Monitoring the Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Togo

Magnoudéwa Carole Sotou (sotoucarole1997@gmail.com) et Kwami Ossadzifo Wonyra (kwonyra@afrikact.com)

The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which entered into force in February 2017, represents a strategic opportunity for Togo to boost its trade and establish itself as a competitive logistics hub in West Africa. This policy brief, based on an exploratory study conducted with seven key stakeholders from the National Trade Facilitation Committee, aims to report on the status of the TFA’s implementation in Togo, to highlight the difficulties encountered, and to propose concrete courses of action for decision-makers.

1.     Context and Relevance of the Research Question

Trade plays a central role in the Togolese economy, accounting for 58% of GDP. Togo, a least developed country (LDC) and WTO member since 31 May 1995, operates in a context where trade facilitation is an essential driver of economic development. It is in this light that Togo ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in 2015 – the first multilateral agreement adopted by the WTO since its creation.

The TFA entered into force in February 2017. It aims to accelerate the movement, release and clearance of goods, simplify administrative procedures, reduce processing times and transaction costs, and encourage cooperation between customs authorities. Unlike other WTO agreements, the TFA provides a flexible implementation mechanism adapted to each member’s situation, with technical and financial support for countries facing difficulties. The agreement’s measures are divided into three categories:

• Category A: provisions to be implemented upon entry into force (or within one year for LDCs);
• Category B: provisions to be implemented after a transition period set by the country itself;
• Category C: provisions requiring external technical and financial assistance for their implementation.

Togo designated 16 measures under Category A, 12 under Category B, and 8 under Category C. Five years after the agreement entered into force, the country’s trade growth rate had not improved significantly: it only rose from 6% in 2018 to 8% in 2022, following a dramatic fall to -24% in 2015. This situation raises a central question: what is the actual state of TFA implementation in Togo, and what obstacles are hindering its full application?

2. Research Methodology

In order to provide a contextualised and in-depth answer to this question, a qualitative exploratory research approach was adopted. This approach is based on the collection and analysis of non-quantitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders directly involved in TFA implementation.

Participants were selected on the basis of the focal point list of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), ensuring that their sectors of activity were closely linked to the import and export processes governed by the TFA. A total of seven (7) organisations agreed to participate in the interviews:

• The Togolese Revenue Office (OTR) – Customs Directorate;
• The Single Window Operating Company for Foreign Trade (SEGUCE);
• The Professional Union of Customs Brokers (UPRAD);
• The National Transport Facilitation Committee;
• The General Directorate of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCIT);
• The Togolese Road Hauliers’ Employers’ Federation (FP2TR);
• The Project to Support the Competitiveness of Logistics Services for Trade.

An interview guide structured around four themes was developed: general knowledge of the TFA, trade facilitation measures put in place, effects on the Togolese economy, and challenges and opportunities for ongoing implementation. Data analysis followed a thematic methodology to identify general trends, illustrative cases and divergences, reinforced by triangulation with other documentary sources, notably WTO and UNCTAD data.

3. Results

3.1 Overall Implementation Progress

Analysis of the interviews reveals that TFA implementation in Togo is progressing unevenly across the different categories of measures. The table below presents the alignment between the categories of measures designated by Togo and the objectives of the agreement:

Table 1 – Togo’s progress towards TFA objectives

Category A measures were fully implemented and notified to the WTO on 22 February 2018. Some of these provisions were already in place before the agreement entered into force, which facilitated their application. They enabled Togo to streamline cross-border trade from the very start of the agreement.

Category B measures are on track, although a delay was noted during an evaluation conducted in 2022. Three types of obstacles were identified: incorrect assignment of actions to the responsible structures, slow adoption of legislative and regulatory texts, and insufficient coordination between implementing structures. Deadline extensions were requested from the WTO for certain measures, extending to 31 December 2023.

Category C measures represent Togo’s main challenge. Compared to ECOWAS countries and the rest of the world, Togo shows a notable delay in their implementation. These measures – covering in particular electronic payment, risk management, freedom of transit, and cooperation between border agencies – require external technical and financial assistance that the country has not yet managed to mobilise, due to a lack of formally developed project fiches.

3.2 SWOT Analysis of the Category C Implementation Process

The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the Category C implementation process highlights the available levers and obstacles to be overcome:

Table 2 – SWOT Analysis of the Category C implementation process

This analysis reveals that Togo has solid foundations, notably the digitalisation of customs procedures and a significant reduction in the number of required documents, but that persistent gaps in training, border infrastructure and institutional coordination are hampering the implementation of the most demanding measures.

4. Recommendations

Based on the findings, the following recommendations are addressed to decision-makers and stakeholders involved in TFA implementation in Togo:

At the institutional level

• Organise more frequent field visits by the Technical Trade Facilitation Committee (CTFE) in order to identify real on-the-ground problems and incorporate them into implementation monitoring;
• Strengthen coordination among public, parastatal and private structures involved in the agreement’s implementation, in order to reduce delays caused by the incorrect assignment of actions.

At the operational level

• Develop clear and detailed project fiches for each Category C measure, in order to enable the WTO to mobilise the technical and financial assistance required for their implementation;
• Train CTFE members in resource mobilisation techniques, an essential prerequisite for attracting external funding;
• Train border agents to improve inter-service collaboration and accelerate joint control procedures;
• Expand parking and storage space at handling companies (Lomé Container Terminal and Togo Terminal) to reduce container waiting times at the port.

At the level of awareness-raising and training

• Train freight forwarders on the importance and implications of TFA implementation, in order to encourage their uptake of new procedures;
• Ensure that all actors are registered in the Single Window for Foreign Trade (GUCE), whose fragmented use is slowing down commercial operations.

Conclusion

TFA implementation in Togo is following a broadly positive trajectory for Category A and B measures, but is running into structural obstacles for Category C measures. Yet it is precisely on these measures that the most ambitious objectives of the agreement rest: international customs cooperation, institutional capacity building and the modernisation of border procedures. Without targeted resource mobilisation and a strengthened CTFE, Togo risks failing to fully benefit from the advantages the TFA can offer to boost its trade and support its economic development.