Customs and Trade Facilitation: from Concepts to Implementation

Trade facilitation is the simplification, harmonisation, standardisation and modernisation of trade procedures. It seeks to reduce trade transaction costs at the interface between business and government and is an agenda item within many customs related activities. These include WTO trade round negotiations, supply chain security initiatives, development and capacity building programs, as well as many customs modernisation programs. However, the implementation of trade facilitation principles is fraught with obstacles. Obstacles identified in this paper include conflicting interests, institutional limitations and lack of knowledge. Policy makers and project managers stand to gain from more substantiated research aimed at deepening their understanding of crossborder operations, its inherent dynamics, stakeholder interests and institutional limitations. Currently such knowledge is seldom found in one place.