TFA Hub
Ever wondered what the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is all about? Read on to find out all you need to know.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is a binding multilateral trade agreement between members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The TFA was concluded in December 2013 and officially entered into force in February 2017. The agreement is designed to tackle the barriers to trade posed by burdensome border requirements. These barriers make it harder for businesses of all sizes to trade internationally but hurt small and medium-sized enterprises the most.
By ratifying the agreement, countries commit to reducing red tape at borders – from measures to ensure quicker release and clearance of goods to better cooperation between border agencies.
These reforms will increase transparency and efficiency, reduce bureaucracy and corruption and ultimately make trade simpler, faster and more cost-effective. Taken together, reforms have the potential to reduce trade costs by 14.3% on average and create around 20 million jobs, mostly in developing countries. The TFA is a unique opportunity to further development goals such as sustainable growth, poverty reduction and gender equality.
The WTO’s TFA Database is a tool to track and analyse WTO Members’ commitments under the TFA. Access the latest TFA data.