Articles

International trade has constituted the bedrock of a long period of prosperity and stability in the world. In general, trade is crucial to the development of countries. It is a fi rst, supporting … step on the ladder to building an economy and a key driver for economic growth and development.

For some time now, Turkey has been seeking to strengthen its risk management and analysis system which it established in 2008 with a view to making its Customs control operations at sea ports, … airports, land borders and inland more effective.

Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP), an initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), released a new report at the 2013 WCO IT Conference and Exhibition in … Dubai calling for increased regulation and better management of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) to stop them from increasingly being used to facilitate the manufacture, distribution and sale of counterfeit products. Th is article sounds the alarm; highlighting the fi ndings and recommendations in the report and its implications for Customs.

Every minute of every day, an office of the Bureau Veritas Group issues a certificate stating whether or not a product which has been inspected or tested complies with the required standard; … thereby contributing to making the world a safer place. Th e wide diversity of skills and disciplines within the Group means that the products certifi ed by Bureau Veritas can range from aeroplanes to coal, in almost every country in the world.

On 9 May 2013 the Port of Cotonou received the 2013 Gold IT Award from the International Association of Ports and Harbours, for the benefi ts generated by its Single Window (SW). Th e SW project … was developed by Société d’Exploitation du Guichet Unique du Bénin (SEGUB), a public-private partnership established in November 2010 by the Government of Benin with two companies, namely Soget and Bureau Veritas.

When the first Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy was held in 2004, the phenomenon was often ignored. Many consumers and government leaders considered counterfeiting and piracy … as a victimless crime or simply a problem for luxury goods manufacturers. At the time, we all acknowledged that the fi ght would be a long and diffi cult one, but we were optimistic that we could make a signifi cant dent in this illicit activity.

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.