In accordance with the approved terms of reference (TD/B/55/9, paras. 1-5), the fourth and last session of the multi-year expert meeting will review topics discussed in the previous three sessions and will address the following topics:
 

• Measures and actions to optimize the contribution of investment, in particular private-sector investment, in trade facilitation, with a particular focus on its impacts on international transport networks and on the efficiency of transport services and their contribution to trade facilitation.
  
  The meeting will also deal with the use of information and communication technologies in logistics, trade facilitation and supply chain security... (TD/B/55/9, para. 2 (a)).
  

• Support to the implementation process of the Almaty Programme of Action, including the analysis of bottlenecks between landlocked and transit developing countries, and possible appropriate solutions to address them, including best practices in the development and use of transport infrastructure, as well as the adoption of common standards, in landlocked and transit developing countries... (TD/B/55/9, para. 2 (f)).
   

When improving trade performance and competitiveness, a holistic approach is needed to combine policy actions and measures targeting the access to cost-effective transport services, the energy efficiency and sustainability of transport systems, the impacts of climate change on transport operations, and trade facilitation reforms and customs automation.

In the framework of the mandate provided in paragraphs 107 and 164-168 of the Accra Accord, the meeting will provide an opportunity to look at the road ahead in terms of challenges and policy options in these fields and to consider the role UNCTAD and partners can play to help developing countries in the envisaged follow-up and implementation of policy actions.


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More than 80 per cent of international trade in goods is carried by sea, and an even higher percentage of developing-country trade is carried in ships.

The Review of Maritime Transport, an annual publication prepared by the Division on Technology and Logistics of the UNCTAD secretariat, is an important source of information on this vital sector. It closely monitors developments affecting world seaborne trade, freight rates, ports, surface transport and logistics services, as well as trends in ship ownership and control and fleet age, tonnage supply and productivity.

The Review contains a chapter on legal and regulatory developments and each year includes a special chapter analysing a selected topic in depth. In 2011, the focus is on the participation of developing countries in different maritime businesses.

Key developments reported in this year´s Review include the following:

• After contracting in 2009, international shipping experienced an upswing in demand in 2010, and recorded a positive turnaround in volumes, especially in the dry bulk and container trade segments. Total seaborne trade reached an estimated 8.4 billion tons in 2010.
  
• The year 2010 saw record deliveries of new tonnage, 28 per cent higher than in 2009, resulting in an 8.6 per cent growth in the world merchant fleet. The fleet reached almost 1.4 billion deadweight tons (dwt) in January 2011, an increase of 120 million dwt over 2010. New deliveries stood at 150 million dwt, against demolitions and other withdrawals from the market of approximately 30 million dwt.
  
• The price of newbuildings was lower for all vessels types in 2010, reflecting market views that in the short term, the capacity of the world fleet is sufficient to meet world trade.
  
• World container port throughput increased by an estimated 13.3 per cent to 531 million 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in 2010, after stumbling briefly in 2009. The UNCTAD Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI) reveals that China maintains its lead as the single most connected country. It is followed by Hong Kong (China), Singapore and Germany. In 2011, 91 countries increased their LSCI ranking over 2010, 6 saw no change, and 65 recorded a decrease.
  
• In 2010, the rail freight sector grew by 7.2 per cent to reach 9,843 billion freight ton kilometres (FTKs) The road freight sector grew by 7.8 per cent in 2010 over the previous year, with volumes reaching 9,721 billion FTKs.

Important legal and regulatory developments included the entry into force on 14 September 2011 of the International Convention on Arrest of Ships, which had been adopted at a joint United Nations-International Maritime Organization (IMO) diplomatic conference held in 1999 under the auspices of UNCTAD. Moreover, during 2010 and the first half of 2011, important discussions continued at IMO regarding the scope and content of a possible international regime to control greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.

Developing countries are expanding their participation in a range of different maritime businesses. They already hold strong positions in ship scrapping, ship registration and the supply of seafarers, and they have growing market shares in more capital-intensive or technologically advanced maritime sectors such as ship construction and shipowning. China and the Republic of Korea between them built 72.4 per cent of world ship capacity (dwt) in 2010, and 9 of the 20 largest countries in shipowning in January 2011 are developing countries.

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Global trends in international trade logistics, combined with developments in information and communication technologies, have transformed today’s business environment. In response to those trends, since 2004, the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been negotiating trade facilitation within the Doha Development Round.

In these negotiations and in view of the possible resulting commitments, developing countries are analysing their trade facilitation needs and priorities and attach an increasingly high priority to trade facilitation reforms.

The private sector plays a key role in this endeavour:

• During the negotiation phase, to identify needs and priorities regarding the trading environment and the potential implications of commitments resulting from a multilateral agreement.

