FIATA REVIEWMagazine of the International Federation of Freight ForwardersAs so ci a tions No. 102, May 2014

Cameroon – A microcosmHQ Session – Highlights of the discussionsA look at the WTO

Contents

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAY 2014 3

Editorial 5 From the President’s Desk

Focus 6 HQ Session: Recap of Key Discussions

Country Report10 Cameroon: Africa in Miniature

News15 The World Trade Organisation and the Facilitation of International Trade

Personally17 Meet Antonella Straulino Vice President FIATA

Here & There18 Happy Birthday!

18 FIATA members celebrate long service anniversaries

Agenda19 Forthcoming Events

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FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAy 2014 5

From the President’s desk

5

Colleagues and Friends,

The weather is getting warmer and the plants are budding in Switzerland. Spring is here and this means it is time for

the 102nd edition of the FIATA Review. I proudly present this Review to you all as it is filled with very interesting informa-tion and articles. I trust that those of you who attended the March Headquarters Session in Zurich found the meetings to be informative and engaging. Furthermore, I hope you had the chance to get out and see the city and experience Switzerland first hand. For those of you that were unable to make it this time to Zurich, we have a full recap of all the topics and discussions that occurred in each of the meetings in store for you.

Nestled in the middle of the magazine is an intriguing country report on the lush African nation of Cameroon. A nation that is often referred to as ‘Africa in miniature’ thanks to its fantastic natural and cultural diversity. The nation also has bountiful natural resources and has very strong eco-nomic growth.

This FIATA Review also delivers an enthralling article on the World Trade Organisation. The article will explore the history of the WTO and take a closer look at the historic trade facilitation agreement that emerged from Bali. Furthermore, the piece examines private sector engagement with the WTO and how FIATA Members can pick up the slack at the national level.From there, if you continue reading, you will reach an insightful interview with one of our FIATA Vice Presidents and my friend, Antonella Straulino. In her inter-view she gives several fantastic insights on FIATA and the impact that being involved in the Federation has had on her life.

In the closing of this latest edition of the FIATA Review, we take some time to highlight and celebrate the anniversaries of our Members that have achieved the impressive stature of being 25 or 50 year Members of FIATA. I hope you enjoy reading the review and I look forward to the next time we meet!

Francesco ParisiFIATA President

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAy 2014 76

Focus

HQ Session: Recap of Key Discussions

The annual FIATA meeting in Zurich again

proved to be a record breaker, with 259

participants from 56 countries registered.

The 2014 HQ Session once again provided

pertinent information and facilitated

engaging discussion on a variety of topics

impacting the global industry.

Airfreight Institute (AFI)IATA-FIATA“The air cargo industry has undergone significant changes over the last 30 years, including the emergence of new business relationships, whereby today’s freight for-warders, conduct business as customers, instead of as agent of the airline, which was the case over 50 years ago when the current program was introduced.” Follow-ing this introduction by Mr William Got-tlieb, the delegates of the 90th Airfreight Institute Meeting endorsed the continued support for the establishment of new IATA/FIATA air cargo programme. One which recognises the principal to principal relationship between airlines and forward-ers, and the need to replace the current IATA Agency agreement with a IATA/FIATA Forwarders agreement.

What will the new global freight forwarding programme look like?• GovernedinpartnershipbyanIATA/

FIATA Governance Board (IFGB), composed of equal representation of IATA and FIATA members.

• Local interests represented through 7Regional IATA/FIATA Joint Councils (Canada, Latin America, Europe/Rus-sia, India, China, Africa Middle East, Australia/Asia Pacific)

• ProgrammeProcedureswillbeimple-mented by the Regional Joint Councils in coordination with the IATA/FIATA Governance Board.

• The programme will continue to usethe current CASS as its Remittance and Settlement platform and operation will remain under the auspices of IATA.

AFI Position endorsed by AFI meeting • TheFIATAAFIdelegatesintheCAMP

Working Group feel that this pro-gramme will be a significant improve-ment over the existing and outdated IATA Cargo Agency Programmes.

• It transfers governance of the pro-gramme from the IATA Cargo Agency Conference to an IATA-FIATA Govern-

ance Board. It empowers the Freight Forwarder to issue Airway bills as Ship-pers or as Agent for the Shipper.

• As a consequence the AFI workinggroup does not believe there is a need for IATA to maintain an Agency Pro-gramme.

ICAO-FIATAAFI was honoured by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Transport Development Manager, Mr Frederic Malaud’s attendance and his pres-entation on Air Transport Connectivity.As to the continued development of co-operation FIATA/ICAO that goes beyond the ICAO/FIATA Air Dangerous Goods Programme and its global recognition by regulators and operators. Mr Malaud and Mr Gottlieb mentioned both FIATA and ICAO’s advocacy cooperation which includes FIATA’s official participation, support and sponsorship that readers will find announced on the FIATA websites events section.

Customs Affairs Institute (CAI)Mr Steve Parker, BIFA and Chairman of the CLECAT Customs Institute, quotedMr Paul McNulty, former U.S. Deputy

Attorney General, on possible consequenc-es of non-compliance. “If you think compli-ance is expensive, try non-compliance.”

Mr Parker alluded on the challenges and blockades that are globally enforced by various regulators and how our industry needs to face and to abide to a variety of laws, regulations, guidelines and rules that industry must convert to full com-pliance. Efficiency can only be achieved by collaboration with local Customs in regional forums and by International Harmonization.

FIATA believes that National Govern-ments and/or Regulators may effectively enhance security by introducing global harmonized supply chain security pro-grammes, established on common princi-ples at global level.

