Customs and the Regional Private Sector Group held their third joint forum on suggestions from the World Customs Organization (WCO), which highlighted the importance of ensuring ethics for efficient trade in the post-pandemic context.
This flagship event of the customs sector culminated on Wednesday (17.05.2023) in Punta Cana, after an intense day in which dozens of specialists from Latin America and the Caribbean participated.
El inaugural act It was chaired by Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, and included interventions by Jaime King, President of the WCO Private Sector Consultative Group, as well as Martha Elba Garamendi Espinoza, Deputy National Superintendent of Customs of Peru and Regional Vice President of the WCO for the Americas and the Caribbean.
La calendar It included various panels, including: “Views on the OAS Programs and progress on Mutual Recognition Agreements,” “Experience and usefulness in conducting studies on the release times of goods,” “Coordinated Border Management,” “Challenges and initiatives for the inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in international trade,” “Single Window for Foreign Trade,” and “Advances on Ethics and Governance in Customs and the Private Sector.”
After addressing these priority areas of work for the WCO, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, Director General of Customs of the Dominican Republic, highlighted the close partnership with the private sector as a key element to promote trade and supply chain security.
Momentous announcement
The event in Punta Cana was the scene of a momentous announcement for this mutual cooperation:
The presentation of Code of Professional Ethics for Common Application in Associations of Professional Customs Agents, Members of ASAPRAThis document, submitted to the World Customs Organization, is the result of the ethical culture of the trade union, constituted in a system of principles and standards assumed throughout the 53 years of existence of this private law corporation, as it says verbatim.
ASAPRA President Nelson Brens Castillo stated in this regard: “Customs civil service assistants who work in international trade and in close relationship with customs have a great responsibility to guarantee security and compliance with international trade, logistics and customs laws.”
Indeed, with this commitment to conduct, the Joint Customs and Private Sector Forum made history. It is up to each member to adhere to the Compendium. Alfonso Rojas, President of the Regional Group of the Private Sector for the Americas and the Caribbean, places us in that trend.
“Customs is all of us,” he said. Along these lines, he explained that “Customs includes customs authorities and users, and within these is the private sector.”
The representative of the Private Sector Group, which aims to assist the WCO in addressing regional issues, therefore called for a next step and called for “strengthening the relationship.”
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