The government has started the process of setting up a national committee which will be chaired by cabinet secretary and will coordinate and implement the WTO’s trade facilitation agreement (TFA). This committee will assist the ease of doing trade through effective cooperation between custom authorities and relevant stakeholders.
The TFA will help in simplification of trade procedures and also help in promoting cross-border trade, bring greater predictability to traders and reduce transaction costs. With the trade facilitation agreement, WTO members are encouraged to share information on best practices in managing customs compliance.Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India has maintained that in the WTO negotiations first the agenda of Doha round of trade negotiations should be completed.
Sitharaman further said that the government has taken various steps to track the trade restrictive measures of other countries through various mechanisms such as regular interaction, organizing workshops on important issues like standards and monitoring of draft notifications of member countries.