Brasília – President Dilma Rousseff signed this Tuesday (29) the ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto that was attended by the director-general of the organization, Roberto Azevêdo.
Earlier in the month, the Senate had approved the agreement concluded in Bali, Indonesia, on December 2013. The treaty, which aims to cut red tape of foreign trade and eliminate administrative hurdles, is a part of the wider Bali Package, considered to be a historical document for being the first multilateral trade agreement in 20 years.
Yesterday (28), after the meeting with FM Mauro Vieira, the WTO’s director-general expressed his expectation that the number required of ratifications for the agreement to go into effect would be reached as soon as possible. For it to enter into force, two-thirds of the WTO’s members, that is, 108 countries, needs to formally accept the agreement.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
