Chamber of Commerce Urges Western Hemisphere Ratification of Facilitation Agreement
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue urged all Western Hemisphere countries to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of 2015, in line with the timeframe target put forth by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “The…
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agreement advances reforms that would streamline the passage of goods across borders by cutting red tape and bureaucracy in ways that could boost the world economy by as much as $1 trillion,” said Donohue on April 8 at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City (here). “Every nation in this hemisphere who signed that agreement should ratify it this year, implement it in a commercially meaningful way, and ensure that the private sector has a seat at the table during the entire process.” USTR is pressuring ratification by the end of 2015 for two-thirds of World Trade Organization membership, the threshold required to implement the agreement (see 1502240001). President Barack Obama will attend the summit on April 10-11, and his delegation intends to encourage TFA ratification, administration officials said recently (see 1504070072). Donohue also voiced support for Trade Promotion Authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership in his remarks.