Sadly, a universal security programme is not yet in sight. National Governments and Regulators are encouraged by FIATA to proceed as swiftly as possible in this direction, by starting the process to mu-tually recognise national and/or regional supply chain security programmes. FIATA is looking forward to the worldwide pro-

liferation of such an exemplary agreement.Due to its international importance and ap-plicability being a perfect example of com-pliance rules, CAI had asked the Japanese members associations (JIFFA) Chairman, Mr Masaharu Nozawa, to inform here once more, the Japan’s Advance Filing rules.

CAI Chairman, Mr Stephen Morris, ref-erenced the Customs world’s key topic which is the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. It will be a significant chal-lenge for the WCO and the WTO on how to go forward and possibly to streamline its implementation within the 159 signa-tory WTO Member States.

Multimodal Transport Institute (MTI)The Chairman of the Multimodal Trans-port Institute, Mr Robert Keen (UK), wel-comed a large number of participants. Mr Martin Magold, highlighted new concepts and solutions for intermodal transport (e.g. European Agreement on Important InternationalCombinedTransportLinesand Related Installations, International Convention on the harmonisation of bor-der controls, facilitation of border crossing procedures).

Rail Dr Ivan Petrov (Bulgaria), Chairman of the Working Group Rail Transport, referred to the EU white paper on trans-port and mentioned that a greater use of energy-efficient modes should be ap-plicable; 30% of road freight over 300km should be shifted to other modes by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050. Rail freight will be almost doubled in 2050 compared to 2005.

The key challenges for rail freight are identifying the issues relating to quality, cost and services. The general objectives were to reinforce cooperation among Infra-structure Managers, to provide dedicated capacity for rail freight services of good quality, and to improve user involvement. He noted that 6 Rail Freight Corridors (RFC) became operational November 10, 2013 and RFC 3, 5 and 8 will become operational by November 2015. However, it will take a year before they become fully operational.

Road Mr Kostas Sandalcidis (Turkey), Chairman Working Group Road Trans-port, reported that in recent times, there have been issues at the borders between Turkey and Bulgaria, involving Romania.

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAy 2014 98

Focus

The Turkish/Bulgarian border was closed for more than a week, provoked by hauli-ers from both countries. The WG Road considered that the core of the problem is the 3rd country loading and tran-sit permissions. For the time being the problem has not been solved and possible demonstrations at the borders will not be asurprise.FIATA,CLECATandIRUre-quested that the involved parties, includ-ing the EU, should concentrate on finding practical solutions to settle this dispute without further delay.

The TIR situation in Russia is still un-clear. All borders to Russia are closed for TIR operations. The WG has received statements from advisers from Germany, UK and Poland that TIR operations at the Russian borders are still being completed with the final destination. It is possible that hauliers must pay additional amounts for entering Russia with a TIR Carnet. The Russian TIR conflict has a negative impact on the expansion of TIR to other countries and usage of Carnet TIR has fallen by 13%. FIATA express its concern that further interruptions or a termination of the TIR system would create congestion at the borders, unnecessary waiting times and higher transport costs. FIATA and CLECATstronglyurgeall involvedpar-ties to return to the negotiating table and to take the necessary steps in order to find a wise and pragmatic solution to resolving this conflict.

MaRitiMe Mr Jens Roemer (Belgium), Chairman Working Group Sea Trans-port, reported that TIA has made various approaches to the US authorities argu-ing that C-TPAT should be amended. The programme is not open to all com-panies with significant involvement in the logistics industry and discriminates againstthe3PLindustry.TIAhastakenseveral approaches to get the non-asset

based logistics companies qualified for C-TPAT. Reference was made to the paradox that through mutual recognition non-US based companies that are non-asset based do qualify. Currently, mutual recognition agreements are only based on security do not address Customs compliance issues.

The item of 100% Container Scanning refers to the US regulation requiring that all imported containers must be scanned overseas before being allowed into US ports. This rule is not only costly and un-feasible, but would be a serious hindrance to trade and give a false sense of security. It seems that the US is moving toward a risk assessment regime, where advance data is analysed to target suspicious containers for inspection.

The IMO proposal on container weighing is a compromise that provides for two op-tions to establish the weight of a loaded container:• physicalweighingof thepackedcon-

tainer• weighingallpackagesandcargoitems,

including the mass of pallets, dun-nage and other securing material to be packed in the container and adding the tare of the container to the sum of the single masses, using a certified method approved by the competent authority of the State in which packing of the container was to be completed

The certified weight calculation of a packed container makes the requirement a lot more flexible as compared to the initial proposal to physically weight all containers.

With this decision, a big step has been taken towards the implementation of a measure that would change the way we operate today, where all shippers• eitherweightheircontainers• or to certify the method with which

they obtain the weight of the packed containers.

FIATA’s stance is that this will only add to extra costs and administrative burden to shippers around the world. The next important decision will be taken in May 2014 when the proposal will be tabled for approval to the IMO Maritime Safety Committee. If approved, these measures will enter into force in July 2016.

The digitalisation of FIATA documents is a very important and prestigious project currently being run and will add sig-nificantvaluetotheFBLoncecomplete.Seven freight forwarders from 7 different association members have started with a pilot programme on the e-Documents.

The items of FMC proposed changes on the OTI regulations, the application of the Chinese VAT into practice, the new Japanese Advance Filing Rules, changes in Chinese NVOCC filing, and the Rotter-dam rules were covered but no fundamental changes need to be reported on these topics.

Advisory Body Legal Matters (ABLM)The FIATA ABLM HQ meeting waschaired by Mr Richard Gluck (USA).

The 1st presentation was provided by Dr Yang Yuntao (China) on China’s new VAT policy for international freight forwarders. The notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation has published under the Pilot Programme of replacing Business Tax with Value-Added Tax (Notice 2013) No.106. The presenta-tion with detailed analysis of the exemp-tions and requirements is available on the FIATA website.

