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Do you have or had an inter-agency
working group on trade
facilitation? If yes, what is
the official title of this
working group? |
Yes, National Working Group on
Trade facilitation |
| What motivated the establishment of the TF working group? |
Studies
carried out by the World Bank
identified the need for trade
facilitation in Pakistan and
funded a Trade and Transport
Facilitation Project (TTFP) with
technical support of UNCTAD.
Establishment of NTTFC was a
prerequisite for successful
implementation of TTFP. |
| Do you have other national bodies dealing with WTO issues and/or with TF? |
The Inter Institutional Trade
Committee and WTO subcommittee
handles WTO issues |
| Was the working group based on a previously existing multi-agency group/committee (for example a trade and transport faciltiation committee)? |
- - |
| What is the current status of the working group (running, pilot phase, study) |
It is not working well, we have
had two meetings only this year.
It has not been officially
formalised and therefore has no
funding. |
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| Has the working group been set up as an ad hoc group, or a legal entity/organization? |
Presently it is ad hoc, we hope
to make it legal |
| What specific documents were necessary to institutionalise the group and which body and at which level made the decisions? |
The formation of the group
followed the Trade facilitation
needs assessment that was done
in 2007 December. Earlier
efforts to establish one in 2006
after a workshop organised by
World Bank did not materialise. |
What is the scope/manadate of the working group? |
The group is expected to
analyse proposals presented
by different members of WTO
and provide advise to Geneva
negotiators, follow up on
bilateral negotiations in
the area of trade
facilitation, analyse issues
related to trade
facilitation at the domestic
level and advise policy
makers including the IITC. |
| Does the working group have terms of reference? |
- - |
| Which is the coordinating agency |
The Ministry of Tourism, Trade
and Industry is the coordinating
agency |
What is the structure of the group
(Chair/co-chair, sub-groups etc.)? |
- - |
| Do you have a permanent technical secretariat? |
We do not have a permanent
secretariat and this has made
operation of the working group
very difficult |
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Who carries the costs of the
operations of the working group?
(one institution, co-sharing
with other institutions, or
external funding) |
The few meetings we have had
have been funded by the MTTI,
lack of funds to cover the
activities of the working group
has hindered its operation. |
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What are the principal
costing items of the operations
of the working group? |
They include: secretariat,
refreshments for meetings,
research papers where
applicable, transport refund
where applicable, communication
i.e. airtime etc |
| Do you have a formal budget for the operations of the working group? |
- - |
| If yes, what major items are covered by it? |
- - |
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| What are the objectives of the working group? |
- Build upon the report
and matrix of Uganda ‘s self
–assessment on trade
facilitation needs(annex 2)
- This shall
include analysis of the
barriers to expediting
trade facilitation.
Members shall make
suggestions, and where
possible, create
implementation plans on
how these barriers can
be removed.
- Members
shall identify gaps in
Uganda’s trade
Facilitation and analyze
the types of capacity
building required, both
donor assisted capacity
building and possible
Ugandan led initiatives.
- Provide Geneva based
Ugandan officials, involved
in the WTO negotiation
advice on:
-Uganda’s capabilities
vis-à-vis WTO Member State’s
proposal to clarify GATT V,
VIII and X.
-Uganda’s position on
whether she supports WTO
Members states’ proposals.
-Development and Monitoring
of the COMESA Simplified
Trade Regime (STR) work
plan.
- Provide the back up
information for the EAC,
COMESA and EPAs negotiations
on trade facilitation.
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Does the working group have a
working plan? |
It has not been developed |
| How do you monitor progress in implementing the work
plan? |
The working group has not been
functioning as expected |
| How often, and in which form and to whom is the working group reporting? |
The working group is expected to
report to the Inter
institutional Trade Committee,
however it has also been
realised that such kind of
reporting mechanism may increase
the bureaucracy. Some members
are advocating for changes so
that it can report directly to
the Competitiveness and
Investment Climate Strategy. The
CICS steering committee is
chaired by Ministry of Finance,
co-chaired by MTTI comprising
but with stakeholders from
different agencies who are part
of the NWGTF. |
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| What public or quasi-public agencies participate in the working group? |
- Ministry of Tourism,
Trade and Industry
- Ministry of Finance
Planning and Economic
Development
- Ministry of Information
and Technology
- Ministry of Agriculture
Animal Industry and
Fisheries,
- Ministry of Justice and
Constitutional Affairs,
- Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
- Uganda Revenue Authority
- Uganda Export Promotion
Board
- Uganda Investment
Authority
- Uganda National Bureau
of Standards
- Ministry of Works and
Transport
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| What private associations or entities participate? |
- Uganda Clearing &
Forwarding Agents
Association
- Private Sector
Foundation Uganda
- Uganda National Chamber
of Commerce and Industry
- Private Sector
Foundation Uganda
- KACITA
- Uganda Transporters
Association
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| What is the level of seniority of the participants? |
- - |
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| Does the working group meet regularly? |
We have met twice this year in
the 1st Quarter |
| What is the level of participation in each of the meetings ? |
Active |
| Do you use different meetings formats (such as focus groups, brainstorming, Citizen jury's etc?)? |
Focus groups |
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| How do you keep all stakeholders informed of the working groups' meetings and new documents, upcoming events etc? |
send information by email |
| How does the group interace with other working groups / committees working on similar issues? |
Some are members of Inter
institutional Trade Committee |
| Do you undertake special information session for the general public or particular stakeholders? |
No |
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| What was the impact of the work of the group? |
Advise on proposals submitted in
wTO |
| How does it benefit your countries' responsiveness to the WTO negotiation process? |
Improve understating of
implementation of the proposals. |
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Have there been concrete operational outcomes? |
Slight |
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| What are the crucial success factors? |
Regular meetings, contributions
to proposals, development of
proposals, regular
updates/monitoring of
implementation of trade
facilitation measures
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| What are the greatest obstacles? |
Receiving proposals timely,
clear understanding of some
proposals |
| What are the main lessons learned? |
Need for regular meetings, need
to update the needs assessment |
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| What are the plans for further development of the working group? |
Would like to develop a
strategic plan, update the needs
assessment
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Ms.
Elizabeth Tamale
Email:
etamale@mtti.go.ug
Elizabeth.tamale@yahoo.com
Tel: +256-752-995663 |
