Members of the Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) concluded a meeting last few days 3 and October 4, with the World Customs Organization (WCO). This was a new hybrid meeting held in Brussels, following the fruitful dialogue with the WCO Policy Commission in June 2022.
Thus, more than 30 representatives attended the WCO headquarters, while others joined through the Zoom platform to discuss important issues related to the review cycle of the Standards for Securing and Facilitating Trade (SAFE, in English ), monitoring its implementation (SAFE FoS), trade facilitation and trade resumptionl.
In the opportunity, The Private Sector met with the Deputy Secretary-General, the Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs, and the Deputy Director of Capacity Development of the WCO.
Regarding the SAFE review cycle, a priority item on the agenda, Private Sector representatives discussed and provided comments on the draft survey questionnaire on SAFE FoS implementation and SAFE review proposals suggested by Customs administrations and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The majority of comments were in favour of focusing on a comprehensive review of SAFE FoS and monitoring its implementation. Discussions on the SAFE review cycle continued at the 28th SAFE Working Group Meeting, which was held immediately after the Private Sector Advisory Group meeting.
The Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, Ricardo Treviño Chapa made a presentation on the WCO Strategic Plan for 2022-2025. This topic continued with a productive discussion on the key focus areas of the Strategic Plan, namely: WCO Data Strategy, Green Customs and WCO ModernisationIn this regard, the Deputy Secretary-General referred to the activities carried out by the WCO to implement these key focus areas, such as the launch of the WCO-WTO Study on Disruptive Technologies, version 4.0 of the Data Model to be presented at the next Sessions of the Permanent Technical Committee, and the Report of the Study on the Circular Economy.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director for Capacity Building, Ebenezer Gebling Tafili, She made a presentation to the Private Sector Advisory Group on the WCO’s work to assist Members with their modernization and organizational development efforts. She outlined capacity development projects and initiatives covering not only core customs work, but also cross-cutting enablers such as human resource management, gender equality and diversity, and performance measurement.
He highlighted the important role played by expert trainers, accredited experts, Regional Capacity Building Offices and Regional Training Centres in the Awareness efforts and support for the Customs modernization processHe welcomed the assistance of the Private Sector to ensure political will for modernisation, particularly in developing countries, and to promote the digitalisation of Customs, especially through the implementation of the Single Window.
On the second day, the Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs, Konstantinos Kaiopoulos, made a presentation of the project Exploratory Study on a Possible Strategic Review of the Harmonized System (HS), followed by a discussion with the Private Sector on topical issues such as periodic review of the HS and Rules of Origin. During the discussion, he took the opportunity to introduce the team responsible for the Scoping Study of the HS Project. The resulting conversation freely ranged across a wide range of areas, such as the preferable frequency and duration of the HS review cycle, how to improve the HS's ability to reflect the latest technological developments, and ways to improve its usability. Members of the Private Sector were also briefed on another important area of work: looking at how the HS can support environmental policy measures. The Private Sector was updated on the symposium cycle «Envisioning a greener SA«.
Finally, it was suggested that this dialogue be deepened in order to continue fostering close cooperation between the WCO and the private sector.
El Private Sector Advisory Group was formed in 2005 for the purpose of informing and advising the World Customs Organization on customs and international trade matters from the perspective of the private sector.
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