Expert to Support Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)

USAID Vietnam Trade Facilitation Program
SCOPE OF WORK
Support implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)

Proposed Personnel:              Name TBD,
                                              National WTO NTFC Expert

Period of Performance:          o/a August 29 – October 20, 2022

Origin/Destination:                Hanoi, Vietnam

Travel Dates:                          A field trip (2-3 days)

Activity No.:                       FY2021 Activity 1.5– Support and increase the role and effectiveness of the National Committee of Trade Facilitation (NTFC) including Standing Office and any Working Groups. (Sub- activities 1.5.1 Support the strengthening of the NTFC)

MEL indicator(s):                    EG 2_1-1 and CLBD 9

Project Background:

The USAID Vietnam Trade Facilitation Program is a five-year project that aims to support the adoption and implementation of a more risk-based approach to customs and specialized inspection institutions in Vietnam. The program will work with the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) to strengthen the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) of Vietnam and its Working Groups; streamline border clearance procedures (including specialized inspection implemented by other line ministries and agencies); harmonize the implementation of risk-based approaches between the national and provincial levels; train national and provincial customs officers and staff from other ministries on risk management; and facilitate dialogue between customs and business and between stakeholders in Hanoi and in the provinces.

Activity Background

Objective: The overall aim is to provide assessment and recommend solutions for Vietnam to increase the role and effectiveness of Vietnam National Trade Facilitation Committee.

Background: Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded the negotiations on a Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which entered into force in February 2017 after two-thirds of WTO members completed their ratification process. Vietnam had notified the WTO of acceptance of the Protocol of Amendment and ratification of the TFA on 15 December 2015. Vietnam has undertaken a self-assessment of the articles or measures of the WTO TFA identifying which are Category ‘A’ (measures that will be implemented by the time the TFA enters into force); Category ‘B’ (measures that will be implemented after a transitional period following entry into force of the TFA); and Category ‘C’ (measures that will be implemented on a date after a transitional period following entry into force of the TFA and requiring the acquisition of assistance and support for capacity building). The Government of Vietnam (GVN) subsequently identified 14 measures as Category ‘B’ and 9 measures as Category ‘C’.

In 2020 the Program conducted a study and issued a Report on Vietnam’s Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The Report provided an assessment on Vietnam’s current status and situation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) measures identified as Category A, B and C, and recommendations of acceptance, validation and further action for full implementation and timeline for full implementation of the Agreement against notifications sent to the WTO.

TFA Article 23.2 provides that each Member shall establish and/or maintain a national committee on trade facilitation or designate an existing mechanism to facilitate both domestic coordination and implementation of this Agreement. Art. 23.2 was not included in the Category B or C commitments meaning that TFA Members are not permitted to delay their establishment of an NTFC, which demonstrates the importance the Agreement places on NTFCs. In November 2020, the program conducted an analytical report in order to support and increase the role and effectiveness of Vietnam National Trade Facilitation Committee (V-NTFC). The GDVC IT Department, acting as the Standing Office of the V-NTFC, included several recommendations of the report in the working document of the last NTFC meeting, held in Hanoi on August 5. After the meeting it is expected that NTFC will provide guidance to NTFC members in order to implement the reforms suggested by the report.

The GVN procedure to identify and implement the necessary actions to promote the NTFC reforms might last several months.

In the meantime, it is of crucial importance to raise the awareness among the NTFC members about the areas for improvement. Indeed, NTFC members participating to the regular meetings of “Committee 1899” showed a lack of interest on the institutional aspects of trade facilitation as they are more focused on addressing the technical issues under their mandate. In Vietnam, so far, there has not been a public debate about the effectiveness of the NTFC activity. Moreover, even if Vietnam showed important achievements in facilitating trade, the results achieved are still far from being satisfactory. For example, according to the World Bank Doing Business Report for 2020, Vietnam dropped 4 ranks in the Trading Across Borders index (i.e., from 100 to 104). Experts identified in the specialized inspection (SI) procedures the main determinants of this situation. As most of the SI are conducted by those Line Ministries that are members of the NTFC, concerns have been raised about the effective capacity of NTFC in effectively delivering its tasks, which is, among the others, facilitate trade.

Under this Scope of Work, the Program is seeking a national WTO TFA expert to conduct a review and validation of the recommendations included in the above-mentioned report, to provide recommendations on solutions and roadmap to achieve the goal of increasing the role and effectiveness of the Committee and how to implement those solutions.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The national WTO NTFC expert will be responsible for providing a report on the results of the discussions held with the relevant stakeholders about the challenges faced by the V-NTFC and about the capacity of the recommendations included in the report completed by the Program in addressing them. The report will provide a review and a revision of the recommendations as well as a tentative roadmap of the institutional and procedural steps necessary to implement an effective reform of the V-NTFC.  In order to fulfill the tasks and responsibilities, he/she will:

1. get feedback from relevant NTFC members (focusing on key members such as MOIT, MOF, MOST, MOH, MARD, and VCCI) of the recommendations included in the Program’s NTFC assessment report.
2. Basing on the feedback and on his/her own judgement, validate and update the recommendations;
3. Provide additional recommendations on solutions in order to increase the role and effectiveness of the Committee.
4. Prepare a roadmap to implement those recommended solutions, describing the procedural and institutional steps necessary to implement effectively the V-NTFC reform;
5. Consult with stakeholders and finalize the final report

Deliverables

• An agreed Workplan for the activities
• A final report which includes the summary of the consultations held with the relevant line Ministries, the assessment of each recommendation and the proposals for their revisions as well as new recommendations and a roadmap identifying the necessary institutional and procedural steps to implement the reform of the V-NTFC. .

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience coordinating or working with line ministries and/or customs in Vietnam at central or provincial level;
• Proven experience of working with, or practical knowledge of, implementing the WTO TFA;
• Good understanding of the WTO and WCO instruments such as the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC);
• Background knowledge and understanding of the current status of Vietnam as related to trade facilitation measures and implementation of the WTO TFA;
• Proficient in word processing, spreadsheets and office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Applications;
• Good communicator with fluency in Vietnamese and with strong written, oral and presentation skills;
• English language skills preferred; and
• Ability to travel within Vietnam.

Reporting

The national WTO NTFC Expertwill report to Mr. Claudio Dordi, Chief of Party ([email protected])  and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bich Ha, the Program’s Trade and National Trade Facilitation Committee Expert ([email protected]).

How to apply:

Applications should be sent to [email protected] no later than August 19, 2022.