Address concerns of countries yet to sign onto trade facilitation agreement – Bawumia

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has charged participants at the 6th Single Window Conference to discuss possible solutions to concerns of countries which are yet to sign onto the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

In January 2017, Ghana signed onto the TFA which seeks to make cross-border trade across the globe much easier. Two-thirds of the WTO member countries have signed onto the agreement since its introduction in 2015.

It is estimated that the deal when fully implemented could lead to the creation of over 20 million jobs; most of which will be in developing countries.

Addressing the Single Window Conference ongoing in Accra, the Vice president said, “The WTO estimates that the full implementation of its trade facilitation agreement could reduce trade cost by an average of 14 percent and boost local trade by up to $1trillion per year with the biggest gains in the poorest countries.”

He continued, “Ghana is currently, a signatory to this agreement and I urge countries who have not yet signed to the agreement to do so. I am confident that this conference will help you address some of the areas of concerns for the countries which are yet to sign on.”

The 6th Single Window Conference is bringing together more than 1000 participants from across the world to discuss best practices regarding Single Window and its Implementation.

The 3-day Conference is being organized by the African Alliance for Electronic Trade in partnership with Ghana Community Network Services Limited GCNET.