FORUM
ON SIMPLER PROCEDURES FOR
WORLD TRADE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Exploring
a New Global Vision for Trade Facilitation
(Conference
room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva,
29-30 May 2002)
On 29
and 30 May 2002, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) holds
a Forum on Simpler Procedures for World Trade Growth and Development, in collaboration
with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the other
UN regional economic commissions, the secretariat of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the International Chamber of Commerce
(ICC), and various other organizations with an interest in trade facilitation.
"We hope to be able to show clearly to Governments that are undecided
about its merits that trade facilitation brings benefits to all; benefits that
surpass by far the cost of implementation", says Carol Cosgrove-Sacks, Director
of the Trade Division of UNECE.
This event is intended to provide a neutral
setting for decision-makers from industry and government to meet and exchange
views on ways to advance trade facilitation in a coordinated manner in the new
global trading environment. There will be balanced representation of all regions
in the world, bringing together a wide range of organizations and businesses with
an interest in trade facilitation. The Forum is also expected to make an input
to the multilateral trade negotiations.
Five hundred delegates from more
than 90 countries are expected to participate. Speakers include the Minister of
Trade and Investment of the United Kingdom, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, the
Secretary-General of ICC, and the Deputy Director-General of WTO. High-level trade
officials from countries outside the WTO system, such as Russia and Iran, as well
as ministers and Customs chiefs from countries ranging from Kyrgyzstan to Bolivia
and the Philippines appear on the programme. Port authority executives from Mumbai,
Dar es Salaam and other harbours will also attend.
The faster movement
of goods across borders, and the simplification, harmonization and standardization
of trade procedures, for which trade facilitation stands, should create a "win-win"
situation. Recent OECD studies, which will be presented at the Forum, show that
up to 15% of transaction costs can be saved by trade facilitation.
However,
suspicion still exists, especially among such emerging economies as India, the
Philippines, Malaysia and Egypt, and even more so among some poorer nations, that
a binding agreement on trade facilitation would strip them of their protection
from aggressive exporters from the industrialized world, and at the same time
expose them to possible sanctions if they should prove unable to comply with certain
binding minimum standards. Nevertheless, developing countries do appear to value
highly the practical assistance they receive for improving their Customs structures
and trade procedures.
The Forum will also focus on how the rich industrialized
countries might provide technical assistance for trade facilitation to the developing
and transition economies, examining concrete, practical measures that can facilitate
international trade in the near future.
The Forum should reinforce the
image of UNECE as a place for policy dialogue, including on sensitive issues relating
to the multilateral trading system.
For further information, please contact:
Mario Apostolov
UNECE Trade Division
Palais des Nations, room 437
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel.:
+41(0)22 917 11 34
Fax: +41(0)22 917 00 37
e-mail: [email protected]
Web
site: http://www.unece.org/forums
Ref:
ECE/TRADE/02/02