• During the implementation stage, the private sector may also contribute with experience and knowledge, as well as actively participate in the application of numerous specific measures on trade facilitation.

The Forum focused on the private sector’s perspectives regarding perceived administrative and procedural obstacles to international trade, and the role of multilateral rules in overcoming these obstacles.

The Forum also outlined how the private sector actors, governments and development agencies contribute to the implementation of possible future commitments under the WTO.

The Forum brought together representatives of governments and the private sector from the Central American region involved in trade facilitation, Geneva-based country delegates, and representatives of regional organizations.

Co-organized with: UNCTAD, in collaboration with the Centro y Observatorio Nacional de Facilitación de Comercio e Inversión en Latinoamérica (CONAFACIL).

Sponsor / funding: The Government of Spain, through the UNCTAD Trust Fund on Capacity building in developing countries and least developed countries to support their effective participation in the WTO negotiations process on trade facilitation.

Contact: Mr. Jan Hoffmann, UNCTAD Trade Facilitation Section
T.: (+41) 22 917 20 32
F.: (+41) 22 917 00 50
E.: jan.hoffmann@unctad.org


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The Forum focused on the private sector’s perspectives regarding perceived administrative and procedural obstacles to international trade, and the role of multilateral rules in overcoming these obstacles.

The Forum also outlined how the private sector actors, governments and development agencies can contribute to the implementation of possible future commitments under the WTO.

The Forum brought together representatives of governments and the private sector from the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) member countries involved in trade facilitation, Geneva-based country delegates, and representatives of regional and international organizations.

Sponsor / funding: The Government of Spain, through the UNCTAD Trust Fund on Capacity building in developing countries and least developed countries to support their effective participation in the WTO negotiations process on trade facilitation.

Co-organized with: UNCTAD, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Contact: Mr. Jan Hoffmann, UNCTAD Trade Facilitation Section
T.: (+41) 22 917 20 32
F.: (+41) 22 917 00 50
E.: jan.hoffmann@unctad.org


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The meeting follows and builds on earlier related activities carried out by the UNCTAD secretariat, including in particular the first session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport and Trade Facilitation, held on 16-18 February 2009 with a focus on "Maritime Transport and the Climate Change Challenge", and a Joint UNECE-UNCTAD Workshop on "Climate Change Impacts on International Transport Networks", held on 8 September 2010.

With over 80 per cent of the volume of world trade carried by sea, international shipping and ports provide crucial linkages in global supply-chains and are essential for the ability of all countries, including those that are landlocked, to access global markets. Ports are likely to be affected directly and indirectly by climatic changes, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and rising temperatures, with broader implications for international trade and for the development prospects of the most vulnerable nations, in particular least developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Given their strategic role as part of the globalized trading system, adapting ports in different parts of the world to the impacts of climate change is of considerable importance. A good understanding of risks and vulnerabilities is a pre-condition to well-designed and effective adaptation response measures that enhance the resilience of port systems, structures and processes and minimize the adverse effects of climatic factors.

Against this background and to help advance the important debate on how best to move forward, the ad hoc expert meeting provides a platform for discussion as well as an opportunity to share information, experiences and practices.

The meeting aims to bring together a wide range of interested parties from the public and private sectors, including policy makers and planning authorities, port industry representatives and operators, port users, relevant international organizations, as well as scientists and engineers, to share their insights and discuss relevant issues with a view to identifying:

     * Vulnerabilities and risks

     * Associated adaptation requirements

     * Existing best practices, information and data sources

     * Issues requiring further study, including data requirements

     * Partners and mechanisms for effective collaboration


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UNCTAD in collaboration with UNECE continue to maintain the on-line repository on national and regional Trade Facilitation Working Groups. The repository offers case studies from countries that have set up an operation national and/or regional coordinating mechanism on trade facilitation.

The repository will be expanded over time. Countries are invited to share their experiences.

Please contact Jan.Hoffmann@unctad.org

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The Technical Notes on Trade Facilitation Measures were first published in 2006 to provide background information on the concepts discussed in the trade facilitation negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO negotiations on trade facilitation have evolved over the past three years, with a number of new issues being brought up, and other concepts dropped.

These notes have been revised to reflect the latest developments in these negotiations; they now feature 17 individual technical notes on trade facilitation. Each of the notes introduces technical and practical details of major trade facilitation concepts and best practices as they relate to the consolidated draft text of the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation issued by the Chair of the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation in December 2009 (TN/TF/W/165 and its revisions)


 

Many trade facilitation measures included in RTAs are non-discriminatory against non-RTA trading partners.

On the other hand, RTAs include some trade facilitation measures such as the provision of advanced rulings, the use of regional standards strictly applied only between RTA partner countries, and simplified customs procedures and fees afforded only to RTA members, and may be discriminatory against third parties.

