On the occasion of the thirty-year anniversary of the existence of MERCOSUR, more than 27 years after the signing of the Recife Agreement that initiated the implementation of the Integrated Control Areas in the bloc, the three-day workshop (from November 17 to 19) on "Coordinated Border Management”The initiative of the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service Secretariat (Receita Federal) is carried out with the aim of facilitating dialogues between customs administrations, border regulatory agencies, international organizations and companies with a view to evaluating the progress achieved with the use of this integrated control mechanism in the Member States to improve the facilitation of legitimate international trade.
Fausto Vieira Coutinho, Undersecretary of Customs Administration of the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil, He pointed out at the opening that “MERCOSUR remains a fundamental instrument for cooperation and the promotion of economic and social development in South America.”. In this regard, he stressed the importance of improving integration and collaboration between border agencies under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the WCO Coordinated Border Management Model.
As a fundamental aspect, the Ambassador Michel Arslanian Neto, Director of the Department of Mercosur and Regional Integration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been greater openness from the authorities to agree on solutions to the problems they face at the borders.This is a sample of our integration”, he said; he encouraged “keep this energy and pragmatism alive.”
then Silvia Traverso, head of the Argentine Customs, her counterpart from Uruguay, Javier Borgiani, and the representative of Paraguay, Roberto Quiñonez, spoke from their countries and expressed their commitment to international best practices.
After the intervention, the Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Ricardo Treviño, He explained the WCO's concept of coordinated border management, stressing that It is one of the priorities of customs that brings benefits to the government, agencies and economic operators. He also outlined the advantages of implementation along with international best practices. He also provided the audience with a clear overview of the role and efforts of the WCO in this initiative, aimed at enhancing the implementation of joint cooperation strategies by the Organization's Members to optimize border control and facilitation.
The Under-Secretary-General said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, appropriate coordinated border management helped ensure the smooth movement of essential goods such as medical supplies, food and vaccines, while mitigating the negative impact on society and the global economy. He also referred to the WCO instruments and tools that are relevant to further support the effective and efficient implementation of coordinated border management. These include the revised Kyoto Convention, risk management, the Single Window, the WCO data model and the SAFE regulatory framework.
"According to the first study of clearance times for imports from Brazil, the average time for cargo authorization in Uruguayana is 2-3 days and 20 hours are spent on processes and permits.", he detailed Ernani Checcucci, World Bank specialist. "This is far from the reality of more advanced countries.”, he said. He also encouraged MERCOSUR countries to develop collaborative processes between the different agents involved, both from the public and private sectors, to reduce border crossing times.
To this end, the “Global Perspectives on Coordinated Border Management” and “The Honduras-Guatemala Experience in Coordinated Border Management” were presented. In this regard, Former Secretary General of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA), Melvin Redondo, explained that the concept of coordinated border management was developed from the Central American Trade Facilitation Strategy, which is based on the concept developed by the World Customs Organization. He also highlighted that this legal framework established a functional model that includes cross-cutting axes such as the Central American Digital Trade Platform for the purposes of integrating information and processes for customs, immigration and single-window management.
Particularly, Melvin Redondo highlighted the coordinated management of binational borders between Honduras and Guatemala The document is based on the Deep Integration process (in force since 2017) to establish a Customs Union. In order to put this single customs territory into operation, he pointed out the installation of Integrated Border Posts and Peripheral Customs where the authorities of the two countries carry out coordinated border management. In addition to this joint work, he mentioned the novelty of the construction of border housing modules to facilitate the presence of officials who intervene in the crossing between the countries on a permanent basis, achieving important results in the integration process. He then highlighted another advance between Honduras and Guatemala: the implementation of the electronic transmission of the Advance Declaration of Goods, a measure that is carried out prior to the arrival of the land means of cargo transport to the integrated border posts, allowing the reduction of times in the passage of goods.
Finally, he stressed that coordinated border management “It requires broad political support, a clear legal framework to standardize the processes and high coordination between authorities in the operation, in addition to an important technological component to improve risk management.".
Within the framework of second day During the workshop, different experiences of coordinated border management were presented, including: “Coordinated Border Management: perspectives of the quarantine agency”, “Migratory Control in MERCOSUR”, “Coordinated Management of Land Borders in MERCOSUR: shaping the Argentina-Brazil reality considering Pillar I of the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade (SAFE) and the related guidelines of the World Customs Organization (WCO)”, “Risk Management of Non-Residents and Trade Facilitation” and “Anvisa’s performance at border posts: a study in light of regional specificities and International Relations”.
This workshop, which will end on Friday, November 19, has the institutional support of the World Bank to generate a better environment for merchants and travelers within the MERCOSUR.
To view the sessions you can access Receita Federal do Brasil (YouTube)
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