Lithuania Chairs WPO Committee on Trade Facilitation
At the latest meeting held on 9-11 of October the WTO Committee on Trade Facilitation led by Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to WTO Mrs. Dalia Kadišienė, continued to show high participation and progress in an aim to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
So far 114 members have notified their category A-commitments, further approaching the overall number of notifications in this area that is likely to be received. Nine additional countries submitted their B-category notifications, while C-category number saw an increase of 8 notifications, with total numbers standing at 71 and 60 correspondingly.
The Committee meeting featured an experience-sharing segment on AEO programme, transit, single window and advance ruling administrative procedure implementation. Session saw high participation from capital-based delegates. Many LDCs , developing and donor countries praised interactive committee work and highly appreciated the workshops organized by the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility, World Bank and other donors happening on the margins of the committee session.
On the last day of the meeting committee adopted draft annual report (2018) of the Trade Facilitation Committee to the Council for Trade in Goods and provisionally scheduled next formal meeting for 12-13 February 2019, which are to be followed by meetings in the first half of June and October of 2019.