Mr Kurt-Juergen Schimmelpfeng report-ed on the “Recent Changes in the German

Maritime Code”. The new law came into effectApril25,2013.DSLVinformedtheFIATA delegates on the most important consequences of this reform. The reform will affect freight forwarding businesses not only when they purchase maritime transport services, but also when they conclude contracts with customers, as in these cases the legal concepts of own-name transactions, groupage consignment, and especially flat-rate forwarding. This is also true when a forwarding agent concludes maritime freight contracts directly, be-cause in this case the agent takes on the direct position of a carrier.

MrMichaelBrown,memberoftheABLMInsurance committee, reported that fraud has become somewhat pervasive in today’s society. While there is no doubt that old fashioned Ponzi schemes and the like are alive and well, new and very sophisticated schemes, implemented with the help of modern technology are being hatched every day. Sadly, the world of international trade and transportation is not immune from fraudulent schemes.

Ms Helen Arabanos, TT Club London,informed the delegates on “Cybercrime” and “fake carrier fraud” issues. The insur-ers are seeing increasing cases of freight forwarders who have subcontracted to a haulier through an internet website and that haulier then disappearing with the goods. This is sometimes referred to as “fake carrier fraud”. Although this is prevalent in Europe, we know that it exists in North America as well.

Furthermore, Mr Tommy Pilarp, Senior Legal Counsel updated the delegates onthe recent legal air cargo developments.

Advisory Body Security Matters (ABSM)The Chairman, Mr David Fielder, opened

the meeting by warmly welcoming del-egates. Mr Fielder advised them that the ABSM meeting was to take the form of a working session and encouraged questions and comments from the floor.

Mr Fielder started the meeting by pro-viding an update from the IATA Global Cargo Symposium where he attended the regulatory session. He then passed the floor to Mr Robert Voltmann who pro-vided some potential challenges facing Food Security in the US and Europe. He briefed the delegation that the EU and the US were both planning changes to food safety however the two reforms do not match. The main problem was that neither reforms addressed the freight for-wardernor3PL.MrVoltmannemphasisedthat these rules were not final and the need to provide a FIATA position was crucial in order to ensure freight forwarders are protected.

The topic then shifted onto air cargo secu-rity, specifically, The UK PRECISE Study, and the US ACAS Trials; along with the EU ACC3 and RA3 requirements. The topic was introduced by a brief presenta-tion on Air Cargo Security focusing on ACC3 and RA3 given by Mr Fielder.

The meeting topic was then handed to a panel consisting of Mr Andreas Wilhem, Kuehn + Nagel; Mr Niels Beuck, CLECAT; and Ir Dr Paul Tsui, an ACC3 Validator. The panel was moderated by Mr Jean-Claude Delen, ABSM Member and FIATA Treasurer.

Each panel member opened up with a brief presentation introducing the topic of PRECISE, ACC3 and RA3 providing further clarification as to the requirements of the validation process. The panel was then faced with questions from the floor guided by Mr Delen.

One of the main concerns put forth by the floor was the potential conflict of interest between validators and the carriers they are validating. This concern came about when it was revealed that an ex-airline employee could become a validator and validate the carrier. Another concern was the hesitation from carriers to seek valida-tion. There is a deadline set for July 2014 requiring those carriers flying into the EU from a non-accepted country to be validat-ed, however, this deadline is unlikely to be met by all. Some National Civil Aviation Authorities are apparently granting some leeway on the deadline allowing carriers to simply submit a road map of the opera-tions they intend to validate.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Fielder was pleased to announce that the Advisory Body Dangerous Goods has now been re-activated as a working group under the ABSM. The working group will report on issues related to FIATA; for example, the recent issues in China over the changes in DG rules. Post meeting note: ABSM was renamed as ABSS, the Advisory Body on Safety and Security.

Advisory Body Vocational Training (ABVT)Vocational training drives efficiency, this is particularly true in freight forwarding. This time, a series of innovative and col-laborative projects were introduced to the more than 80 delegates who were present at the ABVT Meeting.

Mr Thomas Sim, the ABVT Chairman, opened the meeting talking about the FIATA Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management. He explained that the mini-mal standards for this diploma include those competency areas and qualities that professionals need to succeed. Mr Sim proudly added that the FIATA Higher Diploma is successfully offered in 13

10

News

10 FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAY 2014 11

Country Report

CAMeRoon – Facts & FiguresOfficial Name: Cameroon

Capital: Yaoundé

Largest City: Douala

Form of Government: Presidential Republic

Population: 21 million

Ethnic Groups: 31% Cameroon Highlanders, 19% Equatorial Bantu, 11% Kirdi, 10% Fulani, 8% Northwestern Bantu, 7% Eastern Nigritic, 13% other African, 1% non-African

Language: French and English

Administrative Divisions: 10 Regions

Cameroon: Africa in Miniature

Member of Economic and Monetary Commu-

nity of Central African Countries, Cameroon

is one of the most developed countries in

central Africa and is an open market in the

freight forwarding sector in the sub region.

The Cameroonian people are renowned for

their hospitality and friendliness.

Geography With a total area of 475,440 km2, Cam-eroon is the world’s 53rd largest country. The country is located in Central and West Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.Cameroon is sometimes described as “Af-rica in miniature” because it exhibits all the major climates and vegetation of the continent: mountains, desert, rain forest, savannah grassland, and ocean coastland.

Cameroon can be divided into five geo-graphic zones. These are distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegeta-tion features.

economyCameroon is primarily an agro-based economy. Almost 70% of the population is engaged in agriculture and similar ac-tivities. Mining is one of the major Cam-eroon industry sectors contributing a large share of the GDP. After 2005, expansion of non-oil sectors has largely contributed to the economic growth of the country.

