In recent months, customs authorities across countries have had to work hard and think outside the box in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this framework, new standards have been adopted to reduce delays at the borders of the economies that make up the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and to respond quickly and effectively to the situation.
In an effort to better prepare border agencies for any future disruptions to the global supply chain, the Subcommittee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) conducted a study on “lessons learned” from COVID-19.
The lessons learned project also involved discussions with private industry and international organizations on the effectiveness of these measures. This work culminated in the publication of the document “Trade facilitation measures to mitigate business disruptions: lessons and response from COVID-19”, which provides a complete set of best practices that can be adopted by Customs.
On this, Trade Policy Team Manager and project leader David Negri said: “We really wanted to take the opportunity to try to strengthen the resilience of APEC customs administrations to be able to better deal with future trade shocks, whether they are pandemics, terrorist incidents or natural disasters.”
Meanwhile, the team's policy analyst, Vinka Cisternas-Torres, said that “Trade facilitation is very important, especially during these extraordinary times.It is clear from the research that The modernization of customs procedures together with the effective implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement enabled customs administrations to cope with a crisis«.
On the other hand, Cisternas-Torres commented that it was agreed that Implementation of paperless trade, enhanced single-window portals, pre-clearance of shipments, contactless support for traders, contingency plans, improved communications, and that inter-agency cooperation quickly managed the pandemic.
Rebecca Jonassen, who served as SCCP Chair for APEC 2021, commented: “I am very pleased with the work that the New Zealand team has managed to accomplish in such a short time in moving this project forward.”
“It really resonated across all SCCP member economies and will be an excellent toolkit for different types of disruptions in the coming years,” he concluded.
It is worth mentioning that this important global forum, which is not attended by a country but by an economy, is the main mechanism to facilitate economic growth, technical and economic cooperation, and the facilitation and liberalization of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC is made up of 21 economies: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taipei-China, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. (Document "Trade facilitation measures to mitigate business disruptions: lessons and response from COVID-19” of the APEC Subcommittee on Customs Procedures)
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