- Trade facilitation, as defined by UNECE and UN center for Trade Facilitation and

Electronic Business, is “the simplification, standardization, and harmonization of

procedures and associated information flows required to move goods from seller
to buyer and to make payment”.
- physical movement of goods but also the associated documents and information

I. Trade Procedure and Documents

 Trade procedures can be categorized as commercial, transport, regulatory

and financial.
- Commercial procedures consist of the negotiation and preparation of sales
contract
- Transport procedures include a contract with a transport service provider
- Regulatory procedures are those involving interactions with government agencies
and other authorities for traders

 Documents and data are the means to exchange information associated with
the aforementioned procedures.
 Simplification of trade procedures is basically the process of eliminating all
unnecessary elements and duplications of formalities, processes and
procedures themselves
 In order to speed up trade and increase the predictability of delivery times