Traditionally, Cameroon industry sectors were characterized by the lack of infra-structure and investment capital. Agri-culture was the mainstay of the economy

until 1995. The fertile land of Cameroon allows the cultivation of cash crops, such as coffee, cocoa, tobacco and cotton. How-ever, in 1980s, the price of these cash crops declined drastically. This caused severe impact on the country’s economy result-ing in a decade-long depression. In the 1990s, the IMF and World Bank provided financial assistance for the development of the country’s industrial and service sectors. Also, the economy was liberalised for greater private and foreign investment.

Some major Cameroon industry sectors are:Mining: Cameroon has rich deposits of bauxite; it however, lacks the essential infrastructure to leverage on this min-eral reserve. The country also has limited reserves of gold and diamond.

oil: As per 2008 figures, Cameroon pro-duces approximately 82 thousand barrels per day, which is 0.1% of the world’s total production. The country has oil reserves of 400 million barrels along the Niger delta basin, based on 2004 survey. Manufacturing: The manufacturing sector is not completely developed in the country. Chemical: Pharmaceutical and chemical process industries are gradually emerging in the country.Cameroon economy is fuelled by other industry sectors as well, such as automo-tive, construction, food processing, en-gineering and real estate. However, these sectors have small contribution to the na-tional GDP. To sustain long-term growth, Cameroon has to focus on strengthening non-mineral sectors.

Cameroon: a hub of the central Africa sub-regionDue in part to its strategic location on the Gulf of Guinea a large amount of trade flows into Cameroon before heading on to one of its neighbours. The country cur-rently conducts cross-border trade with: Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. Approximately, 90% of the CAR’s trade flows through Cameroon, similarly, 70% of Chad’s international trade, 20% of Congo’s, and 10% of both Gabon and the DRC.

There are currently three main ports in Cameroon, however, two of which are still under construction. The douala sea port is an estuary port that presently supports 90% of interna-tional trade for Cameroon, and about 70% of the international trade of Chad and Central Africa RepublicThe deep sea port of Kribi is situated in southern Cameroon. The port is an in-

dustrial-harbour complex it is still under construction, but it will primarily be an ore carrier port with a capacity of 800.000 EVP when completed. Limbe Port, Southwest of Cameroon is still under construction, this port presents a large opportunity for Cameroon and its neighbours in international trade.

national Trade Union of Transport and Transit Auxilia-ries (SYnAUTRATRA)SYNAUTRATRA was formed in 1993 and presently has 115 members. It’s the biggest employer’s trade union in the freight sector in Cameroon. The associa-tion’s objectives enshrined in the articles of association including promotion of integrity and professionalism of freight forwarders, the facilitation of compliance with national and international regula-tions, and the provision of training and knowledge assessment. In order to ensure the highest standards in freight forward-ing services are attainable for the national freight forwarding community.

The association is a non-profit organisation governed by an Executive Committee of 8 members, including a President General, 1 Vice President in charge of economic af-fairs, 1 Vice President in charge of judicial

matters, 1 Auditor, 1 Treasurer, 2 special counsels, 1 Secretary General.

SYNAUTRATRA is the only FIATA association member in central Africa, and the only member in the French speaking countries of Africa.

Freight forwarding is becoming a rec-ognised profession and there are a few nonprofessional and professional institu-tions that teach logistics and transport. SYNAUTRATRA seeks to create a pro-fessional body to reinforce the capacities of its members, other freight forwarders, and students. One of the main objectives of the association, since they became a FIATA member, is the construction of a Train-the-Trainer sub-regional centre.

SYNAUTRATRA is a member of the Cameroon Custom consultative commit-tee, hence providing inputs into customs reforms. Furthermore, the association is represented in the Autonomous Douala Port Orientation Consultative Committee andmemberofPortSynthèse.Likemostof the associations, SYNAUTRATRA is challenged by obstacles that are common in the developing world, e.g. funding activities due to a generally weak financial base of membership.

Cameroon has a large youthful population

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAy 2014 1312

Focus

countries:France(AFT-ISTELI),Ukraine(AIFFU & UZT), Pakistan (PIFFA), ChineseTaipei (TILSCA),RussianFed-eration (FAR), Vietnam (VLA), SouthAfrica (SAAFF), Singapore (SLA), Kazakhstan (KFFA), Belarus (BAIF), Egypt (EIFFA), Nigeria (CRFFN), and Ghana (GIFF). This curriculum has fu-ture; it has a global scope, with an expected increase on working across cul-tures, geographies, and reaching more Association Members.

Similarly, Mr Sim outlined the future of the FIATA Minimal Standards for Inter-national Freight Forwarding. As with the field itself, education is constantly evolv-ing and growing. He informed delegates that since the inception of the FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding, over 9500 diplomas have been issued globally.

The attendees were introduced to the e-Learning initiative that will enable theABVT to impact the training environ-ment and cooperation dynamics between FIATA and Associations. Crucially, the proposal aims at achieving a win-win-win scenario. Association Members benefit from having an updated, intuitive, user-friendly learning management system through which course content can be shared in a faster, more accurate flow for its further localisation and customisation. FIATA benefits from getting its internal processes optimised and improved. Students benefit from having new tools and instruments at their disposal to learn the standards and practice of the freight and logistics industry.

The Young International Freight For-warder of the Year Award is also proof of the increasing levels of collabora-tion across the industry. The ABVT is very fortunate that more candidates are leading the way in this field with their

interest in writing dissertations. The year 2014 has broken a new record with 22 YIFFYA applications. By redesigning the Award’s topic guideline and establishing 32 as the age limit to apply, the ABVT is gaining more contributions. As usual, 4 regional candidates will be selected by June and the ultimate winner will be presented at the FIATA World Congress in Istanbul.

