FEBRUARY 2017 ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALI GIDDO ADAM Taking the First Step to Facilitate is the Director of Khartoum Directorate/Sudan Customs. Trade in Sudan: Setting Up a National Committee on Trade Facilitation APPROVING MANAGER The Republic of Sudan’s seaports used to be known for congestion resulting from the slow processing of imported goods. In response, the government created an ad hoc National Committee on Trade Facilitation to help streamline the processing of goods coming in and to facilitate trade. This SmartLesson describes the steps taken in setting up the National Committee on Trade Facilitation and the challenges involved. rival and processing of imports into the country’s ports. At the govern- ment’s request, the World Trade Or- ganization (WTO) supported the ef- forts to undertake a comprehensive trade facilitation needs assessment based on the WTO Programme of Needs Assessment (2007–2010). Sub- sequently, the United Nations Con- ference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) added its support via the UNCTAD National Trade Facilitation Implementation Plan to assist with the government’s future WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Motivated by joining the WTO and UNCTAD technical assistance pro- grams, the government established a National Committee on Trade Fa- cilitation (NCTF) supplemented by a National Working Group on Trade BACKGROUND Facilitation (NWGTF). Although the The Republic of Sudan currently ranks NCTF and NWGTF have the same ob- 184th out of 189 countries in the jectives of implementation of trade World Bank’s Doing Business trading facilitation measures, their terms of across borders indicators. As far back reference differ: the NCTF focuses as 2007, it was obvious that measures on policy issues, and NWGTF is con- were needed to streamline the ar- cerned with technical issues. The fol- SMARTLESSONS — FEBRUARY 2017 1 tiyear expert meetings in Geneva (2014), and NGTF meetings in Geneva. 5. Field visits to some customs border posts allowed participants to examine clearance processes to identify pos- sible reforms and improvements. 6. With assistance from UNCTAD, the government drafted a National Plan for the Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, pre- sented a brief report of the results at the meetings of NGTF, and submitted Geneva Delegate Osama A. Bary (right) and NWGTF Chair Ali Giddo Adam the document to the WTO Secretariat. (left) submit the report of the first needs assessment to WTO Secretariat Sheri Rosenow at a meetings of NGTF in Geneva in 2010. The results of the needs assessment were as follows: lowing are some of the achievements resulting • Sudan has fully complied with 17 from establishment of the NCTF and NWGTF: trade facilitation measures, includ- 1. The NCTF conducted the first trade facili- ing right of appeal, temporary ad- tation needs assessment, funded by the mission of goods, electronic pay- WTO, and presented a brief report at the ment, and time-release study. Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation • Sudan has partially implemented (NGTF) at the WTO and submitted the re- 14 measures, including enquiry port to the WTO Secretariat. points, freedom of transit, and test procedures. 2. Mission and vision statements with strate- gic objectives were put within the frame- • Among 10 measures not consid- work of a five-year strategic plan (2012– ered implemented were autho- 2016), including annual action plans. rized operators, advance rulings, single window, and detention. 3. Many workshops and seminars took place • Regarding categorization, 17 mea- for government and private sector par- sures were classified as Category A, ticipants—for example, two workshops on 8 measures as B, and 14 measures single window, funded by the UN Econom- as C. ic and Social Commission for West Asia, and a workshop on validation of the Na- 7. The NWGTF, with UNCTAD support, pre- tional Plan for the Implementation of the pared two single-window and risk-man- Future WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, agement projects to be funded by donors. funded by UNCTAD. However, Customs—in collaboration with NCTF and NWGTF and supported by the 4. Representatives from the NWGTF partici- World Customs Organization (WCO)—be- pated in many regional and international gan implementing risk management at a workshops and meetings—for example, a pilot stage at Khartoum Airport. UN Economic Commission for Europe work- shop on Trade Facilitation in Rwanda and 8. Sudan Customs, together with represen- Jordan in 2013, Authority on Development tatives of the NWGTF, conducted a third workshop on the one-stop border post in time-release study in October 2015 with Uganda and Rwanda (2013), UNCTAD mul- technical assistance from the WCO. 2 SMARTLESSONS — FEBRUARY 2017 9. The NWGTF developed guidance for foreign trade procedures, in- cluding all procedures of border agencies, to be published on the website of the Ministry of Trade. 10. In 2014, Customs implemented an electronic payment system. 11. The NCTF and NWGTF were selected to join the UNCTAD Empowerment Programme, under Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)-WCO and UNCTAD project, to support WTO Trade Facilitation Agree- ment implementation funded by NWGTF members participate in the WCO-HMRC and UNCTAD workshop in Khartum in March 2016. the United Kingdom (2015–2018). Launched in early 2016, this pro- Lesson 2: Having a two-tiered committee gram was divided into four modules in- structure can help distinguish policy issues tended to build the capacity of members of from technical implementation. NWGTF for implementing trade facilitation measures. In Module 4, finalized in Decem- The high-level committee (NCTF), chaired by the ber 2016, the NCTF and NWGTF successfully Ministry of Trade, led discussions on policy, and drafted the Sudan trade facilitation imple- the working group (NWGTF), chaired by Cus- mentation roadmap (2017–2021). Sudan toms, took care of technical matters. Our experi- is the first country in the world to draft a ence showed that this model fostered effective trade facilitation implementation roadmap. decisions on policy and implementation while reducing bureaucracy. However, Customs played a pivotal role in the success of the NCTF and