The second session of the digital event of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism of the Organization of American States (CICTE-OAS) concluded this Wednesday (23.03.2022/600/XNUMX) with a final ebullition: more than XNUMX people participated to deepen the figure of the Authorized Economic Operator in the free trade zones of Latin America.
“On this day, we continue Sharing ideas, experiences and knowledge to help us as countries in the area of security, in these critical areas, in order to facilitate trade,” he said. Alison August Treppel, Executive Secretary of CICTE in his opening remarks. The opening remarks were also shared by Samir Hamrouni, Head of the Executive Office of the World Free Trade Zones Organization. He highlighted the “Free Zone of the Future” Program, based on the Izdiha Index, which means “Prosperity” in Arabic. He also presented the Safe Zone Certification Program as a voluntary compliance model to protect clean free zones from illicit activities taking place within their borders and to help them promote their integrity, transparency and governance for customers, partners and stakeholders. He emphasized that safe free zones are an attempt by the World Free Zone Organization to extend the definition of the Authorized Economic Operator to free zones.”
“We need to clean the kitchen,” he continued, Marcelo Martínez, representative of CICTE. He encouraged all those working in the private sector to join these efforts. Thus, he pointed out that “the Authorized Economic Operator Program can raise the reputation of free zones.” He explained again the Supply Chain Security Program (Authorized Economic Operator-AEO), highlighting, in this session, that the initiative is “voluntary” and “beneficial” for both private companies and national governments alike. Additionally, he identified key documents such as the Recommendations of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to work more closely with free zones, promote legitimate trade flows and economic growth; the Practical Guide to Free Zones of the World Organization aimed at ensuring the proper application of customs procedures and surveillance in free zones; as well as the WCO Note prepared to assist customs in their efforts to apply the AEO concept to electronic commerce parties.
Taeyeon Kim, an expert from the OMA The expert also joined the event to make presentations. Her presentation covered the risks pertaining to free zones, the expansion of the AEO concept and the strengthening of the partnership with free zones, the expansion of the AEO concept in resident companies, the mechanisms for exchanging information with AEOs, the establishment of conditions and criteria for free zone AEOs, as well as the benefits and validations of free zone AEOs. Through the presentation of these topics, the expert highlighted the importance of the exchange and use of data and advanced technologies, as well as greater cooperation and the establishment of requirements to improve the security of free zones and to generate a fluid relationship of “mutual trust” between the parties in the supply chain.
Parallel, customs administration authorities from Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic provided their national perspectives on how they are currently working on developing the Authorized Economic Operator program based on WCO standards and guidance.
However, representatives of the private sector They offered interesting presentations. Juan Opertti (Uruguay) pointed out the success stories of platforms integrating global and logistics chains in free trade zones, such as the Special Economic Free Trade Zones (“S6.0”) and the Industrial Parks of Aristos Inmobiliaria, in El Salvador.
Meanwhile, Sonsoles García (Ecuador) explained the certifications in Supply Chain Security Programs (BASC, CTPAT, ISO 28000), which can converge with free trade zones and the Authorized Economic Operator certification.
Finally, John Main of Procomex (Brazil) closed by inviting the public and private sectors of the region to the next seminar, organized jointly with the Federal Revenue Service, to be held on May 18 and 19, to explore the opportunity of using the Authorized Economic Operator Program in electronic commerce.
The CICTE event thus concluded, triggering new dialogues to achieve a safer and more competitive business environment with the aim of facilitating trade further.
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.