Mr Sim finished the meeting by inviting everyone to attend the 7th ABVT Forum, which will take place during the FIATA World Congress.

Africa and Middle east (RAMe)To open the meeting, Mr Ahmed Khaleel gave an update on the logistics industry in Egypt after the Revolution. Mr Khaleel explained how the economic activity had recovered and is now looking forward to the realisation of new projects such as the Suez Canal Corridor, which will turn the banks of the Suez Canal into a world trading and industrial centre. The presentation is the first in a new agenda structure that will feature a country report each meeting.

Next, Mr Basil Pietersen, RAME Chair-man, introduced the latest RAME Member ship statistics. The region rep-resents 30% of all FIATA Individual Members and more than 20 Association Members. Acknowledging the impor-tance the region’s presence within FIATA, Mr Dahmani, former FIATA President, mentioned that representatives from this region were able to influence several deci-sions. He urged delegates to participate actively in FIATA’s Institutes and Advi-sory Bodies and press ahead with ideas to provide a prosperous environment and solutions to issues in the region.

Pointing out that the key to moving for-

ward is the ability to organise transport in ways that substantially reduce pollution and promote sustainable development, Mr Parisi, FIATA President, suggested that FIATA is currently moving towards innovation rich initiatives and this is es-pecially important to the RAME Region.

The strength and efficacy of FIATA’s As-sociation Members to influence policy-making stakeholders was proven by Mr David Logan’s contribution. The SouthAfrican Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) presented a case its case regard-ing the Customs Control Bill. This bill posed a major problem by proposing that shipments had to be cleared at the first port of entry within three days of arrival of the vessel. It left no planning time at all. SAAFF’s efforts were successful and a discussion with the Standing Committee on Finance resulted in an amendment to the bill. Mr Logan urged delegatesto make new proposals to governments when unpractical measures are taken. Mr Pietersen added that SAAFF has now been asked to assist government stake-holders in rewriting the bill. He invited all delegates to contribute similar devel-opments in their countries.

Mr Thomas Sim, Chairman ABVT, was the guest speaker in this meeting. RAME has made significant advances in this regard as 8 countries have validated the FIATA Diploma and 4 have implemented the FIATA HDSCM. Also, RAME is well-represented in the YIFFYA competition, 5 out of 22 candidates come from RAME. Countries include: Cameroon, Egypt, SouthAfrica,UAE,andLebanon.

Mr Philipps, UAE, also invited attend-ees to participate in a meeting that will take place in Dubai, bringing together delegates from the Indian Subcontinent, Pakistan, and several African countries.

The next meeting will occur June 18th to 20th at the RAME Field Meeting in Zimbabwe.

Americas (RAMnS)Familiar ground for many of the delegates who had attended the RAMNS meeting in Zurich in past years, as always, the meet-ing brought with it much enthusiasm as many of the delegates are long-time friends.

They were all warmly welcomed to the regional meeting by the Chairman Mr Rodolfo Sagel. The beginning of the dis-cussion focused around strikes throughout the region. Canada updated the member-ship of a CN employee strike that had been initiated. Additionally, it was an-nounced that there was a truckers strike in Vancouver, Canada which was expected to cause delays for up to 3 weeks. Chile also updated the membership regarding on-going employee strike and challenges they are facing.

Afterwards, Mexico voiced concerns about inspection laws between the US and Mexico. They informed delegates that Mexican law required customs to inspect the inside of boxes meanwhile US law was against it. Argentina added this was also customary in law in Argentina.

On the training front, Dr Sergio Ruiz, Mexico, informed members that they had successfully revalidated their FIATA Training Programme and debriefed mem-bers on further training initiatives taking place in Mexico and surrounding countries in the Latin America region. Addition-ally, Ms Cynthia Ivandic, was proud to announce that Association Logistica DeChile A.G had successfully validated their training programme and will be begin-ning in the near future already having strong enrolment levels.

Mr Jorge Heinermann, the President of ALACAT,closedthemeetingbydebrief-ing delegates on the upcoming 2014 CongressofALACATthatwillbeheldinMexico City in May 2014.

Asia Pacific (RAP)The 2014 RAP HQ meeting was well attended this year. The RAP delegates raised a number of issues of mutual concern and interest.

The new EU Commission regulation that requires air carriers flying air cargo and mail into the EU to be designated as an “Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country Airport” (ACC3) evoked much discussion. This issue worries in particular the Austral-ians, mainly agricultural exporters. To the Australian forwarders industry it ap-pears that there are too many air carriers operating to and from Australia that fail to comply with the EU regulations. From July 1, 2014, the EU regulations state that ACC3’s must be in possession of security verifications of their cargo and mail op-erations at the relevant non-EU airports. This verification must be undertaken by an Independent Validator, certified by an EU regulator.

Other issues discussed:• Educational and Training develop-

ments. Association member’s progress and information was provided by the ABVT Chairman.

• Federation of Forwarders AssociationofVietnam(VLA):ChairmanDoXuanQuang provided information about Vietnam’s Logistic Industry and itschallenges, VLA’s activities, outlookand mission – Vietnam is 53rd on the WorldBank’sLPI.

• JAR:FIATA’snewJapanesemembersassociation JIFFA, represented by their Chairman, Mr Masaharu Nozawa,

informed about the Japan’s Advance Filing rules – JAR. The presentation is available on the FIATA website.

• DiscussiononCustomslawandsanc-tions (Penal Provisions – JAR)

Some members felt that regulators need to move away from prosecution of customs law infringement as law is still based on a view of criminal offence. They suggested that it may be treated as a misdemeanour. The 8th RAP Association Members Field meeting: June 19, 2014 in Beijing. In conjunction with UN ESCAP Regional Conference/Forum and Meeting of Chief Executives of national Associations for Freight Forwarders, Multimodal Trans-portOperatorsandLogisticsServicePro-viders meeting 19–20 of June 2014. The host will be the Chinese International Forwarders Association, and more details will follow shortly.

europe (ReU)The REU meeting was chaired by Dr Ivan Petrov (Bulgaria) and was attended by 40 delegates.

Mr Colm Walsh (Ireland) gave a presenta-tion about Ireland. Ireland is very well connected to mainland Europe by various ferry boat services. Therefore the logistic services are well developed.

MrIvanLiputga(Ukraine)informedthedelegates on the actual challenges and opportunities of Ukraine in international transport and logistic activities. Their main objectives are:• Development of intermodal transport

in the region• Wider usage of e-Documents in the

context of joint EC-UNECE efforts• TechnicalstandardsandEUregulations• Internationaltradeandtransportfacili-

tation among others

News

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAY 201414 FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAy 2014 15

Focus

The World Trade Organisation and the Facilitation of International TradeThe state of the modern global economy is

one of interconnectivity and increasing

integration. It is the purpose of such organi-

sations, like the World Trade organisation,

to guide and monitor this process.

BackgroundIn terms of size and the extent of its func-tions the World Trade Organisation is a unique multilateral organisation, focusing on the regulation and liberalisation of in-ternational trade. It is also a comparatively young one, at least in this current form. The WTO that we know today was estab-lished January 1, 1995 as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The predecessor, GATT, was created just after WWII alongside other notable multilateral institutions that deal with international economic cooperation, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

In the nearly fifty years from 1948 to 1995, GATT was the only Agreement that dealt with the facilitation of international trade albeit for the majority of this time it focused mainly on issues having to do with tariffs. In the 1970s, a round of discussions occurred that lead to the GATT provisions to be able to tackle barriers to trade that were not tariff related, in this case anti-dumping amendments were added. This would be the first step on the road that cul-minated in the formation of the WTO. In the increasingly globalising world econo-my, it was becoming abundantly clear that the GATT could not keep up in this rapid changing trade environment. In 1986, the eighth round of GATT negotiations was launched, known as the Uruguay Round. After seven and a half years of negotiations, the largest reform of the international trade system was agreed upon.

The structure of the World Trade Or-ganisation is quite large and complex. It incorporates many different agreements, rules, and regulations. However, most simplistically, the WTO is structured around three areas: trade in goods, services, and intellectual property. There are two key pieces of the WTO structure that allow it to function as a trade regulator and liberaliser, these are: dispute settle-ment and transparency. On the point of transparency, it is the WTO's duty to review and disseminate the national trade policies of its members. This measure is to ensure the consistency and transparency of government’s policies via the surveillance of global economic policy making. One of the most important, if not the most im-portant, feature of the WTO is that it is a forum for countries to air their grievances in international trade and have their dis-putes settled by a fair international body. There are presently 159 member countries of the WTO.

In 2001, during the Fourth Ministerial Conference (Ministerial Conferences are held every two years) in Doha, Qatar, the WTO undertook its most arduous agendas since the foundation of the organisation. This became known as the Doha Develop-ment Agenda and its aim is to achieve major reform (over twenty different ar-eas of trade) of the international trad-ing system through the introduction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules. Although the fundamental objective is to improve trade with and better integrate Developing Countries (DCs) and LeastDevelopedCountries(LDCs)intothein-ternational trade system. Negotiations were contentious and bogged down by many disputes and impasses. As of 2008, talks had stalled over a divide on major issues, such as agriculture, industrial tar-

iffs and non-tariff barriers, services, and trade remedies. Critics were charging that the Doha round table would expand a system of trade rules that were bad for develop ment and interfered excessively with countries domestic policy.

The Bali AgreementWhen trade officials worked to resuscitate discussions in 2012 they opted to keep the agenda as simple and attractive as possible. At the Ninth WTO Ministerial Confer-ence in Bali, Indonesia, Roberto Azevedo, Director General, of the WTO repeatedly warned that disagreements posed a mortal threat to the Bali Agreement. Mr Azevedo kept the parties at the table until compro-mise was reached.

A monumental agreement was struck in Bali, the first binding multilateral agree-ment on trade in the eighteen year history of the World Trade Organisation. The Bali Agreement kept many of the bullet points from the Doha Agenda; however the entire Agenda is not complete. They include further progress on matters, like the food security waiver, that received inconclusive treatment at Bali, and other long-simmering issues like progress on ending agricultural subsidies altogether.

The core of the Bali agreement focuses on trade facilitation, or measures to reduce trade costs by cutting red tape in customs procedures. Trade facilitation measures alone could cut global trade costs by more than 10%, by one estimate, raising an-nual global output by over $400 billion, with benefits flowing disproportionately to developing economies. Although the main objectives of the entire Bali Agree-ment, as summarised by the WTO, are: to speed up customs procedures; make trade easier, faster and cheaper; provide clarity,

MsVanderJagt,DGofCLECAT,report-ed that the European Parliament endorsed the TRAN package. The Council took a general approach on the technical pillar and finalised it in March 2014. The work will continue under the Italian Presidency and a new composition of the Commission and the Parliament. The Commission is unlikely to withdraw the package but change is remote given the difficulties with the package so far.

CLECATsupportsthefollowingpositions:• Marketopening,faircompetitionand

transparency• StrongEuropeanRailwayAgency• Simplificationoftheauthorisationpro-

cess, full interoperability and common European standards

• Keep the 4th railway package as awhole

The compromise amendment drafted on the EU regulation 96/53 states that “Member States may authorize the use of vehicles or vehicle combinations exceed-ing the maximum dimensions” only if the Commission carries out “an assess-ment of the existing practices in Member States and to evaluate the impact of the use of those vehicles and combinations of vehicles for all relevant socio-economic

factors and policy objectives as set out in the White Paper” before revising the rules. The compromise amendment shows no agreement has been reached between MEPs and that the request of the rap-porteur for more impact assessment has been followed.

