Asia-Pacific Business Leaders Welcome the Entry into Force of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement
A new global agreement designed to help trade flow more freely will lower costs for business and help to raise living standards across the Asia-Pacific region, business leaders meeting in Bangkok for the APEC Business Advisory Council said on February 22, 2017.
“The global economy has been through a tough period. Trade growth continues to slow,” said ABAC Chair for 2017, Mr Hoang Van Dung of Viet Nam. “It is critical that we take action wherever we can to remove the grit from the machinery of trade, keep markets open and competitive, and deepen connections. So this new agreement is extremely welcome.”
“As business people, of course, we welcome anything that makes trade easier and less costly. Consumers will also benefit from cheaper, more diverse and better goods. But more importantly, the TFA should help to unlock opportunities for our communities,” said Mr. Hoang.
“Inclusive and sustainable growth is central to our vision for the APEC region. The TFA will help small as well as large firms, and those from developing economies, to participate more successfully in global markets, by reducing red tape, costs and technical barriers to trade.”
WTO analysis suggests that the TFA will deliver substantial benefits: over the next 15 years, the implementation of the TFA is predicted to add around 2.7% per year to world export growth, and more than half a percent per year to world GDP growth. Full implementation of the TFA is estimated to reduce global trade costs by an average of 14.3%.
The World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was concluded by WTO Members at the Bali WTO Ministerial Meeting in 2013. Two-thirds of the WTO Membership must ratify the TFA before it can begin to be implemented. That threshold has just been reached.
Press-release at the APEC official web-site