Speaking to over 40 members of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation last week, World Customs Organization (WCO) Director of Compliance and Facilitation, Gaozhang Zhu said he was optimistic about the implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation adopted at the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali at the end of 2013.
USCIB’s Kristin Isabelli attended last week’s meetings and reported on the Global Trade Facilitation Agreement Coalition – a partnership between USCIB, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foreign Trade Council and the Express Association of America – in helping to move the agreement forward.
On behalf of its global network reaching 6.5 million companies worldwide, ICC was steadfast in its campaign to push for improvements in trade facilitation which, according to an ICC report, could boost the world economy by $1 trillion annually and result in job gains of 21 million.
“Because most articles of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade Facilitation will be implemented by Customs agencies, the WCO is well-positioned to drive the trade facilitation agenda,” Zhu said. “The aim is to secure a resilient supply chain. We are off to a good start but the hard work is just beginning.”
Staff contact: Kristin Isabelli
More on USCIB’s Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee
