Trade Facilitation Negotiations in the WTO: Implications for Bangladesh and Other Least Developed and Developing Countries

This paper provides an overview of how trade facilitation has been addressed in the WTO to date, and how this may affect Bangladesh’s negotiating strategy on trade facilitation in the upcoming Cancun Ministerial and beyond. The paper also defines the term “trade facilitation”, reviews the development of trade facilitation in the international community apart from the WTO, and examines the work that has taken place on the issue in the WTO including the current state of play in trade facilitation discussions. Apart from providing an overview of WTO provisions that are relevant to trade facilitation, as a part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), and summarising the proposals that various WTO members have made for enhancing trade facilitation in the WTO, the paper addresses some of the implementation issues WTO members face with respect to trade facilitation. It further examines the implications of trade facilitation negotiations on Bangladesh and other least developed and developing countries, and how these will shape the negotiating strategies and policies of these countries.