Improving the trade facilitation environment for SMEs

The International Trade Centre (ITC) will assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in trade facilitation by helping them to meet the legal requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). This includes support for national ratification of the protocol of amendments and notifications to the WTO and the evaluation of financial and technical assistance required for Category C provisions.

The ITC will help to improve national consultations, including the private sector, in policy formulation and capacity-building to promote the efficient implementation of the TFA. The ITC will also work to strengthen the capacity of trade support institutions to undertake trade facilitation efforts.

Assistance will be made available to enhance the transparency of the TFA through the publication of a national trade procedure guide which provides information on tariffs, regulations and processes. It is hoped that these measures will help SMEs to comply with trade procedures and enable them to conduct crossborder trade. The ITC also aims to link SMEs with logistics service providers to help integrate them in global value chains.

A helpful guide on the timeline for the implementation of the WTO TFA is available here.