Accelerating Trade Facilitation In The Pacific

active

The project will reduce the time and cost required for cross-border trade in Participating Pacific Island Countries (PPICs). The Project includes three inter-linked components which will result in a reduction in the time and cost to trade across borders and contribute to the broader impact of economic growth and job creation. The Project has been designed to address a regional challenge through harmonized country-level solutions. While Project activities are designed at the country level, trade facilitation is inherently a regional challenge with several opportunities for a common regional approach. This is particularly true for the small islands because most shipping lines operate ‘string’ services in the Pacific where one route services many countries. In this structure, reforms at the level of an individual country may not be sufficient to have much impact on trade costs if the other countries in the string do not reform. This affects not only to intra-regional trade but also trade between the Pacific Islands and larger markets. The Project will result in harmonized, interoperable data model standards, international conventions and recommendations for trade facilitation and border agency reform. These will be implemented in each country which will ensure compliance with the requirements of free trade agreements and global standards and agreements such as the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention facilitating easier access to export markets while also facilitating greater information exchange. The Project's components include the following: a. Component 1: Customs and Border Management Operations - finances work on customs management and the National Single Window for trade in each country with investments into hardware, software, and process reforms. The component also finances equipment needed by customs authorities and capacity building and training activities to facilitate more businesses to access export markets and more people to be trained to operate and maintain equipment purchased through the project.b. Component 2: Port Operations - finances equipment for trade facilitation as well as preparatory and feasibility work on larger investments. Specific equipment needs for port operations at the country level have been identified from a list of options that covers scanning, testing, quality, safety, and management needs (eg navigation aids, forklifts, vessel and container tracking systems, etc). The investment needs have been prioritized based on the impact on port turnaround and complementarity with ongoing ports investments by governments, the private sector, and development partners.c. Component 3: Project Management and Regional Coordination finances project implementation at the country level and includes a grant to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat as a key regional body to help coordination regional trade facilitation reform in line with the Pacific Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy.