This project’s purpose is to update the UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 4 on National Trade Facilitation Bodies.

The Recommendation No. 4 recommends that governments establish and support national trade facilitation bodies mainly to (a) identify issues and discuss solutions for achieving efficiency in trade transaction; and (b) provide national focal point for dissemination of best practices and participate in international trade facilitation. However, after adoption of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in Bali in December 2013, and the multiplicity of Trade Facilitation bodies that have emerged in countries in recent years (e.g. Coordination Committee for Single Window, National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committees, National Logistics Council, and so on), there is increased demand for a national platform, which will be the main coordinating body for any trade facilitation reforms, facilitate effective consultation among the public and private sector stakeholders.
The concept of Trade Facilitation has evolved over the past several years, turning from a technical to a policy matter requiring greater integration of various stakeholders. This calls for a revised structure of the Body including the roles and responsibilities of the members of the Committee. The revised recommendation will be comprehensive to allow a country to use it for a specific national body depending on the type of the body as well as the various approaches of consultation. In addition, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the body and its subsidiary bodies will be revised taking into consideration the parallel work developed in the UN/CEFACT project on Consultation Approaches for Public and Private Sector Consultation.
In order to carry out the above, the ‘maintenance’ update of the Recommendation No. 4, developed under the Consultation Approaches project may be used as the initial draft of the update project.