Trade facilitation and Logistics

Statement of need

The entry into force of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade Facilitation has the effect of obliging countries to bring their trade facilitation and related policies and practices into conformity with the WTO legal regime. The agreement subjects customs measures that were traditionally treated independently from trade policies to multilateral trade rules. By so doing, it intermingles trade facilitation measures and policies with existing trade policy and applicable sectoral-related rules with the effect of bringing them under one regulatory regime. In practical terms, this implies that countries can no longer treat their multilateral commitments unitarily. The course provides an in-depth analysis of the implementation aspects of trade facilitation measures. In this context, it zeroes in on the cross-dimensionality of trade facilitation measures at the implementation level. It further explores the consequence of trade facilitations with self-contained policies arising from sector-specific ministries and departments that are traditionally divorced from their perceived link with trade facilitation and trade-related policies. In a nutshell, the logistics and trade facilitation course take both conceptual and applied approaches as methods of choice at the course delivery stage. It benchmarks its applied aspects against the international best practices and contextualizes the course material within an African context. The course provides a very strong conceptual grasp of technical, theoretical and implementation aspects of logistics within the context of trade facilitation. The course balances policy issues with private sector interests thereby fostering a collective understanding of policy and marketplace issues of importance. 

Course objectives

• Ability to think critically, strategically and independently on logistics and trade facilitation matters.
• Acquiring conceptual, theoretical and applied underpinnings of the logistics and trade facilitation as well as their interrelationships.
• Understanding the relevance of policy dimensions of logistics and trade facilitation on governments and traders at national, regional and international levels.
• Understanding and acquiring the ability to analyse modal transport service characteristics and markets.
• Understanding and conceptualizing shippers’ transport requirements.
• Defining and analysing Multimodal Transport State the relationship of a Multimodal Transport Operator (MTO) with the intervening parties.
• Describing and analysing the scope of services offered by an MTO.
• Cultivating a deep appreciation of the conceptual and applied complexities and opportunities within the context of the African agenda on trade facilitation and economic integration.

Content

• Conceptual and practical underpinnings of international rules and policies underpinning the economic and legal aspects of trade facilitation including WTO TFA, trade facilitation protocols in RIA
• Trade facilitation’s conceptual and implementation complexities and opportunities within multilateral, regional (at REC and continental levels) and domestic contexts.
• TF instruments (Conventions, Recommendations, Standards, Guides and Best Practices, Glossaries)
• Best practices and approaches to the implementation of trade facilitation measures.
• Trade facilitation at multilateral, regional and national levels -crafting policies and regulations that align with international standards.
• Obligations undervaluation, tariff classification, rules of origin and trade facilitation risks associated,
• Leveraging trade facilitation for Competitiveness
• Practical trade facilitation measures that underpin global customs authorities and other regulatory agencies& operating regimes.
• specific trade instruments that have a bearing on the viability of trade facilitation measures.
• Understand the relationship between trade facilitation measures and distinct sectoral policies and measures.
• Identify the approaches to implementing trade facilitation as against other legitimate equally important sectoral legal obligations of countries.
• How to rationalize sectorial trade documents and information requirements, Streamline and digitalise border processes.
• Transparency and publication provisions, transit procedures for trade facilitation

Target group

Officials from Trade and Trade Related Ministries and parastatals, officials from Regional Economic Communities, Negotiators, and Regional Integration Practitioners. Private sector player in transport and logistics

Duration
2 Weeks

Venues
Mombasa, Kenya
Date

7 – 18 Oct 2024 

Course Fees
$1,600