Port users urge Transport Committee MEPs to vote for Port Regulation which covers all port services in respects to market functioning and ensures correct implementation of the basic treaty prin-ciples. Many of the tabled amendments will make the proposal redundant and shouldn’t be supported.

CLECATwillcontinuetocallforfurtheractions:• IncludeCargohandling• Initiativestoaddressrestrictivelabourpractices• DevelopofgenericindicatorsofEuro-pean port performances• Simplifytheadministrativeproceduresin ports

Furthermore, the subjects of the develop-ment of Shift2Rail, the EU road haulage market, the situation of the TIR Carnet in Russia, the EU proposal on ETS as well as air cargo security on the Airports Package

were debated. Cargo flying from third countries into the EU needs to come from an ACC3 and needs to be screened or come from a secure supply chain.

electronic LogisticsIn the latest HQ Session the topic of e-logistics was outlined in a special workshop under the title: “What can be done to achieve common interoperable standards with a view to achieving paperless logistics?”

The five panellists were: Mr Thair Syed, Manger Cargo Standards and Rolf Bosse-laar, Manager E-AWB Europe, both from IATA Geneva; Mr Alexander Goulandris, ESS,London;MrDominiqueVankemmel,UNCEFAC, Geneva; and Mr Satya Prasad Sahu, WCO, Brussels. They were invited to provide short introduction statements on the projects and informed the delegates about their IT application progresses and in order to get a paperless environment on the transport business documents.

It seems that within the next few years the gap between the various electronic stand-ards cannot be bridged very smoothly and easily. However, it is FIATA’s goal that document flows are shifted to an electronic version within the next few years.

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAY 201416

News Personally

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAY 2014 17

Meet Antonella Straulino Vice President FIATA

efficiency and transparency; reduce bu-reaucracy and corruption, and use techno-logical advances. In addition, it contains provisions for the special and differen-tial treatment of Developing Countries andLeastDevelopedCountries.Thereisan estimate which states this agreement will contribute upwards of $1 trillion to global GDP.

Least Developed Countries will get anincreasingly greater market access to the developed and developing countries through the Bali Agreement. All products coming from all LDCs will enjoy zero-duty under the Agreement. According to the deal, the developed and developing countries that do not yet provide duty-free and quota-free market access for at least 97% of products originating from LDCsshallseektoimprovetheirexistingDuty Free Quota Free (DFQF) coverage to provide increasingly greater market access toLDCspriortothenextMinisterialCon-ference. Additionally, the notification and implementation of the Bali Agreement for

LDCsdifferfromthedevelopedcountries.As stated in the Agreement, LDCs fallunder three different categories (A, B and C).EachcategoryoffersleniencytoLDCsthroughout the implementation process and donor assistance if required.

Private Sector InteractionEngagement with the World Trade Or-ganisation by private sector businesses is limited at best. Although, the WTO does host one annual event with regards to engagement. Since 2001, the WTO has held a Public Forum in Geneva that brings together civil society, academia, busi-ness, the media, governments, and inter-governmental organisations to discuss the current issues concerning global trade.

In addition, businesses and business asso-ciations, such as FIATA, are allowed to at-tend Ministerial Conferences to facilitate debriefs and workshops, or to otherwise observe. However, interaction between the Ministers and private sector interests are lacking. Coupled with this is a lack of

any results from Ministerial Conferences (excluding Bali of course). Therefore, a trend of rapidly decreasing attendance by the private sector has been witnessed over the last decade. It remains to be seen if the results of the Bali Agreement will revitalize private sector attendance but also a greater effort needs to be made by the WTO to engage with businesses.

In order to pick up this slack in engage-ment with the private sector, FIATA high-ly encourages all Members to take a more bottom-up approach. Whether as Indi-viduals or as Associations, FIATA Mem-bers should reach out to their national governments to establish a relationship of cooperation on trade policy. With greater engagement with the transportation and logistics industry at the national level, it is FIATA’s goal that this will eventually travel up the vine to the WTO Ministerial Conferences and result in greater progress towards global trade facilitation matters.

Born in Genoa, Italy, where she studied

languages. Since June 1995, she has been

working for Fedespedi, where she’s in charge

of international relations.

She is an ABLM and ABVT member and also

involved with CLECAT. As ABLM, she was a

member of the working groups that provided

guidelines for issuing standard trading con-

ditions, the FIATA sea waybill and the model

correspondents’ agreement. Since 1999, she

has been involved in ABVT, being dedicated

to the validation of training material.

If you had not joined the transportation business, which profession would you have chosen?Well, I guess I would have finished my studies in law and now I might be a judge of the criminal court: those were the ini-tial plans.So what fascinates you about the freight forwarding industry?I tend to be a woman of deeds, not of words, and this industry is extremely “problem solving minded”, leaving room for imagination and creative solutions (after all I’m Italian: we deeply know what fantasy is). Freight forwarders build bridges. I strongly believe in networks, in partnerships and, above all, in peo-ple: there’s nothing to stop us if we join forces. And what was the motivation to accept your post with FIATA?I must confess that when I first joined FIATA, I did it partly because it was my duty and partly because I was “volun-teered”, but then I enjoyed it and it was natural to be more involved. The real “mover” behind it all for me is people with their different cultures, behaviours, atti-tudes and the relationships we built to-gether. Each time FIATA meets, to me it is meeting friends. There have been two moments in Singapore that really touched me; one is when the Ghana delegation gave me a name in their language, Nana Yaa, I felt honoured to be accepted as one of them. The other is when my name was disclosed as a new FIATA VP: I was the only one receiving applause, and that was a sign of appreciation for the passion I put in.How do you view the state of the industry today?No doubt current times are still challeng-ing and most probably “it’s a long way to Tipperary” but our people know the busi-

