Ratification of trade agreement to boost trade

The Chief Executive Officer of West Blue Consulting, Valentina Mintah, says immediate ratification and implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) which has been dragging since 2013 could further boost trade facilitation and increase more revenues into the country.

 

She said trade facilitation when ratified and implemented will be very important to business, because it can have a major impact on bringing down trade transaction costs and raising the country’s export revenues.

Available statistics have shown that Ghana’s total export revenues for its three major commodities such as cocoa, oil and gold amounted to US$8.2billion for the period between January and September 2014, which was reduced by US$2.4billion to US$5.8billion for the same period in 2015. The revenues figure is expected to fall further this year.

Madam Mintah, speaking at a panel discussion in Accra spearheaded by the Coalition for Trade Facilitation-a private sector-led initiative, said: “If you look at the trade facilitation agreement you will think that the WTO got it right, because there is a provision for special provision called SDTs (Special Differential Treatments) that gives special provisions to developing countries and least developed countries.

“So, again, it gives them the flexibility to be able to compete on the same stage as those from developed and matured countries. 

“So therefore it is good for us to be able to take advantage of that, and if we don’t do anything and stay still all countries will go past us in terms of competitiveness at the ports. So Ghana is in the process of doing that, and we hope to be part of the 108. For Category A, we have no choice but to do that,” she said.

Currently, Ghana’s peers in the sub-region - Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal - have already ratified among others. Two-thirds of members are needed to do that, but for Category A provision, over 70 least-developing and developing countries have submitted their Category A activities, according to the experts.

The immediate past-President of the Ghana Freight Forwarders, Joseph Agbaga, confirmed that the TFA has been put into a Cabinet memo that is before Trade Minister Ekwow Spio-Garbrah for him to push for Parliament.

Mr. Agbada explained that: “At the end of 2014’s assessment needs Ghana came up under Category A measures in six areas -- that is under the Article 6.3 which talks about penalty disciplines, and Article 9 talks about movement of goods under customs control”.

Article 10.7, he explained, talks about common border procedures and requirements, and uniform documentation relating to clearance, while Article 10.7 also talks about rejected goods.

He indicated that Article 10.9 talks about temporary admission of goods processing, and then Article 13.2 talks about the national committee on trade facilitation.

“And these are the areas where we feel there are things that we are already doing, and therefore we are compliant as a country. So, what it means is that if today 108 countries’ ratification takes effect, these are areas we are already doing and we don’t have any reason to lose. So this is our Category A that is in a draft form.”

The Coalition -- which includes the World Trade Centre Accra, Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana Employers Association, Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, Ghana Shippers Authority, Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters, Ghana Union of Traders Association and the Ghana National Cargo Transporters Association - maintained that when the TFA is ratified and implemented it can raise the country’s export revenue.

Until recently, goods used to delay at the country’s ports and borders for days and even weeks before they were cleared. But the gloomy story turned into bright one following successful implementation of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System (PAARS), a component of the Ghana National Single Window (GNSW) project being implemented by West Blue Consulting on behalf of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Since introduction of the GNSW’s PAARS last year, traders are able to access Customs Classification and Valuation Reports (CCVR) within 48 hours.

Mr. Emmanuel Doni-Kwame, the Secretary-General International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Ghana), explaining the need for ratification and implementation of the trade facilitation agreement said: “The issues that culminated in drafting the agreement have to do with issues that confront us on a daily basis, and we have observed this at most ICC meetings. These issues are prevalent in developing countries, especially ours.

“And these have to do with the uncertainties that we all encounter when we are moving goods across borders -- the delays -- and these also affect our predictability, and then they add to transaction costs at our ports or transit ports.

“So TFA is for everybody, not just importers or exporters. It is for every single business entity,” Mr. Doni-Kwame stated.

He added that the TFA 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, according to him.

“Now, if you look at the agreement that came into force in December 2013, once you have two-thirds of the WTO members ratifying it comes into full force.  This means there is going to be implications - sanctions for those countries who do not comply with that particular agreement,” he said.