11-13 May 2009, Dushanbe Serguei Kouzmine Chief, Trade Facilitation Unit

1. Seminar on Trade facilitation at the Border at Central Asia Trade Facilitation Guide : Cooperation of Regulatory Agencies at the Border 11-13 May 2009, Dushanbe  Serguei Kouzmine Chief, Trade Facilitation Unit United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

2. Why focus on border management? • Cost of inefficient border formalities • TF costs and companies competitiveness • Advanced logistics and just in time manufacturing regimes and expectations for prompt and predictable goods clearance • International commitments (i.e. at WTO) • Competition for foreign investment • Regional trading agreements ( customs work) • Importance of good governance • National security and consumer safety (role of customs and border agencies)

3. From “culture of control” to “culture of shared responsibilities” • “Traditional” regulatory approach: - Control  inspect  punish • “Smart” regulatory approach: - Focus on outcome (not on tools/means) - Risk/Cost/benefit assessment through consultation, balance of interests

4. Consultation with stakeholders - WHY? • Transparency = understanding = compliance • Reduce regulatory failures ( problem or its "shadow"?) • Best solution = tactical (new procedure/paper) or structural? Result: “Smart" regulation, partnerships, and Good Governance

5. National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committees (Rec. 4) Governments should establish and support national trade facilitation bodies with balanced private and public sector participation in order to: • Identify issues affecting the cost and efficiency of their country’s international trade; • Develop measures to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of international trade; • Provide a national focal point for the collection and dissemination of information on best practices in international trade facilitation; and • Assist in the implementation of those measures, and • Participate in international efforts to improve trade facilitation and efficiency.

6. TF at WTO • WTO Workshop “Establishment of an effective trade facilitation task force” (or committee, working group, …) 29 April 2009, Geneva • National trade facilitation working group (proposal by Honduras, Norway and Switzerland)

7. Main management border issues : • Efficient regulatory controls and cost effective clearance processes – balance ? • Extend risk management techniques used by customs to all agencies operating at the border • Establish compliance regimes across border agencies with incentives/disincentives to encourage voluntary compliance • Appropriate physical infrastructure and ICT to achieve the most cost effective border clearance processes • Address administrative corruption at the border • Build and maintain the necessary political and institutional will and commitment

8. Good Governance & border management (domestic) Where to start ? • Nomination of a lead agency • Convert individual missions and procedures into single set of requirements • Delegation of authority to another agency • Single border agency (or MoU among them) • Single window • High(est) political will, commitment, decision.

9. GGP- international (neighbour) • Joint inspections (common facilities, shared use of equipment, etc.) • Information exchange, ICT (24 hour rule) • Move physical controls from the border (to departure or destination ) • Border controls= verification of documents • Standardized documents, procedures (based on int. tools)  Faster Controls  TF

10. “Burdensome” procedures Benchmarking, Gap Analysis, Performance and Risk Management, … • Criteria of border controls success? (0% or 100% of inspected products /companies are safe/compliant ? ) • What are “legitimate” border controls requirements? (e.g. “disappearing companies”; examples from USAID cost market project)

11. automobile road Almaty – Samarkand – Mazar-e-Sharif railroad Dushanbe – Kurgan-Tyube – Kabul Khorog – Karasu – Kashgar Khorog – Murgab – Osh Aktau – Bukhara – Termez – Kabul Kustanay – Kzyl-Orda – Termez Astana – Shymkent - Termez Almaty – Shymkent – Termez – Kabul Tashkent – Kzyl – Orda – Samara Bishkek – Shymkent - Tashkent – Kabul

12. Aktau – Bukhara – Termez – Kabul City Town/SettlementCross Border Station (7) StationaryPost (1) Mobile Post (4)Departure Station • Type of goods transported: iron and steel scrap • Number of companies interviewed: 5 • Total distance: 2 512 km • Total average time: 16.33 days • Total time spent on rail and road transportation : 9.80 days • Total time spent at stations and checkpoints: 6.53 days • Total average cost: 7306 USD • Cost per km: 2.9 USD • Share of formal payments in total cost: 87.93 % • Share of agreed payments ( to carrier and freight forwarder) in total cost: 3.82 % • Share of informal payments: 7.51% (+ 500-600 USD in case of unscheduled transportation, 100 USD to Kazakh officials in case of problems with documents, plus 50-100 USD per rail car to the Turkmen side in case of the problems with agreement of the plan) • Share of road transportation cost: 0.74 % Beineu Karakalpakstan Aktau • Cross border station of Kazakhstan “Oazis”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 12 hours; Total cost: $ 0 • Cross border station of Uzbekistan “Karakalpakiya”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 12 hours; Total cost: $ 290 Procedure of goods departure from the departure station in Aktau: Total time: 24 hours; Total cost: $ 2279 Bukhara Chardzhou • Cross border station of Uzbekistan “Nishan”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 6 hours; Total cost: $ 0 • Cross border station of Turkmenistan “Talimardzhan”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 6 hours; Total cost: $ 0 • Cross border station of Turkmenistan “Raziezd 161”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 6 hours; Total cost: $ 0 • Cross border station of Uzbekistan “Boldyr”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 6 hours; Total cost: $ 0 Boldyr Termez • Hairaton cross border station (Afghanistan): • Transshipment of goods from railcars to trucks • Border control • Customs control • Transport control • Total time: 3 days; Total cost: $ 247 • Cross border station of Uzbekistan “Galaba”: • Carrier • Border control • Customs control • Ecology control • Total time: 12 hours; Total cost: $ 45 Hairaton 4 Mobile SRI checkpoints Total time: 40 m.; Total cost: $ 200 Kabul cost time map

13. Tajikistan Border Post "Nizhniy Pyandzh“ Time: 2h 30 min Afghanistan Border Post "Sherkhan“ Time: 5h -stops in the route Dushanbe – Kurgan – Tyube – Kunduz – Kabul (time) Total average time: 20.01 hours (0.8 days) route cost map

14. Border Crossing PerformanceIndicators – based on what ? • Benchmarks (are they relevant?) • How to weight role of elements: • Infrastructure (road and custom), personnel, documents, procedures, etc. • Proposals from UNECE/ESCAP? • Initiate business/border process analysis on main transit routes • Repository of problems/obstacles

15. Trade Facilitation Implementation Guide (TFIG) • A comprehensive, modular, Guide to Trade Facilitation Implementation • Twelve Case Studies on Trade Facilitation Implementation (to be integrated into the Guide) • Training Material for both trainers and participants to complement the Guide • Pilot workshops to test the effectiveness of the Guide and related material • A Website and CD-ROM version of the Guide and related material.

16. UN Network of Experts(UN Next) A Network of experts and practitioners: • With a regional focus: Asia and the Pacific • To support projects defined by national Governments and the subregional organizations (such as ASEAN, APEC, …) • Exchange of expertise and experiences on technical and managerial level • To develop and share competence, tools and best practice

17. Strategic Approach to Realising the Benefits of Trade Facilitation • Undertake detailed needs and process analysis and set priorities at both national and regional level • Establish a strong dialogue and partnerships between government and business and between national agencies • Cultivate the necessary political will, and • Cooperation (national, regional, international)

18. THANK YOU For more information contact: Mr. Serguei KouzmineChief, Trade Facilitation Unit UNECE Trade Division Tel. (41 22) 917 27 71Fax (41 22) 917 0479/0037e-mail : serguei.kouzmine@unece.org United Nations Economic Commission for Europe