• SAARC

SAARC

Several South Asian countries have joined the current wave of bilateral and sub-regional free trade agreements (FTA) in the region. This paper examines how far Trade Facilitation (TF) measures are being incorporated into these FTAs and what individual initiatives are being made by the South Asian countries for advancement of trade facilitation. It argues that insufficient attention is being paid to these measures, and that their incorporation into FTAs could play a crucial role in overcoming obstacles to the expansion of inter-regional trade.

The paper begins by providing an overview of intra-regional trade (Section II) and the status of trade facilitation in the context of the WTO negotiations in South Asia (Section III). It then looks at the TF
related provisions in the South Asian FTAs, particularly in the context of Articles V, VIII and X.

Key findings include:

• most of the FTAs in the South Asian region do not contain any specific measures to ensure mechanism for trade facilitation
• most of the member countries in the sub-region have already proposed to bring in requirements of WTO/WCO checklist on TF measures as per the Articles V, VIII and X
• TF measures could play a key role in overcoming challenges related to infrastructure, documentation requirement and border agency coordination.

The authors conclude by suggesting that urgent action should be taken to incorporate trade facilitation measures in South Asian FTAs. Specific recommendations include:

• the delay in the launching of WTO trade facilitation agreement should not delay introduction of these measures in FTAs
• the major gaps in Articles V, VIII and X should be addressed especially in context of Article V-related issues, which may have potential to become major trade irritant in the region.
  
  

• Full text of document
• Publisher details
• Send to a friend