Government assesses trade facilitation needs

Accra, Aug. 25, GNA - A week-long workshop opened in Accra on Monday to assess Ghana's trade facilitation needs to ensure effective negotiation for differential treatment at ongoing trade facilitation negotiations. The workshop, which is expected to provide proposals to influence trade facilitation negotiations, has drawn facilitators from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to assist the participants who are from both public and private sectors to develop the country's trade facilitation needs.

Addressing the workshop, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiatives, said linking trade related institutions in a more productive way to improve the business environment, especially at the ports was a challenge confronting the nation. Papa Owusu-Ankomah said a situation where institutions unilaterally initiated their own regulations and laws also posed a challenge to the business community and called for the publication of those laws and regulations to ensure that there was transparency. He said there was the need to incorporate comprehensive technical assistance and capacity building provisions with flexible domestic policy necessary to respond to country specific circumstances in the New Trade Facilitation Agreement.

He urged the participants to develop appropriate technical assistance requirements to enable the country to implement obligations arising out of the trade facilitation agreement. Mr Robert Struthers, a Technical Officer of the World Customs Organisation, said the World Trade Organization's negotiation proposals agreed by its members would be used to assist the participants to assess the country's needs. He expressed the hope that the workshop would come out with proposals that would guide the country's negotiators at the trade facilitation negotiations. 25 Aug. 08