NW- LESSONS LEARNED GTF because of its responsibility for implement- Lesson 1: Committee and working-group ing most of the trade facilitation measures that composition should be inclusive. are based on the revised Kyoto Convention. The NCTF is composed of undersecretaries of It’s worth mentioning that effective communi- line ministries, directors general of government cation and coordination—between the Minis- agencies related to foreign trade, and the presi- try of Trade and Customs and the other agen- dent of the business federation. The NWGTF is cies—was crucial for the successful undertaking composed of midlevel staff of line ministries and of the trade facilitation needs assessment. In the government agencies as well as representatives Republic of Sudan, strong coordination between of the private sector. The wider the composition border agencies is quite evident, as indicated of the group, the more effective and efficient it in the performance and achievements noted may be in carrying out its functions, because the above. However, leadership is of paramount im- group is required to do numerous tasks concur- portance. Our experience showed that the lead- rently and there is a need for many subgroups er should be a champion who is knowledgeable to do different jobs. This technique proved to about trade facilitation matters and has the abil- be very useful. For example, we formed subcom- ity to moderate discussions at the meetings and mittees that prepared annual budgets for both implement decisions of the committee. Fortu- the NCTF and the NWGTF and another subcom- nately, the chairs of both the NCTF and the NW- mittee that put together an action plan for the GTF have these characteristics and led the trade activities of the NCTF and NWGTF. facilitation efforts in Sudan successfully. SMARTLESSONS — FEBRUARY 2017 3 Lesson 3: Administrative and financial manent secretaries and directors general of dif- resources are important for the successful ferent government agencies related to foreign functioning of the NCTF and NWGTF. trade. One outcome of these meetings was the approval of the action plan for implementation The NCTF and NWGTF should put together a of trade facilitation measures. work plan that allows for monitoring, following up, and reporting on the performance. This pro- Lesson 5: Ensure strong coordination cess needs a permanent secretariat to organize between all the sponsoring entities. regular meetings and requires sufficient human resources to prepare for the meetings, produce It is crucial to keep all the key players in the loop. reports, and maintain documents. We held two For our project, that involved communication be- meetings per month, organized by a permanent tween the NCTF, the NWGTF, the government, secretariat. The Ministry of Finance and National and the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Division in Gene- Planning allocated a small budget for the com- va—during negotiations as well as implementa- mittee, supplemented by contributions from all tion of trade facilitation measures. We also main- participating government and private sector tained good coordination with the Sudan Mission agencies. throughout. The Geneva delegate had direct contact with the chair of NWGTF, copying him on Lesson 4: It is important to have meetings any correspondence related to trade facilitation with high-level officials. between the Mission, the Ministry of Foreign Af- fairs, and the Ministry of Trade or the WTO. This To gain the commitment and support of high- practice kept the NCTF and NWGTF fully informed level officials, it is necessary to be sure they un- on any progress in trade facilitation. derstand the project—and to continue to keep them informed about it. This requires having Also, having a direct link with the WTO Secretar- meetings with them—sometimes multiple meet- iat kept the NCTF and NWGTF updated regard- ings. We also found such meetings useful in ing trade facilitation programs in the region and convincing the officials to use their political in- internationally, particularly those relating to fluence in favor of the work of the national com- technical assistance and capacity building. For mittee and the working group. The NWGTF held example, as a result of contacts with the WTO many meetings with many ministers and per- Secretariat, the NCTF and NWGTF obtained tech- nical assistance from WTO and UNC- TAD to conduct two needs assessments workshops. CONCLUSION Our experience showed that forming the NCTF, followed by the NWGTF, is fundamental in establishing and ensur- ing coordination and cooperation be- tween border agencies for implemen- tation of trade facilitation measures. In the Republic of Sudan, without this co- ordination under the umbrella of NCTF and NWGTF we couldn’t have achieved the desired results, especially the needs State Minister for Trade Elsadig M. Ali (Chair of NCTF), Deputy Director General of Customs Khalil Basha Sayren (Chair of NWGTF), and UNCTAD assessment and implementation plan— Delegate Arantzazu Sanchez participate in the opening session of the supported by WTO and UNCTAD, re- NWGTF and HRMC-WCO and UNCTAD workshop in Khartoum in March 2016. spectively—that formed the founda- 4 SMARTLESSONS — FEBRUARY 2017 Participants in the March 2016 workshop in Khartum. tion for developing an action plan management of administrative and for implementing trade facilitation financial resources, meetings with measures. Building on that success, high-level officials, and coordina- the NCTF and NWGTF are working tion between the capital and Gene- on the implementation of electronic va—represents a first step toward connectivity between border agen- implementation of trade facilita- cies and single window. tion. It may serve as a model for other countries—particularly those The experience of the NCTF—in- that are less and least developed— volving inclusive composition, two- that plan to implement trade facili- tiered committee structure, careful tation measures. DISCLAIMER SmartLessons is an awards program to share lessons learned in development-oriented advisory services and investment operations. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFC or its partner organizations, the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. 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