UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR TRADE FACILITATION AND ELECTRONIC BUSINESSUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UN/CEFACT
Trade Facilitation in the WTO Context
Mike Doran - CERN, UN/CEFACT Vice Chair
&
Tom Butterly - UNECE
Geneva, 26 May 2005
UN/CEFACT
Agenda
1. UN/CEFACT2. International Trade Transaction Process3. Trade Facilitation & eBusiness Standards4. UN/CEFACT Instruments Related to GATT Articles VIII and
X5. Capacity Building and Implementation
UN/CEFACT
International Standards – The UN Role
The United Nations promotes trade for its potential to foster economic development and eradicate poverty
UNECE develops, maintains and leads the implementation of trade-related recommendations, standards and tools
This activity is carried out through UN/CEFACT (the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) which is open to the participation of any business or government
UNECE developed standards are open and technology neutral, and will cater to the needs of large or small companies and of developed and developing countries alike.
UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT
MissionTo deliver trade facilitation recommendations & e-business standards which can improve the ability of business, trade and administrative organizations within developed, developing and transitional economies, to trade products and relevant services more effectively - and so contribute to the growth of global commerce.
FocusThe worldwide facilitation of national AND international trade transactions, through the simplification and harmonization of business processes, procedures and information flows.
UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT’s Future Strategy
UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT Programme of Work
Details all the specific work items of UN/CEFACTo Project Titleo Descriptiono Target Audienceo Target Date for Completiono Link to CTIED Programme of Worko Lead Group
Submitted for approval of the UN/CEFACT Plenary in June
UN/CEFACT
Agenda
1. UN/CEFACT2. International Trade Transaction Process3. Trade Facilitation & eBusiness Standards4. UN/CEFACT Instruments Related to GATT Articles VIII and
X5. Capacity Building and Implementation
UN/CEFACT
International Trade Transaction Process
BUY SHIP PAYCustomer Supplier
Intermediary
Authority
The International Trade Transaction Process consists ofThe International Trade Transaction Process consists of integrated and coordinated flows of information, goods & paymentsSource: UN/CEFACT International Supply Chain Reference Model
UN/CEFACT
INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRANSACTION PROCESS
CommercialProcedures
• Establish Contract• Order Goods• Advise On Delivery• Request Payment
TransportProcedures
• Establish Transport Contract
• Collect,Transport and Deliver Goods
• Provide Waybills, Goods Receipts Status reports etc.
RegulatoryProcudures
• Obtain Import/Export Licences etc
• Provide Customs Declarations
• Provide Cargo Declaration
• Apply Trade Security Procedures
• Clear Goods for Export/Import
Financial Procedures
• Provide Credit Rating• Provide Insurance• Provide Credit• Execute Payment• Issue Statements
INVOLVES
Prepare For
ExportExport Transport Import
SHIPBUY PAY
Prepare For
Import
UN/CEFACT
Agenda
1. UN/CEFACT2. International Trade Transaction Process3. Trade Facilitation & eBusiness Standards4. UN/CEFACT Instruments Related to GATT Articles VIII and
X5. Capacity Building and Implementation
UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT Instruments
- UN Layout Key for Trade Documents- UN/EDIFACT- UNeDocs- ebXML - Single Window- Compendium of Trade Facilitation
Recommendations
UN/CEFACT
eBusiness Standards Development
Need for a common, agreed, international standard!
HR-XML
EHD
xCat
UBL
Rosettanet
OTAIATA
cXML
E-construct
CATXML
SMDG
PIDXGCI
UNeDoc
XAML
Opentrans
GML
xCBL
HL7
Acord
CIDX
xBRL BSML
agXML
VICS
SWIFT
Togaf
Bolero
UN/CEFACT
ebXML
UN/CEFACT + OASIS Combining 30 yrs trade facilitation,
15 yrs of traditional EDI and
20 yrs of SGML electronic documentation standards
Launched in Canberra September 1999
ebXML is now ISO 15000
UN/CEFACT
Agenda
1. UN/CEFACT2. International Trade Transaction Process3. Trade Facilitation & eBusiness Standards4. UN/CEFACT Instruments Related to GATT Articles VIII and
X5. Capacity Building and Implementation
UN/CEFACT
GATT Article VIII
(Fees &) Formalities Connected with Import/Export
Recognizes the need to minimize the incidence
and complexity of import and export related
formalities and documentary requirements
UN/CEFACT
Proposals on Article VIII
Standardization of Trade Documents using
international standards (many countries)
Use of UN Layout Key (UN/CEFACT
Recommendation1) – Korea, New Zealand, Norway,
Switzerland
Establishment of a repository or bank of trade
documents - New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland
Standardization of Data Elements
Single Window (one time submission, one agency,
single entry point) – Peru, Korea, Japan, Mongolia
UN/CEFACT
Article VIII: UNECE Instruments available
United Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents (UNLK/ ISO 6422) - most key trade documents
UN Trade Data Element Directory (UNTDED)
Codes: UN/LOCODE, Currency, Modes of Transport, ISO Country Code...
UN/EDIFACT
UN eDocoments for trade (UNeDocs)
Destination
Mode of transport
UN/CEFACT
United Nations Standards for Trade Documents… SAD
UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT
Article VIII: UNECE Instruments available
Recommendation and Guidelines on establishing a Single Window (UN/CEFACT Recommendation 33)
Repository of Single Window Implementations: http://www.unece.org/cefact/recommendations/rec33/sw_present_cases.htm
Standards for Single Windows - September ‘05
UN/CEFACT
Article VIII: UNECE Instruments available
UN/CEFACT Recommendation 18 (Facilitation Measures related to the simplification of International Trade Procedures)
UN/CEFACT Recommendations 4 (TF Pro Committees)
UN/CEFACT
Article X: Publication & Administration of Trade
Regulations
Imposes obligations regarding:
Transparency and Predictability – publish trade laws, regulations etc promptly and in an accessible manner
Not to enforce measures prior to publishing
Impartiality in administration of laws, regulations and administrative rulings of general application
UN/CEFACT
Proposals on Article X
Use of the Internet for publishing
Single Window (one stop service, single entry point, single inquiry point) – Canada, China, European Community, Hong Kong China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Peru,
Establishment of consultative mechanism between trade and government (several)
UN/CEFACT
Article X: UNECE Instruments available
Recommendation and Guidelines on establishing a Single Window (UN/CEFACT Recommendation 33)
UN/CEFACT Recommendations 4 (TF Pro Committees)
UN/CEFACT
Agenda
1. UN/CEFACT2. International Trade Transaction Process3. Trade Facilitation & eBusiness Standards4. UN/CEFACT Instruments Related to GATT Articles V, VIII
and X5. Capacity Building and Implementation
UN/CEFACT
Capacity Building Approach
Help countries to understand our recommendations and standards and where they can fit their needs
One Size does not fit all – but standards essential
National and Regional strategies
Partnership approach
National Experience
Recommendations/ Standards Development and Maintenance
Capacity Building(Helping governments elaborate a national TF strategy)
Technical Assistance(Donors decide what is to be done) - UNECE does not provide long term TA
UNECE - UN/CEFACT
UNECE in partnership with
other organizations
UNCTAD,WB,UNIDO, etc
UNECE’s role is to create the standards through participation of UN member States and the business community in UN/CEFACT Working Groups. We engage in an active Capacity Building programme to help countries
understand how best to implement these standards, given their unique needs, priorities and resources while other organizations assist in long –term technical assistance (UNCTAD, WB etc). The WTO sets the rules
WTO
UN/CEFACT
Capacity Building and Cooperation
UN Development Account Project on Trade Facilitation
Implementation, with all five Regional Commissions (ECE,
ECA, ESCWA, ESCAP, ECLAC) – 2005 to 2007- 15 Regional Workshops (3 in ECE, 2 of which in CIS)- 2 Inter-regional Workshops (one in Geneva)- African Group Workshop (March 2005)- Asia and the Pacific Region (March 2005)- Latin and Central America Region (July 2005)
Single Window Workshop (September 2005)
Global Facilitation Partnership (GFP) – World Bank, UNCTAD,
WCO...
WTOPARTNERSHIP
APPROACH
PARTNERSHIP A
PPROACH
UN/CEFACT
Capacity Building Tools
Tool for the Alignment of Trade Documents Repository of Aligned Trade Documents Repository of Single Window
Implementations Guide to Trade Facilitation Implementation Benchmarking Guide Case Studies of PPP in TF Implementation
UN/CEFACT
UN Forum on Paperless Trade, Geneva 20, 21st June 2005 o UN High Level Stakeholder Group
National and Regional Capacity Buildingo in cooperation with UN Regional Commissions o UNeDocs Regional Competence Centreo joint project plan with ESCAP
A Policy Framework for Paperless Trade
UN/CEFACT
Summary Points
Trade Facilitation key element in Trade and Economic Development
UN/CEFACT instruments provide a solid foundation for implementation
UN/CEFACT Capacity building programme working with key partners to assist in these efforts
Strong momentum now for more and better implementation
UN/CEFACT
.. now we have to make trade facilitation happen!
UN/CEFACT
Follow-up
All UNECE Recommendations, codes, standards and publications are available for free on our website at:
o www.unece.org/tradeo www.unece.org/cefact/o www.unece.org/etrades/unedocs/