Trade Facilitation

TRACE partners with governments, development partners, and the private sector to strengthen trade competitiveness through policy reform, digital transformation, and institutional modernization. We specialize in trade facilitation, customs modernization, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems, risk-based border management, trade information systems, investment facilitation, and implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), including Category C measures.

Our multidisciplinary team designs and implements practical solutions that reduce trade costs, accelerate border clearance, improve regulatory transparency, strengthen institutional capacity, and enable businesses to benefit from modern trade facilitation measures. Our work spans policy and legal reform, digital trade systems, process simplification and automation, stakeholder engagement, and institutional capacity building to promote more efficient, transparent, and predictable border management.

TRACE professionals bring extensive experience in designing and implementing trade facilitation reforms in Bangladesh. In different capacities, they have supported the implementation of 15 WTO TFA measures, including publication and availability of information, test procedures, pre-arrival processing, risk management, post-clearance audit, and the expedited release of perishable goods.

Working closely with government agencies, the experts have translated international commitments into practical institutional, regulatory, procedural, and digital reforms. They also supported the development of the National Trade Facilitation Roadmap, comprising agency-specific, action-oriented plans for the systematic implementation of individual TFA measures. In addition, they designed the National Trade Facilitation Implementation Tracker for the Ministry of Commerce and the National Trade Facilitation Committee to strengthen implementation monitoring, inter-agency coordination, and accountability.

By combining international best practices with local implementation expertise, TRACE helps institutions strengthen capacity, modernize trade procedures, improve coordination, and establish sustainable mechanisms for continued reform.