Introduction
- The provisional agenda for the fifty-third session of
the Meeting of Experts on Procedures and Documentation (GE.2) has
been established in accordance with decisions taken by the
Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures
at its forty-third session in March 1996.
- The provisional timetable presented below has been agreed upon by the Bureau of the Working
Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures for its forty-fourth session and for the
sessions of its Meetings of Experts. It is expected that the experts of GE.1 and GE.2 will have a
joint session on legal issues in the morning of Thursday, 19 September 1996.
a.m. p.m.
Monday 16 September 1996 Informal Meeting GE.1
Tuesday 17 September 1996 GE.1 GE.1
Wednesday 18 September 1996 GE.2 GE.2
Thursday 19 September 1996 GE.1/GE.2 WP.4
Friday 20 September 1996 WP.4 WP.4
- The informal meeting of delegations will take place on Monday, 16 September 1996 starting
at 10.00 and continuing until 13.00. During the meeting on 16 September 1996, the WP.4 Bureau will
present the consolidated final report from the three ad hoc groups (for Programme Development,
Centre Implementation and Empowerment) established to develop the plans and terms of reference
necessary for the implementation of the Re-engineering proposal approved at the September 1995
WP.4 session. The WP.4 meeting beginning at 15.00 on 19 September 1996 will be to debate and
discuss the same document. In the context of trade facilitation work, the word "delegations"
refers not only to countries but also to international organizations regularly represented at
meetings.
Item 1 - Adoption of the agenda
- In accordance with the Commission's Rules of Procedures, the first item on
the provisional agenda (document TRADE/WP.4/GE.2/104) is the adoption of
the agenda.
Item 2 - Programme of work and priorities
- In the light of progress made since the twenty-eighth session of the Working Party
(September 1989) when the current version of the programme of work (TRADE/WP.4/165) was approved,
the Meeting of Experts agreed to start with its amendment on the basis of the proposals made by
its Chairman.
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1234 contains the consolidated final report from the Bureau on the
work of three re-engineering teams established at the September 1995 session of WP.4.
Item 3 - Analysis of the International Trade Transaction (ITT)
- Document Trade/WP.4/R.1232 contains the report by the Steering group of the Maintenance
Agency for the International Trade Transaction (ITT) modelling activities since the 53d session
of GE.2.
Item 4 - Implementation of ECE/FAL Recommendations
- The Meetings of Experts consider during their sessions the questions relating to the
implementation of specific measures falling under their respective programme items of work.
(a) Recommendation No. 4 "National Trade Facilitation
Organizations"
- To encourage a discussion on the development of
national and regional committees on facilitation of international
trade procedures and the revision
of Recommendation 4, the secretariat has amended the list of
existing committees and focal points (document
TRADE/WP.4/R.898/Rev.7).
(b) Recommendation No.10 "Ships' codes"
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1253 prepared by ICS contains a draft revision of this Recommendation.
This document is for approval.
(c) Recommendation No.12 "Measures to facilitate transport documents procedures"
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1254 contains a contribution of the delegation of France to promote
the use of non-negotiable documents in conjunction with the developments of the BOLERO project.
(d) Recommendation No. 17 "PAYTERMS - Abbreviations for Terms
of Payment"
- It is expected that the ad hoc group on the revision of this Recommendation set up at the
53d session of GE.2 will report on the study on the use of the numeric codification of Terms of
Payment recommended in document TRADE/WP.4/R.454.
(e) Recommendation No.20 "Codes for Units of Measure Used in International
Trade"
- Documents TRADE/WP.4/R.1224 and its three adenda contain the revised versions of
Recommendation No. 20 "Codes for Units of Measure used in International Trade" approved during
the last session of GE.1.
(f) Recommendation No.18 "Facilitation measures related to international trade procedures"
- Delegations will report on the activities in respect of Recommendation No.18. Document
TRADE/WP.4/R.1255 is a questionnaire on PSI procedure prepared by the secretariat and introduced
as TRADE/WP.4/CRP.68 in March 1996. This document is for discussion.
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1256 contains the WTO decision of 13 December 1995 on the operation of
the independent entity established under article 4 of the agreement on Preshipment inspection
(TRADE/WP.4/R.1066).
Item 5 - Revision of the Kyoto Convention
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1257 is a Note on the subject prepared by the delegation of the
Netherlands to define the role of WP.4 in the revision of this Convention.
Item 6 - Trade documents names and functions
- At the previous session it was agreed to revert to
this subject after finalization of the WP.4 re-engineering
process.
Item 7 - Aligned forms and the Trade Data Elements Directory
(UNTDED)
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1258, Purchase Order Layout, and TRADE/WP.4/R.1259, Single
Administrative Document for Customs Declaration, are inputs by the delegation of Romania which
were introduced at the 53d session of GE.2 as TRADE/WP.4/CRP.86 and TRADE/WP.4/CRP.87
respectively.
- Document TRADE/WP.4/R.1236 contains the report from the Legal Rapporteurs. This document is
for information and discussion.
Item 9 - Other business
- In accordance with the decision taken by WP.4 at its September 1995 session, the secretariat
published all the Recommendations approved by the Working Party (document ECE/TRADE/200).
Item 10 - Adoption of the Report of the fifty-fourth session
- In accordance with established practice, the Meeting of Experts will adopt the Report of its
fifty-fourth session in the form of a summary, prepared by the secretariat, of decisions taken
during the session, to be presented to the Working Party for approval.
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