ࡱ> TVS @ /bjbjPP ,P::&5nnn8<D:,22HHHHHH$fR!^HHHHHHHtttHdHHtHttV@IH& K˾nd  0:x"d"I"IpHHtHHHHHntn Technical Report: Lao PDR ϲʹ Trade Facilitation National Self-Assessment of Needs and Priorities Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane, September 21-24, 2009 Submitted by: Department of Imports and Exports Ministry of Industry and Commerce Lao PDR Submitted to: Trade Facilitation Section, TPRD World Trade Organization February 2010 1. Executive summary The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic had submitted an official request to the World Trade Organization Secretariat in order to conduct a ϲʹ Trade Facilitation National Self-Assessment of Needs and Priorities in the Lao PDR. The ϲʹ Secretariat responded favorably to this request, and as such, a workshop was held during the period 21-24 September 2009 in Vientiane. Representatives from government agencies and private sector stakeholders with key interests relevant to export and import procedures participatedinthe workshop. The objective of this assessment was to identify the Lao PDRs trade facilitation needs and priorities in order to recognize and explore areas where the Lao PDR will need assistance to comply with GATT Articles V, VIII and X on trade facilitation. The importance of trade facilitation for Lao PDRs economy is obvious and unarguable. Lao PDR is a landlocked and least developed country that shares boundaries with Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Lao PDR faces many constraints to promote trade and investment. The difficult terrain, sparse population and the long distances to the sea make production costs very high. There are also the problems related to tariff and non-tariff barriers. The government recognizes the importance of trade facilitation and has initiated a number of measures to address this issue. Measures include efforts to develop physical infrastructure, simplify trade procedures, and promote more liberalized trade arrangements at the bilateral and regional level while progressively eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers. In addition, the government promotes strongly the development of the private sector through, among other things, reductions in administrative barriers to business and streamlined trade facilitation through improved border management. The assessment concluded that Lao PDR needs technical and financial assistance to prepare for the implementation of proposed measures. Priority areas for technical assistance include the need to: train personnel; review, update and (where necessary) draft new trade facilitation legislation; establish web pages to post all relevant laws and regulations and link them to relevant institutions; produce information materials for dissemination of information; construct equipped laboratories; set up a customs advance ruling system; develop risk management systems and upgrade post-clearance audit in line with international best practice; and develop ICT infrastructure. One of the most significant outcomes of the workshop is that the participants agreed to create a National Trade Facilitation Committee in order to support the negotiations on trade facilitation at the international/regional level and to work to improve the trade facilitation environment in the Lao PDR. 2. Introduction The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) made a request to the ϲʹ Secretariat to provide financial and technical assistance in the form of a Trade Facilitation Self-Assessment of Needs and Priorities of the Lao PDR. The Assessment was conducted by officials from various government agencies and the private sector, and was facilitated by three international experts from Sweden, Finland and the World Bank. The objective of this assessment was to identify Lao PDRs trade facilitation needs and priorities in order to recognize and explore areas where Lao PDR will need assistance to comply with GATT Articles V, VIII and X, and to implement the proposed measures that are currently under negotiation at the ϲʹ. A preparatory workshop was held by the expert facilitators with the Director General of the Department for Imports and Exports and other representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce as well as representatives from the Customs Department of the Ministry of Finance and representatives from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Security, Prime Ministers Office and representatives from the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The international experts gave the participants an overview of the methodology in order to ensure that all key stakeholders were fully prepared for the main workshop. A high level meeting was also held prior to the event. The workshop was officially opened by H.E. Khemmani Phonsena, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on 21 September, 2009. In her remarks she highlighted the importance of trade facilitation to the economy of Lao PDR, and indicated her appreciation of the assistance provided by the ϲʹ to support this, and other initiatives. The last day of the workshop, 24 September, was marked by presentations of the key findings to the high level officials. Over thirty high level and senior government officials, together with private sector advisers and managers were present, which showed a high level of commitment to the ϲʹ Trade Facilitation Assessment. The Director General of the Department for Imports and Exports of the Ministry of Industry and commerce closed the workshop by expressing his gratitude to the ϲʹ Secretariat for technical assistance provided in carrying out the assessment. 3. Assessment of capacity to implement the proposals During the four working days of the workshop, all the participants discussed how to identify the needs and priorities of Lao PDR concerning trade facilitation procedures relating to exports and imports. While recognizing that many of the proposed measures are already applied, it was feltthat Lao PDR has difficulty in applying them due to human and financial constraints. 4. Recommendations From the Self Assessment Workshop the following areas were of most significance: Areas where Lao PDR needs to improve in order to comply with ϲʹ Trade Facilitation proposed measures Laws and regulations shall be published on internet. This includes all trade measures. Regular consultations amongst and between all stakeholders on new or amended rules and regulations on trade facilitation. Coordination and cooperation between border agencies. Adoption and use of international standards. Simplification of procedures and formalities linked to exportation and importation. Establishment of an effective inquiry point. Development of a risk management system in compliance with international standards. Improvement in the post clearance audit in compliance with international best practices. Need for appeal procedures and advance rulings. Reasons for non-compliance or barriers to implementation of the ϲʹ Trade Facilitation proposed measures Human resource constraints: lack of expertise, insufficient manpower, lack of motivation and training. Limited financial resources for training and infrastructure development. Lack of policy framework and guidelines to capture the proposed measures. Lack of an effective coordination mechanism. Lack of awareness of the objectives of the ϲʹ Trade Facilitation negotiations. Actions which Lao PDR may take to comply with ϲʹ Trade Facilitation proposed measures Promote awareness of the objectives of the ϲʹ Trade Facilitation negotiations within the public and private sectors. Internet publication. Develop guidelines to implement laws and regulations uniformly throughout the country. Promotion of public and private partnerships. Establishment of a risk management system in compliance with international standards. Creation of a national Trade Facilitation Committee supporting the negotiation and implementation processes. Capacity building for the business community and relevant government agencies. Review, update, and draft national legislation in compliance with international standards. Areas where Lao PDR will need technical and financial assistance Training of personnel. Technical and financial assistance in establishing web pages to post all relevant laws and regulations and linked to relevant institutions, including production of information materials such as posters, brochures, pamphlets, leaflets etc for dissemination of information. Technical assistance to review, update and draft required legislation such as right of appeal for trade related matters. Construction of equipped laboratories to meet international standards for relevant government agencies. Set up a customs advance ruling system. Develop risk management systems and upgrade post-clearance audit in line with international best practice. Information and communications technology infrastructure development. Top Negotiating priorities for Lao PDR Establishment of Enquiry Points. Pre-Arrival Processing. Risk Management/Analysis. Post-Clearance Audit. Establishment and Publication of Average Release and Clearance Times. Coordination of Activities and Requirements of All Border Agencies. Single Window/One-Time Submission. Regional Transit Agreements or Arrangements. National Committee on Trade Facilitation. 5. Conclusion Lao PDR needs technical and financial assistance and capacity building for the development of the legal framework in relation to the Articles V, VIII and X, and for the implementation of the proposed measures. With respect to Article V (Freedom of Transit), it would be more beneficial to target technical assistance and capacity building support at a regional level to complement national efforts.      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