Members discuss proposals under 2026 review of Trade Facilitation Agreement

The TFA - aimed at expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit - is the first WTO agreement in which developing and least-developed country (LDC) members determined their own implementation schedules in accordance with their national priorities and capacities, and sought to acquire implementation capacity through the provision of technical assistance and capacity building (TACB) support.

2026 TFA review

Various members introduced the 17 proposals received since the February meeting, bringing the total number of submissions under the second review to 25 - nearly double those introduced during the first review. Proposals presented at the meeting covered topics relating to encouraging certain TFA implementation practices by members, addressing challenges in securing and administering TACB support, and improving practices for the sharing of experiences and information within the Committee.

Several members noted overlaps and synergies among the proposals. To structure the next phase of discussions, the Secretariat will suggest a grouping of proposals into several themes to assist future discussions at informal meetings.

Members were also updated on work on the factual section of the review draft report following informal discussions and written comments.

The Committee is required to review the operation and implementation of the TFA. The first review was carried out in 2021 and is contained in document G/TFA/2. Information on the review is available on a dedicated page of the TFA Database.

TFA implementation

The overall rate of implementation commitments currently stands at 89 per cent. The Secretariat reported that around 160 measures have been implemented ahead of schedule by 23 members, while roughly one third of all Category C measures are due for implementation between 2026 and 2030. The Secretariat additionally announced a technical upgrade of the TFA database.

Category C measures are TFA provisions that developing and LDC members have indicated they will implement after a transitional period with the necessary technical assistance and capacity building. More information is available in the TFA database.

The Committee also reviewed notifications submitted since its last meeting and examined extension requests and measures with definitive implementation dates for 2026-2027.

Dedicated sessions

In the dedicated session on transit, members heard presentations on measuring transit corridor performance, corridor reforms across Africa and international standards for digital connectivity along transit corridors. Mongolia, on behalf of the LLDC group, introduced a concept note proposing a "Transit Corridor Observatory" - an online platform that would consolidate factual information on transit corridors serving LLDCs. Further discussions will be conducted with interested members to clarify aspects of the proposal.

The Committee also agreed to hold a dedicated session on the specific trade facilitation needs and vulnerabilities of small economies, following a proposal introduced by Guatemala on behalf of the group of small, vulnerable economies (SVEs) in the context of the Ministerial Decision on the Work Programme on Small Economies adopted at the 14th Ministerial Conference.

Experience sharing

China presented its voluntary disclosure system, which encourages enterprises to self-report customs violations in exchange for reduced or waived penalties. The United Kingdom and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) presented UNCTAD's latest report on the operations, results and challenges of national trade facilitation committees.

All presentations are available in the TFA Database.

Technical assistance and capacity building

Members received an update on the work of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF). The TFAF presented its work on consolidating lessons learned on mobilising TACB and presented progress from several ongoing projects - in Angola, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Madagascar, Myanmar, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Sri Lanka - highlighting strong engagement by beneficiary governments and the value of peer-to-peer support. Several delegations stressed the critical role of TACB for full implementation of the TFA and called for continued funding for TFAF. Donor members emphasized that issues of TACB efficiency and effectiveness go beyond TFAF and have made proposals in the TFA review process to improve transparency and coordination of TACB for the TFA.

Other Committee work

The Committee continued its exchanges on customs procedures, with ongoing discussions on Indonesia's customs procedures for intangible products and rewards systems for customs officials in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, raised by the United States.

The next formal meeting of the Committee is scheduled for 20-22 October 2026.

If you would like to receive news on trade facilitation, subscribe to the TFA Newsbytes here.