US welcomes WTO's agreement on Trade Facilitation Agreement

WASHINGTON: The US today welcomed the WTO decision on enabling full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement ( TFA), the first multilateral trade agreement in the organisation's 20-year history.

"The WTO has taken a critical step forward by breaking the impasse that has prevailed since July," US Trade Representatives Mike Froman said.

The WTO move on TFA comes after US-India agreement on it last week.

"I am pleased that the United States was able to work with India and other WTO members to find an approach that preserved the letter and spirit of the package of decisions reached at last year's Bali Ministerial Conference," Froman said.

"The Trade Facilitation Agreement has the potential to fundamentally reform global customs practices and substantially reduce the costs and time associated with goods crossing borders," he said.

"It's a perfect example of how breaking down barriers to trade can unlock new opportunities for developed and developing countries alike, and it's a particularly important win for small and businesses in all countries," Froman said.

"With this win under the WTO's belt, we can once again focus our efforts on revitalizing the organization's core negotiating functions," he said.

The TFA could not take off earlier because of India's insistence on issues related to food security.

The US recently worked with India to break this impasse, and the General Council adopted decisions today which endorse the approach agreed upon by both countries.

These decisions include: adoption of a protocol enabling full implementation of the TFA; a decision on public stockholding for food security, clarifying that a "peace clause" against legal challenges to certain public stockholding programs will continue until a permanent solution on such programs is agreed and adopted; and a decision to extend until July 2015 the deadline for developing a work program covering all remaining issues in the Doha Round of negotiations.