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1st LD: Trade Facilitation Agreement enters into force: WTO Chief

Xinhua, February 22, 2017 Adjust font size:

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo announced that the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on Wednesday entered into force after two-thirds of members have completed their domestic ratification process.

"This morning, I received ratification from Rwanda, Oman, Chad and Jordan, bringing the total number of ratifications to 112," Azevedo told a press conference at the WTO headquarter in Geneva, saying "we have crossed the required legal threshold of two-thirds of the WTO membership" and "the WTO TFA has now entered into force."

In December 2013, WTO members concluded negotiations on a Trade Facilitation Agreement at the Bali Ministerial Conference, as part of a wider "Bali Package". It is the first multilateral agreement to be reached since the organization came into being over 20 years ago. Endit