With the outstanding participation of Dr. Alejandro Jara Puga, Former Chilean ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, on Tuesday (16.04.2024) the academic activities of the Diploma in Customs Law of the Andrés Bello University were inaugurated.
In his welcome message, Carolina Correa Hansen, Director of the Diploma in Customs Law, highlighted the version designed more than a decade ago with the purpose of providing solid training in Chilean customs legislation and taxation.
“The commercial exchange of goods and services and the country's insertion in international relations and business through organizations and meetings signed within the framework of the WTO have been key to Chile's growth in the global world,” he said. He maintained that “trade exchange must be carried out in an efficient, safe manner and in harmony with the norms and demands of complex and highly competitive international markets.”
Correa Hansen said that this implies having a “customs regulation adjusted to these requirements, as well as professionals with expertise in this field capable of facing new challenges.”
"The program - unique in its field at the national level - is a benchmark for promoting the study of an area of fundamental law for the social and economic development of the country," he said.
In that line, the President of the Chilean Institute of International Trade (ICHI), Fabián Villarroel Ríos, He said that the Diploma in Customs Law is a great opportunity in these times characterized by a lot of international economic law. “The constant geopolitical tension not only affects political relations, but also commercial relations,” he said.
He also stated: “The year 2024 is an invitation to study and get involved” for people who need to acquire skills to perform management, inspection and professional advisory functions in companies and services related to foreign trade and customs. Also, to integrate the staff of expert professionals in the Courts or assume the legal defense of taxpayers before them.
As part of the first module of the diploma, the keynote lecture, held at the headquarters of the Faculty of Law of the Andrés Bello University and broadcast virtually, focused on the topic: Is the multilateral trading system at stake? Crisis or opportunity?
During his presentation, Dr. Alejandro Jara Puga provided a historical and current overview of the multilateral system.
The diplomat began his speech in 1947, with the decision of the governments of twenty-three countries to sign the so-called General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This trade system established “multilateralism” in 1995, where international economic problems require agreed solutions based on equality, liberalisation and reciprocity between States. He warned that this multilateralism advocated by the WTO is currently facing a difficult situation. Among the causes, he highlighted the credit crisis unleashed in 2008, which led to the adoption of protectionist measures. Likewise, the Doha Round in 2001 and the differences between countries producing industrial goods and agricultural goods. He also maintained that such a panorama coexists with the progressive phenomenon of trade liberalisation through bilateral and/or plurilateral agreements.
Accordingly, Dr. Jara Puga considered that “the multilateral system remains stuck in problems from the last century, incapable of assuming an agenda of issues specific to this 21st century,” marked by security and facilitation of international trade. But he stated that “the multilateral system has a certain wisdom that allows it to navigate difficult waters and find agreements to continue advancing in the regulation of the commercial policy of countries.”
The above considerations led the expert and the authorities of the Diploma in Customs Law to agree towards the end of the event that it is an essential task of the academy to collaborate, from its field, in strengthening scientific capacities to face such an international context and achieve a socially sustainable globalization.
***
Alejandro Jara Puga is a lawyer. He has served as Counselor in the Delegation to the GATT, Director of Bilateral and Multilateral Economic Affairs, Senior Official of Chile to APEC, negotiator of free trade agreements, Director General of International Economic Relations and former ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva. He is a partner at the law firm Vásquez Urra Abogados and professor of Commercial Law at prestigious Chilean and foreign universities.
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.
