REAgenda Item 1 Intergovernmental Agreement on Asian Highway

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UNSCAP Trade FacilitationActivities
Kaori Yasuoka Economic Affairs Officer Trade
and Investment Division
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• UNESCAP TRADE FACILITATION
• FRAMEWORK
• A Guiding Tool
• for
• Trade Facilitation

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ESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework

• Objectives
• To assess the levels and stages of trade
  facilitation
• To identify problem areas where trade
  facilitation measures are not in place
• To prioritize the facilitation needs
• To identify corresponding facilitation
  measures
• To identify ESCAP roles

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ESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework
 
Stage Ai Collect feedback, analyze, assess and
prioritize the needs
Stage Aii Establish the Facilitation
Institutional Structure
Trade Finance Infrastructure Development
Stage Bii Simplify, standardize and harmonize
import-export and Customs procedures and
documentation
Stage Biii Implement effective trade and Customs
enforcement
Stage Biv Implement effective information
dissemination
Stage Bvi Review and assessment of results
Stage Bi Revise Trade and Customs Laws and
Regulations
Stage Bv Apply Information and Communication
Technology (ICT)
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ESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework
ESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework Guidelines
and Country Status
Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Mongolia Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Stages Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Mongolia Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Ai Feedback
Conduct detailed survey ? X ? X X ? X X
Conduct focus group discussions ? X X X X ? X X
Document the findings ? X X X X X X X
Aii -institutional structure
Designate a lead agency (LA) X ? X X X ? X X
Establish a trade facilitation national bodies ? ? ? X X X X X
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ESCAP Trade Facilitation Framework
Bii Simplify, standardize trade documents Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Mongolia Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Classify all tradable products and identify agencies involved in ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Review trade and customs procedures ? ? ? ? X ? ? ?
Align and simplify documents used in trade ? X X ? X ? ? X

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Institutional Capacity Building for Facilitating
Trade and Transport in the landlocked and transit
countries

• Objective
• Governments adopt policies and plans to reduce
  non-physical bottlenecks in international trade
  and transport through establishing/strengthening
  national trade and transport facilitation
  committees

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Institutional Capacity Building for Facilitating
Trade and Transport in the Landlocked and Transit
countries

• Activity I - Institution Development
• To set up a structure for public-private
  partnership in support of trade facilitation
• Review the progress and effectiveness of the
  national and inter-country coordination
• Review the UN recommendations and other good
  practices for trade and transport facilitation
• UNCEFACT Recommendation No. 4
• Recommend national and inter-country coordination
  mechanism and work programmes

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Institutional Capacity for Facilitating Trade and
Transport in the landlocked and transit countries

• Activity II Trade Document Alignment
• To reduction the number of documents and
  procedures in the short term
• Collect trade documents in use
• Map out the flow of trade documents and
  procedures together with responsible government
  agencies
• Identify and propose the simplification and
  harmonization of trade documents and procedures
  to the governments

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ESCAP Capacity Building - Trade Documentation

• Collected 76 trade documents in use Cambodia,
  Myanmar and Viet Nam
• Aligned 49 trade documents to the UN
  Layout Key
• Combined 22 documents into 11 documents
• Removed non critical fields
• Recommended the use of ISO codes for currency,
  country and port
• Submitted the aligned trade documents to
  the Governments

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Thank you