WTO director general Roberto Azevedo informs the media about the Trade Facilitation Agreement, during a press conference at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday. Photo: APGeneva: The first multilateral deal agreed at the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into force on Wednesday, a step billed as a milestone for the body facing unprecedented threats from a hostile US administration. The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has now been ratified by 112 of the WTO’s 164 members, crossing the two-thirds threshold needed for activation, the Geneva-based organisation confirmed. WTO chief Roberto Azevedo said that TFA was estimated to trim global trade costs by more than 14% and could boost global growth by half a percentage point per year. “The trade facilitation agreement in the biggest reform of global trade this century,” Azevedo told journalists after Chad, Jordan, Oman and Rwanda submitted the clinching ratifications.

Source: Mint February 22, 2017 15:19 UTC