Approval of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) by the National Congress

The National Congress approved, on March 3, the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The positive appraisal of the text by the Legislative branch paves the way for the ratification of the Agreement by the Brazilian Government, adding Brazil to the 70 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that have fulfilled this requirement hitherto. The Agreement will enter into force upon being ratified by two thirds of the 162 WTO member countries.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement was the first multilateral agreement adopted by the WTO since its creation in 1995, strengthening the role of this Organization in the formulation of rules for international trade. The negotiation of the instrument, adopted at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference, in Bali, Indonesia, on December 7, 2013, counted on the active participation of the Brazilian Delegation.

Once in force, the Agreement will benefit Brazilian exporters, not only by the reduction of export costs in Brazil, but also in the streamlining of customs procedures in the destination countries. According to the latest edition of the WTO  World Trade Report, the implementation of the  TFA has the potential to increase international trade of goods in US$ 1 trillion a year. According to study by the Getulio Vargas Foundation, the implementation of one of the measures envisaged in the agreement, the Single Portal for Foreign Trade, for example, will allow significant drop in the cost of exports and increase in US$ 9 billion trade surplus for Brazil, contributing to an increase of more than 2% in Brazilian GDP.

The Brazilian Government, convinced of the importance of modernizing processes in the customs area and reducing transaction costs, is already taking steps to meet the devices of the agreement, especially the aforementioned Single Portal, as well as the Electronic Travelers Customs Declaration; the early receipt of passengers' information, and the Authorized Economic Operator Program.