Another potential complication arises when a country or a regional grouping is party to several RTAs that apply similar trade facilitation measures with different scopes.

This might lead to a "spaghetti bowl" of different customs procedures applied for different trading partners in the region.

The objective of the Ad Hoc Expert Meeting is to suggest, what the role of UNCTAD could be in assisting developing countries in ensuring coherence between regional and multilateral trade facilitation commitments.


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More than 80% of international trade in goods is carried by sea, and an even higher percentage of developing-country trade is carried in ships. The Review of Maritime Transport, an annual publication prepared by the Division on Technology and Logistics - UNCTAD secretariat, is an important source of information on this vital sector. It closely monitors developments affecting world seaborne trade, freight rates, ports, surface transport, and logistics services, as well as trends in ship ownership and control and fleet age, tonnage supply, and productivity. The Review contains a chapter on legal and regulatory developments and each year includes a chapter highlighting a different region. In 2010, the focus is on Asia and the Pacific.

Key developments reported this year´s Review include the following:

• In 2009, world seaborne trade (goods loaded) decreased by 4.5% to 7.94 billion tons.

• By the beginning of 2010, the total world merchant fleet had expanded by an impressive 7%, to reach 1.276 billion deadweight tons (dwt).

• World container port throughput declined by estimated 9.7% to reach 465 million TEUs in 2009, the Review reports.

• UNCTAD´s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index revealed that the average ranking of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2010 was 111, compared to an average ranking of 78 for other developing countries and 64 for developed countries. The rating indicates that LDCs remain isolated from major or frequent shipping routes. Between 2004 and 2010, the connectivity ranking of LDCs improved just 1 point.

• The RMT also details recent developments in maritime legislation such as steps by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding the scope and content of an international regime to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping. In April 2010 a protocol on the 1996 Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention was adopted which aims to overcome obstacles to the ratification and entry into force of the Convention.

• The chapter on the developments in the Asia-Pacific region reviews the period from 2007 to 2009, and gives special consideration to landlocked developing countries in the region. The Review shows a downturn 4 % in economic activity in 2009, reflecting the wide geographical spread of the global 2008 crisis. The Asia-Pacific region decelerated to its lowest level in 8 years. Container trade volumes on the trans-Pacific and the Asia-Europe trades plummeted in 2009 as did intra-Asian container volumes and the Asia-Pacific port container throughput. By mid-2010, economic indicators were showing a recovery in the region´s economic growth and trade.

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Against a background of growing demands on transport and trade brought about by globalisation and with the world economy currently at a critical juncture, the three-day Expert Meeting will provide a forum for discussion and expert policy debate with a view to improving the understanding of various emerging challenges and recent developments affecting transportation and trade facilitation.

Topics are diverse and include: • recent developments in trade facilitation, including the WTO trade facilitation negotiations and relevant regional and national initiatives; • some key issues at the interface of the energy and climate change debate and their implications for transport costs and trade: fossil fuel supplies, the impact of oil prices on transport costs and the costs of climate change adaptation in transportation; • recent developments in the field of environmental regulation and labour standards namely (i) liability for ship-source pollution under the 1996 HNS Convention and the 1992 IOPC Fund Convention regimes, with emphasis on latest developments, (ii) the 2009 Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, and (iii) the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention; • the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in logistics, trade facilitation and supply-chain security.

The programme of speakers includes representatives from the Asian Development Bank, West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), IEA, World Bank, IOPC Fund, IMO, ILO, WCO, CEMAC as well as representatives from national governments and academia.

Relevant documents, including a background note and a provisional agenda are available here. Other information pertaining to the Expert Meeting, including logistical details can also be found by accessing the above weblink.

Participation in the Expert Meeting is open to government nominated experts from all UNCTAD member States, as well as accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Individuals who may wish to approach their government with a view to being nominated as Experts are advised to contact the relevant mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

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The UNECE-UNCTAD Workshop, held, as part of the twenty-third session of the UNECE Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics, is part of a series of UNECE activities focused on climate change and transport, and builds on the expertise and earlier work by UNCTAD on related issues.

It is expected to raise awareness among UNECE and UNCTAD member States, transport industry stakeholders, and intergovernmental/non-governmental organizations about the potentially important challenges climate change impacts and adaptation requirements present for international transportation - a complex set of issues that has so far received little attention.

It is hoped that the Workshop will provide a platform for fruitful and considered discussions and set the pace for future work on how best to bridge the knowledge gaps related to our understanding of climate change impacts on transport networks with a view to identifying adequate adaptation responses. Discussions are expected to cover issues relating to different modes of transportation in international supply-chains, taking into account the situation in both developed and developing countries.

Additional information and documents pertaining to the Workshop will also be posted on the UNECE website.