The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), established in 1964 as an intergovernmental organisation to promote the interests of developing countries in world trade, announced on May 30 the launch of the Trade Facilitation Innovation Days 2022: Accelerating Solutions to Trade Facilitation Challenges, scheduled for June 27 to 28. The event will be held online, but with a physical opening session at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Trade Facilitation Committee was created on February 22, 2017, when the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) entered into force. The TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues between customs administrations and other bodies. Further, it contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.

The Trade Facilitation Innovation Days 2022 event is co-organised by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, Unctad and the WTO. It aims to bring together a diverse community of trade facilitation experts, government officials, logistics providers, industrial leaders, entrepreneurs, software developers, academics, think-tanks, incubators and other stakeholders to advance the innovation that is needed in the world of international trade. For the two days, participants will take deep dives into highly focused trade-facilitation-related matters and have the opportunity to attend workshops, learn and possibly meet the right stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of innovative solutions.

Although the agenda is still a work in progress, Unctad has provided an indication of what can be expected during the two-day event. It is expected to bring together applied actors to co-create and collaborate; break silos between organisations and fields; enable informal networking opportunities; provide practical insights into pressing challenges by different actors in the field of trade facilitation; shape a forward-thinking community; unleash novel ideas and solutions; and give a voice to minority stakeholders.

Significant TFA resources are available, such as the WTO TFA Facility, which was launched on July 22, 2014, and became operational on November 27, 2014. It was created at the request of developing- and least- developed-country WTO members to help ensure that they benefit fully from the TFA and to support the ultimate goal of full implementation of the TFA by all WTO members.

Unctad itself has a dedicated site, ‘Resources for National Trade Facilitation Bodies’, which features the ‘Empowerment Programme for National Trade Facilitation Bodies’, the ‘Map on Trade Facilitation Bodies’ and the ‘Different Types of Trade Facilitation Bodies’.

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, which supports governments in developing and least-developed countries in implementing the WTO’s TFA, has a TFA hub that “brings together everything you need to know in one place”.

Should you be interested in attending the Trade Facilitation Innovation Days 2022: Accelerating Solutions to Trade Facilitation Challenges, please contact Celine Bacrot, of Unctad’s Trade Facilitation Section on celine.bacrot@unctad.org. To monitor any developments, you can visit

https://unctad.org/meeting/launch-trade-facilitation-innovation-days-2022.

Au revoir, Mike and Mike

No one says it quite like the French. They say au revoir, which is not goodbye. I hate goodbyes. I have had to say au revoir to two economists who, I like to believe, made me a far better economist than I would otherwise have been. Many years ago, it was my economics professor, Mike (Mihkel) Truu, and, most recently, Mike Schüssler. Both Mikes were taken from us far too soon.

The only words of solace that seem appropriate at this time are from Jan F Cilliers: “Stil, broers, daar gaan 'n man verby, hy groet, en dis verlaas. Daar's nog maar één soos hy; bekyk hom goed”, which translates to: “Silence, brothers, a man is passing. He greets, for the last time. There is but one like him: remember how he looks.”