFA: "Such committees should include Customs and Business representatives - in the end it is all about understanding business models to remove barriers to trade and to raise national competiveness". Recently, the WCO published the first results of a survey conducted in its Members according to which in 80% of those countries who have so far already established a NCTF, Customs plays a leading role in the Committee.

You can read the full ICC report here: http://www.iccwbo.org/News/Articles/2015/Global-business-emphasises-opportunity-TFA-ratification-brings-to-Africa-at-WTO-s-20th-anniversary-in-Marrakech/