مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY

Abstract :

WTO (World Trade Organization) members concluded the negotiations on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in December 2013 and herewith the TFA will enter into force after two-third of members completed ratification process. Although there is not any standart defination of trade facilitation, the trade facilitation includes simplication, harmonisation and modernisation of international trade in a general sense. Turkey, despite the positive development of trade facilitation in after the formation of Customs Union with European Union, evaluation of this issue in terms of international indices enable to make a more realistic analysis. As possessing favorable logistic services, air and road infrastructure and customs services, Turkey should exert more effort in certain areas such as efficiency and transparency of customs administration, use of information and communication technologies and improving the safety conditions. In this respect, TFA is an important opportunity in order to redefine Turkey’s possibilities and priorities.