This Wednesday (22), the Trade Facilitation Agreement came into force. The measure, announced by the World Trade Organization (WTO), will provide more transparency in the relationship between governments and foreign trade operators, as well as reduce bureaucratic impact on imports and exports.

The agreement, finalised during the Ministerial Conference in Bali in 2013, could increase the global export flow by up to $1 trillion per year. According to the WTO, the main beneficiaries will be developing countries with more room for efficiency gains.

The Minister of industry, Trade and Services, Marcos Pereira, was in Geneva at the end of 2016, and addressed the issue during his meeting with the WTO Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo. "WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement is a renewed driving force for world trade. It brings with it multilateral obligations that will lead to greater efficiency and intensity on the trading of goods between countries. Brazil is doing its homework. We have been working hard to make Brazilian foreign trade more agile, simple and modern. We believe that reducing red tape and costs is essential for our productive sector to be more competitive", said the minister.

Commitments

Brazil submitted its ratification of the agreement to WTO in 2016 and is already adopting almost all of the measures provided by it. Among such measures, the Comex Responde stands out, which works as an internet accessible point where traders may clarify their doubts.

Managed by the Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC, in the Portuguese acronym), all government bodies involved in foreign trade take part in the mechanism.

Since 2015, the Brazilian Government has accepted digital copies of business documents, a measure implemented at the scope of the Foreign Trade Single Portal Programme, which is at the core of the Brazilian trade facilitation strategy.

The initiative aims to reform all export and import processes based on contributions made by the private sector. It is estimated that at least 30% of the obligations established by the agreement will be dealt with by the Single Portal.

Another relevant point provided for by the agreement is the creation of national committees responsible for coordinating its implementation by each country internally. In Brazil, the newly created National Trade Facilitation Committee, under the aegis of Camex, jointly presided by the Executive Secretariat of the Federal Revenue Services, will perform this role.

In addition, the agreement has good practice devices for government action on foreign trade operations, such as the publishing of standards, adoption of less restrictive control trade measures, coordination between government agencies, the use of risk management and the employment of technology and international standards.