Trade+Facilitation+bodies

Trade facilitation bodies are independent groups with participation from various stakeholders from government departments and agencies, as well as representatives from the transport industry and trading community. They can take various forms and names. The most widely known are the PRO-Committees, FAL Committees and the National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committees (NTTFC). =Overview of Different Trade Facilitation Bodies=

FAL committees or IACO committees
These committees were set up to support implementation of the __FAL Convention__ and the __ICAO Convention__. Their objective is restricted to facilitation measures relative to one specific mode of transport: maritime transport or civil aviation. These committees bring together relevant government departments, transport operators and service providers. FAL Committees are usually headed by the Ministry of Transport and include stakeholders from the transport sector and government authorities such as the Port Authorities and the Ministry of Transport.

PRO Committees
The so-called PRO committees were defined and supported by UNECE. Their structure and tasks are outlined in the UNECE Recommendation No. 4. PRO committees were established in more than 50 countries by the end of the 90's. The PRO in their title stands for "procedures" and exemplifies their focus. They deal with facilitation of procedures across all modes of transport and identify bottlenecks to trade and promote solutions. In most countries the PRO committees are the main driver for the implementation of EDIFACT. PRO committees are independent organizations, often of a public legal nature, and usually receive direct and/or indirect funding from the public sector.

National Trade and Transport Committees
National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committees (NTTFC) are supported by UNCTAD and the World Bank as part of their technical assistance projects in more than 30 countries. An example is the NTTFC in Pakistan. NTTFCs are also recommended by the Border Crossing Facilitation Project to the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI). They act as consultative inter-institutional bodies to promote facilitation, study international trade and transport regulations, prepare recommendations and create transparency on major trade and transport issues. Their scope is broader than the scope of the PRO-committees and the UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 4 was revised in 1999 to encompass NTTFC.

WTO negotiations on trade facilitation support groups
Recently, many countries have set up trade facilitation working groups to provide support to the negotiating team during the WTO trade facilitation negotiations. These working groups are organized as a cooperative network, comprising interested parties from the public and private sectors. Their organizational design is often an ad hoc non-permanent structure - although some countries have attempted to institutionalize the groups (see the UNCTAD/UNECE Repository on trade facilitation working groups on individual country experiences).

=Objectives of These Trade Facilitation Bodies= The design, structure, name and objectives of these trade facilitation bodies varies from country to country. UNECE Recommendation No. 4 lists the following objectives:
 * identify issues affecting the cost and efficiency of their country’s international trade;
 * develop measures to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of international trade;
 * assist in the implementation of those measures;
 * provide a national focal point for the collection and dissemination of information on best practices in international trade facilitation;
 * participate in international efforts to improve trade facilitation and efficiency.

An important part of the work of NTTFCs is to provide support for the implementation of nationwide trade facilitation technical assistance programmes. From the repository of trade facilitation working groups, one can see that the objectives of the national working groups focus on =Implementation Guidance= Trade facilitation bodies require careful orchestration and management to be effective and sustainable. Experience has influenced the Guidelines to the UNECE Recommendation No. 4, published by UNECE and other useful documents that provide implementation guidance.
 * defining the negotiating position of the country (study proposals, prepare input and new proposals),
 * providing a focal point for the negotiating team in Geneva,
 * studying negotiating proposals and providing input for discussion,
 * preparing textual proposals, and
 * analysing the impact of the proposed rules and studing the needs and priorities of the country.