Trade Facilitation and Regional Trade Agreements in Asia ...ASIA-PACIFIC TRADE FACILITATION FORUM...
Transcript of Trade Facilitation and Regional Trade Agreements in Asia ...ASIA-PACIFIC TRADE FACILITATION FORUM...
Trade Facilitation and Regional Trade Agreements in Asia-Pacific
by Yann Duval, Trade and Investment Division,
UNESCAP
ASIA-PACIFIC TRADE FACILITATION FORUM 2009, 25-26 November, BANGKOK, THAILAND
Session 3: Regional Cooperation for Trade Facilitation: Learning from and Building on Existing Initiatives
Presentation Outline
BTAs/RTAs in Asia-PacificTrade Facilitation and RTAsGood PracticesBuilding on existing regional TF initiatives
Bilateral/Regional Trade Agreements in Bilateral/Regional Trade Agreements in AsiaAsia--PacificPacific
Singapore
Sri LankaSri Lanka
Bangladesh
IndiaRep. of Korea
Lao PDR
Thailand
Australia
Papua New
Guinea
Source: APTIAD, April 2008,
Bangkok Agreement
ASEAN
1977
Philippines
PATCRA
MalaysiaIndonesia
Bhutan
Sri LankaSri Lanka
Maldives
Bangladesh
India China
New Zealand
Brunei Darussalam Cambodia
Indonesia
Lao PDR
MyanmarPhilippines
Viet Nam
Nepal
Marshall Is. Micronesia
Palau
Tuvalu
Cook Is. Fiji Kiribati Nauru Niue Samoa
Tonga VanuatuSolomon Is.
Australia
Singapore
Papua New
Guinea
USA
Chile
Japan
Hong Kong, China
Iran, Is. Rep.
Jordan
Bahrain
EU
Turkey
Afghanistan
© APTIAD, June 2009,
not all PTAs shown
Niger
GCC
MexicoPanama
Peru
Qatar
Canada
Georgia
Kyrgyzstan
Armenia
Kazakhstan
Ukraine
AzerbaijanTurkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Tajikistan
CISFTA
SAFTA
BIMSTECAPTA
AFTA
EFTA
PICTA
SPARTECA
MSG
EurAsEC
NAFTA
MERCOSURSACU
Pakistan
Thailand
Malaysia
2009 ECOTA
Korea,Rep.of.
Macao, China
Russian Fed.
BelarusMoldova
PTAs explosion in Asia-PacificAsia-Pacific
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PTA
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PTAsUnder NegotiationCumulative
Interest of countries in Asia-Pacific to negotiate had one peak in mid 1990s and then started to rise exponentially after 2002..Asia-Pacific trend broadly follows global trend
PTAs in Asia-Pacific: number and membership
•150+ trade agreements involving Asia-Pacific countries
•Only one Asian WTO Member (Mongolia) has no PTAs (as yet!)
•Asia-Pacific non-WTO members: from 1 to 11 PTAs
• Average per ESCAP ≅ 6 PTAs in implementation per economy, minimum=0 PTA, maximum= 22 PTA
•Often partners from outside the region
Trade Facilitation in Preferential Trade Trade Facilitation in Preferential Trade ArrangementsArrangements
Increased focus on trade facilitationin PTAs involving Asia-Pacific countries
… but often no specifics, and no harmonization
Even “trade hubs” countries have different provisions in their various BTAs
(what is trade facilitation?)Trade facilitation increasingly mentioned in PTAs (or associated agreements/ frameworks)...
Number of PTAs with Trade Facilitation Provisions
(ADB/ESCAP 2009)
Focus of Trade Facilitation Provisionsof PTAs in Asia-Pacific
(Bin and Misovicova, 2008)
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
(Bin 2008)
1Customs administration and cooperationTechnical regulations and standardsTransparency of laws and regulationsUse of ICT and e-commercFees and formalitiesMobility of business personsFacilitation in transitFacilitation in transport and logisticsFacilitation in payment
Focus of Trade Facilitation Provisionsof PTAs in Asia-Pacific
Number of PTAs w/ TF provisions which include
provision(s) in a particular area
Trade Facilitation and PTAs
“All” East / Southeast Asian PTAs refer in some way to trade facilitation
none of the 1990s agreements between former soviet republics mention trade facilitation
Complex/comprehensive agreements (ANZCERTA or ASEAN FTA) have subsidiary agreements/understandings related to trade facilitationAgreements increasingly mention specific TF measures / standards
Particularly those involving Australia or Singapore
Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement
• Trade facilitation measures:• Chapter 4: Simplification of customs procedures• Chapter 5: Harmonisation of technical regulations• Chapter 11: Promotion of paperless trading
•Defining characteristics: • Binding trade facilitation obligations, enforceable by dispute settlement• Cross-reference to pre-existing multilateral agreements and international standards
Trade Facilitation and PTAs: Trade Facilitation and PTAs: Emerging Good PracticesEmerging Good Practices
Trade Facilitation in PTAs: Good Practices (1)
Identify trade regulatory/procedural bottlenecks through stakeholder consultations during negotiation; and Include concrete measures to address themEnsure the provisions are consistent with WTO and other commitments (e.g., Article V, VIII, and X)Refer to established trade facilitation instruments, standards whenever possible (e.g., WCO Revised Kyoto Convention, UN/CEFACT Recommendations, TIR Convention,…)Ensure that the trade facilitation measures included can apply to both members and non-members (committing to administer differentiated trade procedures would likely become problematic)
Trade Facilitation in PTAs: Good Practices (2)
Support/seek provisions on customs cooperation and technical assistance (particularly in case the level of development between partners is significant)Consider including TF measures found to be lacking at the national level, taking into account assessed priority and cost of the measure(s) (to accelerate domestic reforms)Keep rules of origins (RoOs) – and related administration procedures - as simple and transparent as possible
Building on Regional Trade Facilitation Building on Regional Trade Facilitation InitiativesInitiatives
Building on Existing Initiatives (1)
“Most progressive” regional trade facilitation initiatives
ASEANASEAN Single Window initiativeMRAs for conformity assessment
APECTrade Facilitation Action PlansIAP Peer review mechanisms
Can these be emulated by the greater Asia-Pacific region? How could ESCAP and ADB support this?
The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
Links east, Southeast and South AsiaTrade Facilitation Framework Agreement under negotiationSimple and common RoOs
Simple and common Rules of Origin with minimum local value requirement of 45% f.o.b.
Building on Existing Initiatives (2)
Current Members:BangladeshChinaIndiaLao PDRRepublic of KoreaSri Lanka
Disclaimer: The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
Summary and Conclusions
Explosion of number of PTAs in Asia-PacificIncreasing number of PTAs feature trade facilitation provisionsTrade facilitation provisions generally not preferential – should be kept this waySimplifying RoOs important for trade facilitationLarge variety of regional trade facilitation initiatives/agreements to learn fromWidening relevant initiatives/frameworks to the greater Asia-Pacific region may be worth pursuing