Paraguay is the 70th WTO Member to ratify the TFA and the second South American nation after Guyana to notify its acceptance. It is also the first member of the MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market) trade bloc to ratify the TFA. Eladio Loizaga, Paraguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented his country’s instrument of acceptance to WTO Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun on 1 March.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of Members have domestically ratified a Protocol of Amendment and notified the WTO of their acceptance of this Protocol. More information on how to present the instrument of ratification 

Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement has the potential to increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion per annum, according to the WTO’s flagship World Trade Report 2015. The Report also found that developing countries will benefit significantly from the TFA, capturing more than half of the available gains.