Articles

The WCO has published a list of existing WCO instruments and tools relevant to economic competitiveness, bringing them together under a “Package”. They are presented in a schedule which categorizes … the instruments and tools into six topics.

As secretary general of the WCO, I am reminded every day of the innovations applied by WCO Members to improve Customs for the benefit of all international trade stakeholders and for the benefit … of society. Accordingly, I selected Innovation as the theme for 2013 with the slogan “Innovation for Customs Progress”.

In the years since the end of the Cold War, fear of terrorist attacks with radiological weapons spurred Radiation Portal Monitor deployment for cargo scanning all over the world. For years, radiation … screening was frequently segregated from traditional cargo screening, which aims to detect contraband, drugs, weapons and conventional explosives. Nowadays, advances in both forms of screening technologies have made it possible to integrate checkpoints for nuclear bombs and other radioactive material – commonly called “rad-nuke” detection – and traditional x-ray screening technologies.

A certificate of origin is the most widely accepted proof required by Customs administrations to certify the origin of a product. With over 2000 Chambers of Commerce issuing more than 15 million … certificates annually all over the world, the International Chamber of Commerce World Chambers Federation (ICC WCF) which unites a global network of 12,000 Chambers strives to guarantee the “nationality” of goods by authenticating the accuracy of issued certificates of origin.

Norwegian Customs and Excise has two main tasks: the first is to collect Customs and excise duties to finance its welfare state – economic control and the combating of financial crime is part … of this task; and the second is to use its unique frontline position at the border to protect society against the illegal import and export of goods – the fight against cross-border organized crime is the most important aspect of this task. Both tasks form part of Customs’ business model.

Since february 2012, a scanner has been checking cargo transported by rail into the Port of Rotterdam as trains travel at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour. The train scan is the latest … innovation in non-intrusive detection implemented by Netherlands Customs and is currently the most modern train scanning system in the world. Not only is it the fastest in comparison with conventional installations that only allow for train speeds of up to 30 kilometres, it is also the best in term of image quality.

The October 2010 ‘Yemen incident’ demonstrated weaknesses in the security standards and procedures applying to air cargo in the European Union (EU) and worldwide. The ensuing debate underlined … the need to review security procedures and requirements more broadly for all transport modes. The review undertaken at EU level led to the publication in early January of a communication on “Customs risk management and the security of the supply chain”.

On 1 March 2013, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will celebrate its 10th anniversary. When the agency was formed a decade ago, the aftermath of the attacks on 11 September 2001 was still … very fresh. The country’s focus was on keeping the United States safe and secure, and protecting the supply chain from further terrorist threats and weapons of mass destruction.

Being one of the main engines of economic development, China’s foreign trade has realized unprecedented achievements. In recent years, however, under the influence of the global financial crisis, … challenges have come to the fore, such as slower growth in the world economy, sluggish demand, trade protectionism, more frequent international trade friction, unstable exchange rates and fluctuating commodity prices. On the domestic front, operating costs for national businesses are increasing, industrial restructuring is encountering difficulties, and competition is intensifying.

This year, the World Trade Report ventures beyond the well illuminated area of tariffs, to shine a light on non-tariff measures (NTMs) – a generic term which covers policy measures, other than … ordinary Customs tariffs, that can affect international trade in goods by changing quantities traded or prices, or both.

A new publication has recently joined the “arsenal of weapons” already developed to prevent and combat environmental crime. Entitled the Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit, it has been … prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with its partners in the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).

The upcoming months will be marked by the launch of a number of initiatives approved by the Council during its recent sessions, such as Globally Networked Customs proof-of-concept projects, the … roll-out of the nCEN package around the world, the further development of the Project Map Database, the implementation of the tools included in the Revenue Package, as well as the launch of a new Economic Competitiveness Package.

Developed as a response to WCO Members’ concerns with regard to falling revenue returns in the light of the 2008 global financial crisis and declining duty rates, the WCO Revenue Package brings … together all material relevant to revenue collection, including formal instruments and conventions, guidance notes, and training material.

The first formal review of the SAFE Framework of Standards since its adoption in 2005 has been finalized. The principal change in the 2012 version of the SAFE Framework involves the inclusion … of two new sections; one on Coordinated Border Management and the other on Trade Continuity and Resumption, as well as a new Annex on Definitions which includes the definition of high-risk cargo.

The WCO Secretariat has reviewed its Compliance and Enforcement structures and assumed a new programme management based approach to its activities. One of the newly established programmes draws … together WCO security and counter-terrorism related projects and activities. The Strategy and the 2012/2013 Action Plan for the Security and Counter-Terrorism Programme were approved.

The 2012 WCO IPR Trophy was awarded to the Panama Customs administration for its outstanding commitment to combating counterfeiting and piracy by implementing an effective policy aimed at increasing … border protection and preventing infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR), thereby enabling improved results to be achieved.