A group of professionals from the Pacific Alliance carried out collaborative activities in Chilean companies in order to promote the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program of the Chilean Customs.
According to the statement, for 5 days, the Chilean team in charge of launching the OAS Program worked alongside professionals from the countries of the Pacific Alliance - Colombia, Mexico and Peru - as well as Costa Rica, in order to inspect An exporting company and several customs agencies that are applying to be certified under this international standard.
The activities were carried out between Santiago and Valparaíso, where they joined the Chilean Customs team, responsible for document and field reviews, to verify whether the candidates meet the requirements demanded by the AEO certification, such as security policy, risk analysis, personnel security, information security and business partners, among others.
On the other hand, the professionals made visits to the company to observe the processes and security measures related to infrastructure, lighting, maintenance and surveillance systems. The days ended with an analysis of what was observed and the preparation of minutes that reflect the activities carried out and the gaps detected in compliance with the requirements for OEA certification.
Despite such gaps, This collaborative and observational work was framed in the implementation of the so-called Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of the OAS Programs that the four countries belonging to the Pacific Alliance seek to seal during the first half of 2018.These agreements allow AEO certified operators to opt for processes that facilitate access to the markets of the countries that sign them.
In this regard, the National Director of Customs, Claudio Sepúlveda, stated that "the OEA Program is a very important part of the modernization process that we are implementing in the National Customs Service and is an initiative that, as it progresses, will allow Chile to align its logistics processes with the security standards that are currently required by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international trade in general."
For his part, the Deputy Director of Inspection, Javier Uribe, explained that "the work carried out with the OAS delegation of peers from the Pacific Alliance is key to the development of the program led by Chilean Customs, as it allows us to exchange valuable experiences and to further define the scope of this initiative."
The OAS Program in Chile
The AEO Program in Chile is one of the measures considered within Law 20.997, which modernized Chilean customs legislation since March 2017 and establishes new compliance standards for foreign trade actors who access this certification granted by the National Customs Service, allowing them to access various markets around the world more quickly and on equal terms.
In a first stage, the Chilean OEA certification is focused on exporters and Customs Agents, who must undergo a process lasting several weeks to satisfactorily validate and accredit before the National Customs Service of Chile the requirements and conditions established in Decree No. 1140 of the Ministry of Finance and Resolution No. 246 of the National Customs Service.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
