Trade Facilitation and SMEs Tom Butterly Chief, Trade Facilitation Unit United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

SMEs SMEs account from between 60 and 70% of employment in OECD countries Figure often much higher in developing countries

UN/CEFACT SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENCE MODEL Commercial Procedures Establish Contract Order Goods Advise On Delivery Request Payment Transport Procedures Establish Transport Contract Collect,Transport and Deliver Goods Provide Waybills, Goods Receipts Status reports Regulatory Procudures Obtain Import/Export Licences etc Provide Customs Declarations Provide Cargo Declaration Apply Trade Security Procedures Clear Goods for Export/Import Financial Procedures Provide Credit Rating Provide Insurance Provide Credit Execute Payment Issue Statements INVOLVES Prepare For Export TransportImport SHIP BUY PAY Prepare For Import

Total Trade Transaction – Integrated supply-chain Building Trade Efficiency Trade facilitation Company processes

General needs Customers Finance Information –Buyers –Price –Standards –Quality –Packaging –Transport –Taxes,duties, etc Transport Infrastructure Trade Support Services Etc

Trade Facilitation Needs Reduce complexity and cost (relatively higher for SMEs) Certainty / transparency – (advance ruling) Speed Access to International Supply Chains ICT Solutions – low cost and simple to use (on my PC) Must assess specific needs of SMEs in a given country/region

Major Issues Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) – implications for SMEs – Authorised Supply Chain Security – implications for SMEs Consultation – SMEs part of the solution Life before and after trade facilitation Benchmarks and milestones (roadmap – national and regional strategies for TF)

Selected Case Studies of Public-Private Sector Partnerships in Trade Facilitation 1. Export Electronic Single Window, Guatemala 2. Mauritius TradeNet, Mauritius 3. Port Net Amsterdam, Netherlands 4. Cargo Risk Analysis and Scanning, Sierra Leone 5. Computerised Risk Management, Tanzania 6. Tunisia TradeNet, Tunisia 7. Cargo Processing System in the Port of Felixstowe, United Kingdom 8. Chicago Rail Industry, United States.

.. now we have to make trade facilitation happen!

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UNECE Paper on Public-Private Sector Partnerships in Trade Facilitation Implementation

Key Factors: 1. High level of trust among the participants : A strong degree of trust between the partner organisations allows partner organisations to contribute a substantial amount of resources and effort in the assured knowledge that the partner will do the same. 2. Fixed deadlines: Setting deadlines allow each partner organisation to focus on the relevant task(s) that need(s) to be accomplished. 3. Clear objectives: Clear objectives act as an ongoing guideline by which the partnerships success can be constantly evaluated. 4. Constant communication: There needs to be a constant flow of information, feedback and evaluation between the partner organisations to enable both parties the opportunity to ‘voice their concerns’ and to make crucial interventions at various stages of the partnership when necessary.

5. Funding: The issue of funding is crucial as it allows for all the concepts and ideas that have been proposed to attain the operational or implementation stages. 6. Transparency: At any point in the development of a PPP there needs to be the ability to evaluate any area of the partner organisation. 7. Leadership: Strong leadership ensures that the various aspects of the PPP are achieved in a timely, effective and efficient manner. There are significant positive benefit/cost ratios that can be derived by implementing TF measures through the medium of PPPs, due to the particular abilities of both sectors. Certainly, the increased funding or pool of skills available between partner organisations increases the chance of successful implementation and sustainability of PPPs and the substantial benefits therein.