Under the Mercator Programme and supported by the Customs Cooperation Fund of Korea, the WCO and the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus organized a national "Workshop on the Implementation of the TFA – Self-validation of the findings from a WTO self-assessment". The Workshop took place in Minsk from 25-27 April 2016.

Apart from the representatives of Customs, the workshop was attended by delegates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport and Communication, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Economy. The findings from the workshop will assist Belarus in complying with the WTO rules including their process of accession to the WTO.

The objectives of the workshop were to provide more clarity on the requirements under the TFA against the current situation in Belarus (primarily from a Customs perspective), especially the barriers and the actions required for full compliance, as well as the categories for each of the technical measures. The State Customs Committee had already prepared substantial input to this process which was further refined during the workshop. The outcomes of the self-assessment/validation would be shared with other relevant stakeholders at national level.

The participants benefitted from an article-by-article analysis of the TFA. There was a particular focus on the importance of National Committees on Trade Facilitation.

The workshop consisted of presentations and break-out group discussions. This format enabled participants to identify possible ways forward in complying with the TFA which would contribute to the overall process of accession of the Republic of Belarus to the WTO. Based on the discussions, the workshop participants identified the key issues for further consideration of their administration.

Belarus, a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, has been a WCO Member since December 1993, acceded to the RKC in January 2011, and is in the process of acceding to the WTO.