WORKSHOP ON TRADE FACILITATION MOSCOW, 16-17 OCTOBER 2006 (TENTATIVE DATES)

                      Workshop on Trade facilitation

                       Moscow, 16-17 october 2006 (tentative dates)

Draft Programme

web page: www.unece.org/trade/

         www.evrazes.com

The UN Economic Commission for Europe, the Eurasian Economic Community, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, are organizing a Capacity-Building Workshop on Trade Facilitation with the following objectives: (1) review the integrated approach to trade facilitation (encompassing the whole supply chain); (2) explore the possibility to establish and/or strengthen the institutional basis for trade facilitation implementation through public-private partnership in the EurAsEC Member States and their neighbours; (3) define concrete projects, for example, the creation of “Single Window” for submission of trade information, or aligning trade and transport documents and electronic data exchange with international standards; and review the possibility to harmonize trade data requirements among various agencies and trade operators.

All EurAsEC Member States and some neighbouring countries will participate. The Workshop will involve a range of representatives from different organizations including Customs services, Ministries of the Economy, Trade, Finance, and Transport, business associations and companies in the field of trade, transport, freight forwarding, etc. This would allow the workshop to contribute towards a public-private dialogue on trade facilitation in the region.

The WTO General Council adopted on 1 August 2004 a Decision on the Doha Work Programme, generally know as a “July Package”, which defines modalities for negotiations in the current round of trade talks. Among others, the “July Package” also includes the “Modalities for Negotiations on Trade Facilitation”, which mandate the WTO Members to launch negotiations on trade facilitation. The Modalities provide that negotiations shall aim to clarify and improve relevant aspects of Articles V, VIII and X of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. Since then the WTO Members started making suggestions for issues to be included in the negotiations, and the WTO secretariat prepared on this basis an ordered list of proposals: WTO Negotiations on Trade Facilitation: Compilation of Members’ Proposals, whose latest version is WTO document TN/TF/W/43/Rev.6.

Day one

9:30     Registration

10:00   Welcome address

Grigory A.Rapota, Secretary General, EurAsEC

Marek Belka, Executive Secretary, UNECE

10:15   Session I:  Integrated approach to trade facilitation

Introduction: Integrated approach to trade facilitation in the supply chain, including facilitation of procedures in trade, transport, customs and automation (the role of UNECE and other organizations,  UNCEFACT Recommendation 18; World Bank Auditing Methodology in trade facilitation)

Representative of UNECE

Current system of organization of trade facilitation in the Russian Federation

Representative of the Federal Customs
Service of the Russian Federation

Interaction between trade and Customs processes and the basic principles in the new Customs Code

Representative of the Ministry of
Economic Development and Trade of the
Russian Federation

Regional dimension in trade facilitation implementation: best practice examples and potential opportunities for EurAsEC

The business community’s case for trade facilitation in the EurAsEC countries

Representative(s) of the business community (the EurAsEC Business Council);

Representative of international business, Express Carriers, etc

Discussion

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00   Session ІI: Trade facilitation issues in the WTO negotiations

Current situation in the WTO negotiations: trade facilitation measures proposed by the WTO Members (Compilation of Proposals: WTO document TN/TF/W/43/Rev.7)

Necessary steps to fulfil the proposed measures, possible commitments in the WTO, and technical assistance issues

The business community’s position on the WTO talks on trade facilitation

Representative(s) of the business community (the EurAsEC Business Council);

Discussion

16:00   Session ІII: Single Windows for export and import clearance. Interoperable standards for the exchange of trade information and documents

UNECE’s recommendation on the Single Window

Tom BUTTERLY, Acting Deputy Chief, Global Trade Solutions, UNECE Trade

Best practice for harmonizing trade data requirements (mapping required data to UNTDED)

William NOLLE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Interoperable standards for the exchange of trade information and documents

The Swedish experience with the Single Window and the Green Corridor

Prospects for Single Window projects in the EurAsEC countries

Discussion

Day two

10:00 Session IV: Regional aspects and organizational structures. Public-private partnership for trade facilitation

The regional approach to trade facilitation on the example of EurAsEC

Unification and simplification of customs control in the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC)

Trade facilitation in the SPECA countries: possible synergies and harmonization among various initiatives on trade and transport facilitation and electronic business in Central Asia

Organization of public-private partnership in support of trade facilitation

Alexander Filippov

Public-private mechanisms in support of trade facilitation (Recommendation 4: National Trade Facilitation Bodies)

Mario Apostolov, Regional Adviser, UNECE Trade

Discussion

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 Session V: Contemporary methods of border-crossing facilitation. Coordination among agencies at the border

Integrated border management  (UNECE Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Control of Goods)

UNECE Transport Division

Transit Facilitation (TIR Convention)

UNECE Transport Division

Transit strategy of the EurAsEC countries

       Customs representatives from the EurAsEC 
       countries

Closing Session: The way forward and conclusions