Côte d’Ivoire, Grenada and Saint Lucia have all ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The WTO Secretariat received the countries’ instruments of acceptance on 8 December.

The three ratifications bring up to 56 the number of WTO Members that have accepted the TFA, or more than half the number needed to secure its entry into force.  Ratification by two-thirds of the WTO membership is required for the TFA to take effect.

Côte d'Ivoire is the fifth African country to accept the TFA, along with Mauritius, Botswana, Niger, and Togo.  Grenada and Saint Lucia are the second and third Caribbean island nations to ratify the TFA, after Trinidad and Tobago.

Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has the potential to increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion per annum, according to the WTO’s flagship World Trade Report released on 26 October.  Significantly, the Report also found that developing countries will benefit significantly from the TFA, capturing more than half of the available gains.