About This Offer

Digitalizing processes, removing red tape, and simplifying procedures reduce the time, cost, and complexity of cross-border trade, which in turn strengthens economies, attracts investment, and reduces reliance on external assistance. The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation is a public-private partnership that empowers developing countries to build capacity by supporting governments in simplifying border procedures, to the benefit of partner countries, as well as U.S.-based and other businesses that trade with them. The Alliance does this by working with agencies such as customs, ministries, standards and regulatory bodies, and ports to simplify and digitalize processes. Recognizing that governments own trade systems, but that businesses are their primary users, the Alliance also works with a network of chambers of commerce, MSMEs, and global business partners, including leading U.S. companies such as Abbott, Cisco, UPS, and Walmart, which help us identify bottlenecks in supply chains and support project implementation. More specifically, the Alliance can support Participating States in: Digitalizing trade processes For example, the Alliance and Ecuador partnered to digitalize phytosanitary certificates, which is saving agri-food traders an estimated USD 6.2 million each year. Improving customs systems For example, in Uganda, we worked with the government to modernize inspection processes for horticultural exports, cutting export clearance times by 44 percent. Optimizing border operations For example, we are currently partnering with the government of North Macedonia to create a digital link between the customs and postal systems to make e-commerce more accessible for small businesses. Many projects include components from more than one of the areas above, and some extend beyond these scopes. What they all have in common is that they are built on local ownership, centered on public-private partnerships, and address soft infrastructure by removing barriers to trade, with measurable results in terms of reductions in the time and cost of conducting trade. Once the reforms are implemented, the improved processes are managed and sustained by partner governments without dependence on continued external support. We have learned that our methodology for commercial trade can also be applied to simplifying processes for humanitarian imports and addressing the often-overlooked issue of delays in customs and import systems for critical health supplies. For example, an initiative championed by our business partner Abbott in Mozambique streamlined imports of health supplies, cutting clearance times by 25 percent. This is another area where the Alliance is working with partners, governments, and the private sector to support better systems. The Alliance does not ask for funding from partner countries nor the private sector, but is supported by developed-country governments, including Canada, Germany, and Sweden, and the European Union, which recognize that investing in simplifying procedures is a win-win for them and partner countries.

Limitations

As a donor-funded initiative, the Alliance has resources to explore new opportunities and scale up its project portfolio, but any potential new activities would need to align with existing or potential future funding.