The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is a public-private partnership for trade-led growth. Its mandate is to assist governments in developing and least developed countries (LDCs) implement the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement. It does so by bringing together governments and businesses as equal partners to identify opportunities to address unnecessary red tape and delays at borders and design and deploy targeted reforms that deliver commercially quantifiable results.

The Alliance is led by the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Economic Forum, in cooperation with Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It is funded by the governments of the Canada, European Union, Germany and Sweden.

TFA specific TACB resources

The initiative currently operates one TACB resource that can be accessed for WTO Members for the Implementation of the Section I of the WTO TFA. All Members are eligible. This resource is funded by multiple donors. 

It funds a portfolio of a current portfolio of 26 projects (implementing and scoping) across developing and least developed countries, with 32 successfully completed. These projects support countries in implementing the TFA through an approach built upon three pillars:

• Fostering public private partnerships by bringing governments and businesses together as equal partners in tackling trade barriers to identify the root causes of trade problems and map out ways to collaboratively resolve them.
• Delivering targeted reforms by identifying specific logistical bottlenecks and designing tailor-made interventions benefitting both businesses and governments. 
• Measuring impacts of trade facilitation interventions by showing how projects cut the time and costs associated with trade for both business and government. To date, our initiatives have generated US$213 million in savings and delivered a return on investment of 240%.

Brief description of any upcoming assistance and activities

In addition to supporting WTO Members in meeting their category C commitments, the Alliance is now exploring initiatives that address broader global challenges through trade facilitation tools. 

• Easing humanitarian supply flow: The Alliance in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) implements a project to streamline import processes for essential supplies in 10 new countries over the next two years.
• Building disaster-resilient border processes: The Alliance is exploring opportunities to help countries strengthen continuity in border and clearance processes so essential goods can reach affected populations quickly and trade can resume rapidly during recovery.
• Scaling up ePhyto in Africa: The Alliance is working with partners to connect 80% of Africa to the ePhyto Hub through the implementation of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto solution. A new project involving six countries has now begun to advance this effort.
• Enabling a circular economy: The Alliance jointly with partners is developing a project to digitalize the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure under the Basel Convention. Focus on electronic waste from Pacific Island countries to recycling facilities in Australia or New Zealand.
• Leveraging new technologies; As new trade technology becomes increasingly central to trade facilitation, the Alliance is exploring how to engage with emerging open-source and non-profit digital solutions, with a strong focus on governance, capacity building, and procurement models that enable developing countries to adopt these tools effectively and sustainable.