Journal

Being the WCO’s Year of the CustomsBusiness Partnership, the Council acknowledged the contribution of the private sector to the work of Customs by witnessing the signing of renewed Memoranda … of Understanding (MOU) between the WCO and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations, the Global Express Association, the International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations, and The International Air Cargo Association respectively.

WCO Members continue to accede to the Organization’s key instruments; a clear demonstration of the crucial role they place in assisting Customs administrations to meet the challenges and opportunities … of today’s global trading environment.

June 2010 marked the fifth anniversary of the endorsement by the WCO Council of the SAFE Framework of Standards to secure and facilitate global trade.

A small scale trader waits in the shade of a tree at the Mwanza Border Post between Malawi and Mozambique. Somewhere inside, a clearing agent is completing complicated paperwork on his behalf … for a sum of money. The agent will deal with Customs officials, go over forms, calculate import duties and taxes and so on or sometimes even disappear with the trader’s money!