In October 2016, a pan-governmental initiative called the AEO Joint Incentive (AJI) Programme was launched in China. Under the new scheme, companies which have met pre-determined standards under … the existing AEO programme and have been certified by China Customs as “Advanced Certified Enterprises” (ACE) will be entitled to enjoy as many as 49 facilitation measures provided by China Customs and other government departments. At present, there are about 3,000 ACEs, accounting for about 33.1% of national import and export volumes in China.

Countries have to establish a National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) in terms of their commitment to implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) that was concluded by the members … of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this article, India explains its NCTF implementation journey and how it has structured its NCTF, all guided by its vision to transform India’s trade ecosystem by reducing the time and cost of doing business.

With its recent ratification in February 2017, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement is now in force. This is fantastic news for making trade simpler, and for taking … advantage of the subsequent economic rewards. However, the question of how to hold countries, administrations and operators accountable to making things simpler, is still open.

Australia and New Zealand have been working together to test a new border clearance process to help address the huge increase in e-commerce related international mail volumes between the two … countries. Undertaken as a trial, this article explains its objectives, how it was conducted, the results, lessons learned, and the next steps.

Trade-based money laundering (TBML) is defined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the process of disguising the proceeds of crime, and moving the money into the formal economy through … the use of trade transactions in an attempt to legitimize its illicit origins. In practice, this can be achieved notably through the misrepresentation of the price, as well as the quantity or quality of imports and/or exports.

Engaging with stakeholders and implementing open communication, effective collaboration and meaningful consultation is essential in building “a secure business environment for economic development.” … In this article, the Secretary General of TIACA explains how similar the concerns of the air cargo industry and Customs administrations are, and shares his vision of a future where collaboration and the concept of “co-creation” achieve the recognition they deserve.