Ghana Ratifies Trade Facilitation Agreement    

Ghana has become the 104th World Trade Organisation (WTO) member to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), reducing the number of member countries needed to ratify the Agreement to bring the TFA into force to six.
Ghana submitted its instrument of acceptance to the WTO on January 4, 2017, the world body has announced.
According to the WTO, the TFA will enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO membership has formally accepted the Agreement.
Ghana has subsequently joined the following WTO members that have also accepted the TFA: Hong Kong China, Singapore, the United States, Mauritius, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Republic of Korea. The others are, Nicaragua, Niger, Belize, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, China, Liechtenstein, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Togo, Thailand, the European Union (on behalf of its 28 member states), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, Guyana, Côte d’Ivoire, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Kenya.
Countries like Myanmar, Norway, Viet Nam, Brunei, Ukraine, Zambia, Lesotho, Georgia, Seychelles, Jamaica, Mali, Cambodia, Paraguay, Turkey, Brazil, Macao China, the United Arab Emirates, Samoa, India, the Russian Federation and Montenegro as well as, Albania, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, Madagascar, the Republic of Moldova, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, and the Philippines have all ratified the Agreement. The rest are, Iceland, Chile, Swaziland, Dominica, Mongolia, Gabon, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Canada.
The TFA, which was concluded at the WTO’s 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area, the Organisation says.
Citing a 2015 study carried out by WTO economists, it notes that full implementation of the TFA would reduce members’ trade costs by an average of 14.3 per cent, with developing countries having the most to gain.
The TFA, according to the WTO, also has the ability to reduce the time to import goods by over a day and a half while also reducing time to export by almost two days, representing a reduction of 47 per cent and 91 per cent respectively over the current average. The TFA also has the potential to increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion, it added.
Ghana’s President; Akufo-Addo has already nominated Alan Kyerematen for the position of Minister of Trade. Mr. Kyerematen has extensive experience in trade as he once headed the Africa Trade Policy Centre of the Economic Commission for Africa. He has also contested for the position of the Director-General of the WTO, not long ago.