COMCEC Trade Outlook 2017
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Right to Appeal or Review: Agreement envisages that each Member States shall enable any person,
whom has a legal case with the Customs Authority, to appeal or request a review of the case by an
upper administrative authority. It is also requested from Member States to ensure that
appeal/review procedures are carried out in a non-discriminatory manner.
Pre-Arrival Processing: Member States are requested to have procedures allowing submissions of
import documentation (such as manifests or other required information) prior to arrival of goods to
Customs for the sake of expediting release of goods upon arrival.
Electronic Payment: Moreover, Member States are expected to have electronic payment systems for
duties, taxes, fees and charges incurred upon importation and exportation.
Freedom of Transit: Agreement requests Member States to not seek, take or maintain any voluntary
restraints or any other similar measures on traffic transit. Moreover it is expected that traffic in
transit shall not be conditioned upon collection of any fees or charges imposed in respect to transit
excluding charges for transportation or administrative expenses related to transit.
According to the WTO20 full implementation of the TFA is estimated to increase global merchandise
exports by up to $1 trillion per annum and reduce trade costs by an average of 14.3 per cent.
Moreover, the implementation of TFA will provide benefits in terms product and market
diversification. Developing countries estimated to increase the number of new products exported by
up to 20 per cent while increase the number of foreign markets by 39 per cent. Gains from the TFA is
estimated to be much bigger for LDCs.
TFA entered into force on 22 February 2017 when the Agreement has been ratified domestically by
the two-thirds of the WTO members. As of 6 October 2017, 27 OIC member states have ratified the
TFA. These are Afghanistan, Albania, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire,
Gabon, Gambia, Guyana, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria,
Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates.
Trade Promotion:
Trade promotion, in particular export promotion, is one of the instruments used by the
governments to increase their exports. The policies focus on two major areas, namely, SME
support and diversification of economic production.
The majority of the firms operating in the world, especially the developing countries are Small
and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are usually producing in traditional way and focus
on local markets. They need to be supported by the government agencies, chambers and
business associations to make exports and compete in international markets. In this regard,
export promotion strategies focus on the SMEs in many countries.
20 WTO World Trade Report 2015: Speeding up trade: benefits and challenges of implementing the WTO Trade
Facilitation Agreement