Panašus turinys

While harmonization of origin rules remains a work in progress at the WTO, the WCO is continuing to assist its Members to enhance their understanding of the rules of origin, contained in various … free trade agreements.

Latin America today is one of the most engaged and forward thinking of regions. Since 2008, when the WCO first began to disseminate information on the SAFE Framework of Standard’s Authorized … Economic Operator (AEO) concept through workshops and presentations, the region has rapidly moved toward implementation of such programmes.

On 20 May 2011, on the occasion of the Japan-Korea Customs Cooperation Meeting held in Tokyo, Atsuo Shibota, Director General of the Customs and Tariff Bureau in Japan, and Yoon Young-Sun, Commissioner … of the Korea Customs Service (KCS), signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) relating to their Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes. Upon signing the MRA, Director General Shibota and Commissioner Yoon reaffi rmed their view that the Arrangement should be implemented as soon as possible for the sake of further facilitating bilateral trade.

“Screening all cargo shipments for suspicious packages is not the best way to prevent terrorist attacks,” stated US Secretary for Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, during a Policy Briefing … on securing the global supply chain organized by the European Policy Centre in Brussels in early January, instead, addressing senior international trade and security stakeholders, she called for "...an intelligence-risk-based approach."

Recent detection of explosives in air cargo packages in October 2010 was the latest reminder of terrorist threats to the global trade supply chain which is vulnerable to disruption. Fortunately … the plot was thwarted due to specific intelligence information and the collaboration of various public and private agencies, including Customs.

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Global Shippers … Forum (GSF) recently created the Global Air Cargo Advisory Committee (GACAG) to address global issues affecting the air cargo supply chain.

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!

The world is trying to ensure that global container traffic is controlled and secure; reducing the vulnerability containers could pose for nations and their ports. Governments and non-government … organizations are constantly debating and demanding certain protocols be adopted to achieve this security, for instance the demand by the United States (US) for scanning.

On 26 June 2009, during the WCO’s Council Sessions, Mr. Hiroshi Fujioka, the then Director General of Japan’s Customs and Tariff Bureau (CTB), and Mr. Jayson P. Ahern, Acting Commissioner of … US Customs Border Protection (CBP), signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement concerning their Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes, namely Japan’s AEO programme and the US’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). Distinguished delegates from Member administrations and observer organizations, including Mr. Martyn Dunne, Chairperson of the Council, and Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, the WCO Secretary General, witnessed the ceremony.

The WCO has established a global database of preferential trade agreements and related rules of origin in accordance with the Action Plan to improve the understanding and application of preferential … rules of origin endorsed by the WCO Council in June 2007.

Headquartered at the Vienna International Centre in Vienna, Austria, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) isthe world’s centre of cooperation in the nuclear field. Established in 1957 … as an independent, inter-governmental organization under United Nations auspices, IAEA membership currently stands at 146 States.

The EastWest Institute partnered with Italy, 2009 Chair of the G-8, and the World Customs Organization to host the Sixth Worldwide Security Conference (WSC6) at WCO headquarters in Brusselsfrom … 18 to 19 February 2009 with the theme ‘From the Global War on Terror, to Common Security and Joint Action’.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have gained greater importance due to the impact that they are having on different economies around the world. According to the Small and Medium Enterprise … Development Authority (SMEDA), SMEs comprise approximately 90% of all firms in the world and account for an average of 40% to 50% of countries’ GDP. In the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) region for example, SMEs account for over 80% of all businesses and employ as much as 60% of the work force.

The two day WCO conference focusing on the application of rules of origin around the world took place in Brussels (Belgium) from 16-17 June 2008. With rules of origin now a prominent feature … of today’s trading system given the plethora of regional trade arrangements that exist and those that are under negotiation across the globe, the issue has become more topical than ever. These rules enable preferential arrangements to be more effectively implemented; the positive benefits of which include the development of trade and the encouragement of foreign investment.

As part of the “Inventing Our Future” Forum on “The WCO in the 21st Century”, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), represented by Mr. Hassan Baage from the Counter-Terrorism … Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), was asked to speak on the topic “Security : A challenge for the WCO?”.

Money laundering has a considerable adverse impact on the social stability and economic development of a nation. It is not a stand-alone crime, but is intertwined with other crimes, which are … called “predicate offences”. These offences include transnational organized crimes such as the smuggling of drugs, arms, stolen vehicles and artworks, the trade in counterfeit goods, and so on. This criminal trade generates a significant amount of illegal proceeds that need to be laundered, hence the need to find more avenues in which to do so.

The dramatic rise in the number of preferential trade arrangements, together with complex and often confusing rules of origin are some of the increasing challenges facing both customs administrations … and the business community.

One of the key standards contained in the SAFE Framework is the establishment of a risk management system to identify potentially high risk shipments. The use of non-intrusive inspection equipment … is also strongly advocated, but in tandem with the application of these risk assessment techniques. At a time when the WCO is actively encouraging all its members to employ risk management, the potential implementation of 100% scanning requirements by one of the world’s major trading powers threatens to undermine the provisions of the SAFE Framework. Michael Schmitz, WCO Director of Compliance and Facilitation, responds to questions on this subject.

In General - A container that was loaded on a vessel in a foreign port shall not enter the United States (either directly or via a foreign port) unless the container was scanned by nonintrusive … imaging equipment and radiation detection equipment at a foreign port before it was loaded on a vessel.