FACILITATING INTRA-OIC TRADE:
Improving the Efficiency of the Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States
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facilitation measures. Governments shall acknowledge that they may be criticized by
various interest groups due to changing the existing system and allocating financial
resources to the trade facilitation measures.
Improving the Legal Framework
Designing the legal environment and implementing the newly adopted regulations is
mostly problematic in many countries. In order to address such obstacles take the
following measures.
Firstly, as mentioned earlier, possible conflict of interests is a major issue to be
addressed for the relevant agencies before undertaking such initiatives. In order to
overcome such problems, the government shall be convinced that amending the existing
regulations or adopting the new ones is necessary for the economic well-being of the
country. This will increase the ownership of the government which is prerequisite for
undertaking trade facilitation measures.
Secondly, the government shall increase awareness among the interest groups and
possible stakeholders on the importance of the implementation of trade facilitation
measures for reducing the possibility of resistance by relevant agencies including the
public and the private sector.
Thirdly, laws or other regulations shall be prepared by the experts. Many countries do
not have capacity to prepare such regulations or amend the existing ones. For example,
the new regulation may have provisions on technical issues such as procedures, time
frames and responsible authorities etc. Therefore, consultants may be hired or assistance
from international institutions and more advanced countries will be required for drafting
the laws. Cooperation with international institutions will contribute to designing the
new legal framework in line with the international standards.
Finally, the views of the relevant stakeholders shall be taken into consideration during
the preparation and after the implementation of the new regulations. Moreover, both the
private sector and the relevant agencies shall be informed on the new regulations in a
timely manner before the implementation of the new regulations. Trade Facilitation
Bodies shall be used effectively to address these issues.
Improving the Institutional Capacities
The roles and functions of the institutions operating in the relevant fields shall be
reviewed and restructured accordingly if it deems necessary. On the other hand,
governments may face bureaucratic resistance or financial and human resources
constraints in the restructuring process.