Major Achievements of the IPPC Secretariat in Promotion of Trade Facilitation in 2017

Great achievements were obtained by the IPPC Secretariat in promoting trade facilitation in 2017 through the efforts of the IPPC ePhyto Project Team and the support of all Units (Teams) as well as the assistance of all Task Forces. Among many others, the major achievements are highlighted as follows:

The SDTF pilot project on ePhyto was successfully conducted with the active involvement of participating stakeholders and NPPOs. The requirements for deployment of the IPPC ePhyto hub and the generic ePhyto national system (GeNS) was finalized for testing and demonstration. Through the preliminary test, it proves that both ePhyto Solutions are the very promising tools to promote the safe and efficient trade.

The IPPC Sea Containers Task Force (SCTF) was established, and composed of representatives from IPPC contracting parties, CPM Bureau, IPPC Standards Committee (SC), IPPC Implementation and Capacity Deployment Committee (IC) and RPPOs, as well as some international organizations and phytosanitary experts relevant to the pest risks on sea containers and their management. The first meeting of the IPPC SCTF was held in Shanghai, China so as to implement the Complementary Action Plan for Assessing and Managing the Pest Threats Associated with Sea Containers endorsed at the CPM-12 (2017).

The IPPC work on eCommerce was initialized. A special topic session on e-Commerce was organized the CPM-12, where the primary objective was to make known and discuss experiences on e-Commerce. The session brought together a range of stakeholders associated with e-Commerce, including the private sector: the Global Express Association and eBay.

The IPPC Secretariat is working closely with CPM Bureau to develop the IPPC Action Plan for Trade Facilitation. The IPPC Secretariat is also communicating actively with the WCO for development of bilateral cooperation Agreement on Trade Facilitation.