Montenegro and Albania have become the latest WTO Members to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), bringing the total number of ratifications to 79.

Montenegro’s WTO Ambassador Zorica Marić-Djordjević and Albania’s WTO Ambassador Filloreta Kodra both deposited their country’s TFA instruments of acceptance with the WTO Secretariat on 10 May.

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. 

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.