ness and are well equipped for any situa-tion. They’re not afraid of changes and are able to see the opportunities. What changes would you like to see?Trust me when I say I like being the only roseinyourgarden,likeStanleyLimsaidduring the last General Meeting (although you should be aware of my thorns too), but within FIATA I’d like to see more women involved and more support for training in terms of participation and commitment of active delegates: we’re talking about the future of our companies, after all. As far as our industry is concerned, I’d like to see more measures for trade facilitation so as to have more cooperation among countries, creating the conditions for real change.Looking at the future, what advice would you give a young person joining the industry today?My advice is an overall one, being valid for any industry: first of all being curious and always eager to learn more and secondly not to just ask questions but try to provide answerstoo.Lastly,istolistentoallbutdecide with one’s head. Generally speaking, what, in your opin-ion, has been mankind's best invention (and why)?Printing: it spread culture and knowledge. Which famous person would you like to have met?Leonardo da Vinci: He was a genius, inwhatever he did.Do you have any unfulfilled wishes (professional or personal)?A lot, because I’d be poor without wishes (and dreams): but I still have a lot of time left to make them come true, so ask me again around 2035, please. What plans do you have for the future or for your retirement?Retirement? What’s that? Anyway there isn’t enough space..The World Trade organisation is a unique multilateral organisation, focusing on the regulation and liberalisation of international trade

FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAY 201418 FIATA REVIEW No. 102, MAy 2014 19

May 28 2014, Odessa/Ukraine

XII International Freight Forwarder’s Daytransport-week.in.ua/en

June 18—20 2014, Victoria Falls/Zimbabwe

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST (RAME) Field Meeting http://www.rame2014zimbabwe.co.zw

June 19 2014, Beijing/China

8th FIATA Region Asia Pacific Field Meeting in conjunction with UNESCAP Meeting on June 20 2014

September 2—5 2014, Zhengzhou/China

ICAO Air Cargo Development Forumwww.icao.int/Meetings/AirCargoDevelopmentForum-2014/Pages/default.aspx

October 13—18 2014, Istanbul/Turkey

FIATA World Congresswww.fiata2014.org

AgendaHere & There

Next Edition:

July 2014

FIATA REVIEW

Bi-monthly Magazine of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders AssociationsCirculation 6700 copies

Published by FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations Articles written by outside contributors do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FIATA

EditorInternational Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations FIATASchaffhauserstrasse 104, PO Box 364, CH-8152 Glattbrugg/SwitzerlandTelephone +41 43 211 65 00Fax +41 43 211 65 65www.fiata.com, info@fiata.com

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ProductionDesign: René Uhlmann Art Direction, ZurichPrinting: Hürzeler AG, Regensdorf

CopyrightNo article may be reproduced by any means in whole or in part without the written permission of FIATA

Forthcoming Events

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Mr Christopher J. Gillespie (Canada) celebrated his 65th birthday on April 21, 2014. He has been a FIATA delegate since 1986. He acted as FIATA President from 1999 until 2001, and Immediate Past President from 2001 until 2003. In 2003, he became FIATA Honorary Board Member and from 2003 until 2013 he served as the Chairman of MTI.

Mr Bernhardt Buenck (Germany) celebrated his 90th birth-day on May 9, 2014. A FIATA Delegate since 1981, he was FIATA President from 1985 to 1987 and Immediate Past Presi-dent from 1987 to 1989. Since 1989, he has been an Honorary Board Member of FIATA.

FIATA would like to

congratulate some well-

known delegates for their

birthdays. We wish them

many more years of good

health and happiness.

Happy Birthday!

FIATA members celebrate long service anniversaries50 yearsLAMPRECHT TRANSPORT AG SWITZERLAND

TIZPAR INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT (PRIVATE CO. LTD.) IRAN, ISLAMIC REP. OF

25 yearsAL FADHIL CARGO CLEARING & FORWARDING (AFCO) (L.L.C) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

ARATRANS TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SERVICES (L L C) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DHL GLOBAL FORWARDING (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD AUSTRALIA

ENKAY EXPRESS CO W.I.I KUWAIT

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL TASIMACILIK VE TICARET A. S. TURKEY

FM GLOBAL LOGISTICS (M) SDN. BHD. MALAYSIA

FREIGHT INTERNATIONAL (L.L.C.) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

GEODIS WILSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AUSTRALIA

IRAN SARI'E INT'L TRANSPORT CO. IRAN, ISLAMIC REP. OF

MAYAN – CUSTOMS BROKERS LTD. & INTERNATIONAL FORWARDING ISRAEL

NATIONAL SHIPPING SERVICES (LLC) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

ORIENTAL CLEARING AGENCIES INDIA

SAIT LTD. (SHULMAN AIRFREIGHT INTERNATIONAL TAIWAN LTD.) CHINESE TAIPEI

THAS MARITIME CO. LTD. CYPRUS

UNIVERSAL FREIGHT SYSTEMS (PVT) LTD. PAKISTAN

UTI (AUST) PTY LTD AUSTRALIA

VAROVA OY FINLAND

YUSEN AIR & SEA SERVICE (AUSTRALIA) PTY. LTD. AUSTRALIA

A number of companies

around the world have

recently celebrated their

50th and 25th anniver-

saries of membership at

FIATA. on behalf of our

Federation, the Presiden-

cy of FIATA extends his

congratulations to these

long-service members.

We thank you for your

continued commitment

and look forward to a

successful future for our

international industry.