Research On The Implementation Of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement

In the nearly 20 years since China’s accession to the WTO,the world economy has developed rapidly and experienced multiple profound evolutions.New trade restrictions and increasingly tense trade relations have aggravated the uncertainty of international trade and the world economy.Trade Facilitation Agreement(TFA)as a product of the economic era,its entry into force and implementation promote free competition in international trade,so that the interests of countries can be temporarily coordinated and mutually benefitted.As one of the first batch of countries to accept TFA,China has vigorously promoted trade facilitation,fulfilled WTO TFA obligations,established working mechanisms in various places and supported reform measures to facilitate customs clearance.Significant progresses have been achieved in legalization,internationalization,and convenient trade environment.TFA is an important support for China’s comprehensive port governance and paperless customs clearance system reform.So,it is necessary to study the current state of TFA implementation and clarify the problems in its implementation,and give suggestions to the full implementation of trade facilitation measures to promote the free circulation of cross-border trade,achieve trade facilitation and improve China’s trade competitiveness.This article uses the text of the "Trade Facilitation Agreement" as the basic framework.In addition to the introduction,this paper mainly includes four parts.On the basis of summarizing and sorting out existing research results,the first part makes a basic analysis of TFA,combines the content of TFA with the implementation of trade facilitation measures,and divides it into four principles,six rules and eight specific implementation measures.Then,the first part clarifies the WTO principles embodied by TFA and analyzes the relevant systems involved in TFA and reviews the legal systems in the field of trade facilitation in China.The second part first introduces the overall implementation of TFA within the scope of WTO members as well as common difficulties in implementation,and then illustrates the specific requirements for various trade facilitation measures of the TFA,evaluates the reforms implemented by China.The third part points out the key issues in China’s trade facilitation measures.Empirical research results show that China has a relatively high degree of implementation of TFA,but there is still some way to go in cross-border e-commerce measures,port clearance coordination,and customs cooperation.The last part of the article proposes that China should strengthens reform in these measures in the future,especially modifies supporting laws in time to prepare for TFA disputes.In order to optimize the business environment in early days,the following efforts should be made: supporting operational rules for the cross-border e-commerce field,optimizing customs management mechanisms,and deepening customs cooperation.