This Webinar will be taking place on 7 October 2020 from 13:00 to 15:00hrs, during the 35th United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) Forum (5-16 October 2020).
Trade Information Portals: Sharing Implementation Experiences and Best Practices
Background
Getting timely, accurate and dependable information related to importation, exportation and transit when planning a cross-border operation is essential. This allows traders to understand the necessary procedures, prepare their work and most importantly allocate the necessary funds. The importance of Information Portals to provide such information is recognized internationally within the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement’s first article. But this principle is not new to the WTO; the principle of predictability is at the basis of the 1947 General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), predecessor to the WTO. It was clearly recognized that traders require predictability in order to effectively trade across borders. However, this principle realizes in many countries in different ways. Most of the countries are developing the Trade information portal. UN/CEFACT Single Window Domain experts elaborated the project of the recommendation on Trade Information Portals. This recommendation describes what information should be shared, how should it be shared, what legal responsibility for the information shared and etc.
Objective
This conference proposes to examine some actual implementations and country experiences in order to share best practices. It will be an opportunity to be inspired by current practices and identify the future evolutions. This will also provide the opportunity to shape the work within the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) on a future recommendation on Information Portals.
Agenda
13:00 – 13:10 – Opening Address and overview
- Ms. Maria Ceccarelli, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, UNECE BIO
- Mr. Aleksei Bondarenko, UN/CEFACT Vice-Chair BIO
Session 1: Trade Information Portal as an instrument of trade facilitation
Moderator: Mr. Jalal Benhayoun, UN/CEFACT Single Window Domain Coordinator BIO PPT
13:10 – 13:25 – Future UNECE Recommendation 38 on Trade Information Portal – Update on the work of the UN/CEFACT Project Team
13:25 – 14:15 – Trade Information Portal relevance for trade facilitation
- Mr. Pierre Bonthonneau, Advisor, TF Team, International Trade Center BIO
- Mr. Kjartan Sorensen, Regional Coordinator, Business Facilitation Programme, UNCTAD BIO PPT
- Mr. William Gain, Senior Trade Facilitation Specialist, World Bank BIO PPT
Session 2: Good practices and Solutions
Moderator: Mr. Aleksei Bondarenko, UN/CEFACT Vice-Chair BIO
14:15 – 15:15 – Trade Information Portal country experiences
- Morocco: Mr. Jalal Benhayoun, General Manager, Portnet BIO PPT
- Tajikistan: Mr. Najibulloi Zaydullo, National Consultant, Ministry Economic Development and Trade BIO PPT
- Kenya: Ms. Jane Musyoki, Kentrade BIO PPT
- Laos: Ms. Latthana Douangboupha PPT
15:15 – 15:30 – Question and Answers
Concluding session
15:30 – 15:45 – Summary and recommendations for UN/CEFACT
- Mr. Aleksei Bondarenko, UN/CEFACT Vice-Chair BIO