What companies teach us about conformity assessment procedures (CAP) Insights from ITC Business Survey on Non-Tariff Measures

Transcription

1 What companies teach us about conformity assessment procedures (CAP) Insights from ITC Business Survey on Non-Tariff Measures Mathieu Loridan TBT Committee, Thematic session on CAP 28 March 2017

2 2 Quiz question: What is the most problematic CAP for businesses? Go to and use the code

3 3 CAP are here to stay Source: Overview of the TBT committee's work on conformity assessment procedures, Note by the Secretariat, 22 March

4 Beyond the numbers, how CAP affect trade? ITC s Programme on Non-tariff Measures 4 Pillar 1 NTM Data Collection Pillar 2 Business Surveys Pillar 3 Follow Up Actions Transparency pillar: making regulations publicly available Searchable by HS code, country, NTM Dissemination through Market Access Map Giving SMEs a voice: identifying trade obstacles Surveys of exporters and importers on their experiences with government regulations Overcoming trade obstacles: designing technical assistance to overcome trade obstacles E.g.: Trade Obstacles Alert mechanism

5 5 NTM Survey: Two-step interview process Step 1 Phone Screens (PS) Step 2 Face-to-Face interviews (FTF) samples per country 6-8 min per interview Identify products exported by the company and partner countries Identify if the company face problems with burdensome regulations Companies facing problems with NTMs as identified in PS interviewed face-to-face interviews per country min per interview All details of the problem faced by the company recorded

6 What we have learned from businesses in 37 countries: 6 53% of companies face burdensome NTMs Exporters are more affected than importers Exporters of agricultural products report more problems than those in manufacturing Small firms report more frequently problems related to burdensome NTMs Three-quarters of burdensome NTMs are applied by partner countries Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries,

7 41% of burdensome NTMs applied by partner countries relate to CAP Cambodia Madagascar Kazakhstan Jamaica Indonesia Palestine, State of Egypt Côte d'ivoire Tanzania, United Uganda Colombia Benin Thailand Trinidad and Peru Morocco Uruguay Dominican Republic Sri Lanka Guinea EU Comoros Kenya Paraguay Mali Mauritius Philippines Tunisia Bangladesh Senegal Ethiopia Rwanda Malawi Ecuador Seychelles Nepla Burkina Faso Kyrgyzstan 19% 23% 23% 24% 24% 26% 28% 28% 29% 31% 31% 32% 32% 33% 33% 34% 34% 34% 35% 37% 39% 42% 43% 43% 44% 44% 46% 47% 50% 53% 57% 59% 60% 60% 62% 67% 68% 69% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 7 Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries + EU,

8 CAP is the first burdensome NTMs faced by both agri-food and manufacturing exporters 8 100% 90% 80% 70% 28% 13% 34% Technical requirements Conformity assessment Pre-shipment inspection Trade remedies Quantity control measures 60% Charges, taxes and price control measures 50% 40% 30% 48% Finance Measures Anti-competitive measures Distribution restrictions Restriction of post-sales services 20% 10% 0% 10% Agriculture 31% Manufacturing Subsidies Government procurement restrictions Intellectual property Rules of origin Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries,

9 Product certification and testing gather 80% of CAP obstacles 9 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2% 7% 24% 28% 59% 47% 7% 11% Agriculture Manufacturing Product registration Testing Product certification Inspection requirement Origin of materials and parts Processing history Products distribution/location after delivery Other traceability requirements Quarantine Other conformity assessment Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries,

10 It is rather the how (procedure) than the why (regulation) that creates CAP obstacles 10 12% Regulatory obstacles 69% 19% Combination of regulatory and procedural obstacles Procedural obstacles Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries,

11 Most obstacles occur at home and concern delays, high fees and lack of facilities 11 Time constraints Informal or unusually high payment Lack of sector-specific facilities Lack of recognition / accreditation Administrative burdens Information / transparency issues Disciminatory behavior of officials Other 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% In the partner country At home Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries,

12 Inefficient testing and certification procedures 12 Lengthy procedures Frequent renewal Excessive paperwork and numerous administrative windows Inaccessible or absent infrastructure The testing process takes 1-2 months while the validity of the product itself is just a year. Another issue is that it is very expensive to undertake this test which hinders us from exporting. The problem? It s the quantity of papers to submit! There are too many documents needed to prepare the dossier. More than 20 different documents are required for the conformity assessment process. Source: ITC Businesses Survey on NTMs in 37 countries,

13 Take-aways from ITC s NTM Surveys 13 Market access begins at home The advantage of home-based problems is that you can solve them There is a great need to tackle before-the-border problems that businesses experience with behind-the-border measures Trade facilitation: make trade agreements work Having policies, laws and agreements is one thing effectively implementing them another Transparency is key Processes may be complicated and lengthy for good reasons. But there is no good reason for them to be unclear or non-transparent.

14 14 Don t forget the quiz question: What is the most problematic CAP for businesses? Go to and use the code

15 ITC s NTM Surveys in numbers 15 Over 8,150 face-toface interviews..with companies employing more than 4 million people Representative for exporters and importers in 39 developing countries + 28 EU countries Nearly 30,000 reported trade obstacles concerning trade with 185 partner countries A MILLION DATA POINTS TO EXPLOIT FOR HIGHER TRTA IMPACT

16 ITC Survey results 16 NTM Survey website: ITC publication series on NTMs o Country reports (24 reports + 13 ongoing) o Cross-country reports (Arab States, ECOWAS, Invisible barriers)

17 17 And then? Examples of initiatives to address identified problems Reduction of NTM-related trade barriers Côte d Ivoire: Continued public-private interaction through the creation of an online trade obstacles alert mechanism Arab States: Regional integration project for increased transparency of regulations, customs procedures and harmonization efforts (ROO) Sri Lanka: Successful application to WTO STDF and implementation of a project aimed at improving safety and quality of fruits and vegetables Mauritius: Elimination of 27 import permits resulting in reduced time for importing Jamaica: Request to ITC for assistance in addressing capacity building needs of SMEs as well as customs officials to increase compliance with NTMs and reduce procedural obstacles

18 18 What is the most problematic CAP for businesses? Participants answers

19 Thank you! For any question: Or learn more on: