TFA Hub
All of the Alliance’s work aims to help governments implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The TFA Hub brings together everything you need to know in one place.
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.
Related resources
| The Trade Facilitation Agreement: A World of Opportunities for MSMEs
USAID Report, 2021 Small and medium businesses are key for sustainable economic growth and development. This report by USAID shows how the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement can help unleash their potential. |
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| The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) through a gender lens
Tool, 2020 The Alliance’s tool, the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) through a gender lens, provides development practitioners and implementors with an in-depth analysis of the TFA Section I Articles from a gender perspective. It shows how the TFA, regardless of its supposed gender-blind drafting, provides an opportunity to tackle gendered barriers to international trade. |
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| The Trade Facilitation Agreement, At a glance
Briefing, 2019 This short document gives a brief overview of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and why it is important. It is available in English, French and Spanish. |
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| The Trade Facilitation Agreement, A simple guide
Briefing, 2019 The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation published this simple guide to the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The guide provides an overview of the main provisions in the TFA and what they mean for business. |
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| OECD, Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: the Potential Impact on Trade Costs
Policy brief, 2018 This OECD policy brief explores the potential impact of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement on trade costs using the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators. |
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| WTO, Easing the flow of goods across borders
Briefing, 2015 The World Trade Organization published this snapshot of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The briefing explains the challenges that border procedures currently pose to both governments and businesses and how the TFA will help to address them. |
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| International Trade Centre, SMEs and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, A Training Manual
Report, Dec 2015 This guide for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), published by the International Trade Centre, explains the Trade Facilitation Agreement’s (TFA) provisions and what they mean for businesses. It also provides a practical guide for businesses on how they can benefit from the agreement. |
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| Trade Facilitation Agreement
Agreement, Dec 2013 The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is a binding multilateral trade agreement between members of the World Trade Organization. The TFA was concluded in December 2013 and it officially entered into force in February 2017. |
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| International Trade Centre, WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, A Business Guide for Developing Countries
Report, 2013 This guide, published by the International Trade Centre, is designed to help businesses in developing countries take advantage of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). |
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