São Paulo – The World Trade Organization (WTO) said this Thursday (28) that Saudi Arabia and Peru have ratified its Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), completed during the WTO ministerial conference in Bali, 2013. The TFA’s provisions were designed to enable faster foreign trade operations and cut the costs they entail.
The Saudi deputy minister of Foreign Trade Ahmed Al-Hakbani and the Saudi WTO ambassador Abdolazeez Al-Otaibi submitted an instrument of acceptance to WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo. Peru’s acceptance papers were handed in by the ambassador Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia.
With the approval of the two countries, according to the WTO, more than 80% of the ratifications required for the TFA to become effective are already in place. It will enter into force once two thirds of the WTO’s 163 member countries have formally accepted it. So far, 89 of them have.
Brazil ratified the TFA in March. Another Arab country that has formally approved it is the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement includes provisions for faster processing and clearance of goods, cooperation between customs and other trade-related organizations for streamlined processing, technical assistance, and training of personnel for member countries.
To the WTO, the TFA could add USD 1 trillion per year to global trade.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
