The need to reduce costs when crossing customs borders, improving the fluidity of transactions without affecting transparency and security objectives, was a factor that drove the process that culminated in the Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ACF) among the countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The TFA was approved at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Bali in 2013 and entered into force on February 22, 2017, when it was ratified by two-thirds of WTO member countries. Argentina put it into effect on July 6, 2018.
To shed more light on this topic, Aduana News interviewed Fabián Villarroel Ríos, a lawyer specializing in international trade and customs, which he hopes will provide more robust information on the relevance of the AFC.
What does the AFC entail?
Fabian Villarroel Rios: The AFC marks an important milestone in this area. Most Latin American countries have ratified it and have notified categories and standards A, B and C. It should be noted that the agreement establishes the following:
Category A: they are rules of immediate application.
Category B: These are rules that the country notifies that it can apply, but requires a reasonable amount of time for their implementation.
Category C: These are standards for which the country needs technical and economic collaboration before applying them.
There are several in the region rules that are not applied, for example: measurement of dispatch times, urgent shipments… That is to say, there are certain deficiencies that must be corrected, therefore countries need to work to solve these situations. These data are found in Chapter 3 of the AFC.
Another important aspect is how the Facilitation Committees, made up of the public and private sectors in order to monitor the standards.
To Customs Cooperation, we must look at Chapter 12, which sets out how information should be exchanged to prevent illicit activities. We must begin to think about how to implement it. It must be an online exchange and the challenge is to see how customs exchanges can be done in a more automated way, which would allow for fluid communication.
The challenge with the private sector is to implement dialogue, a coordinated work; we must listen to them and identify their needs in terms of the competitiveness of countries. Clear rules and legal and economic certainty are needed to be able to move forward.
What is the cooperation between Argentina and Chile like?
Fabian Villarroel Rios: Recently, there was a cabinet meeting between Chile and Argentina. There is always an attempt to promote the bilateral integration agenda due to the large border that both countries share. It is not a wish: it is an imperative.
On In the customs and border area we have more challenges There are integrated checkpoints where much remains to be done. The new Los Libertadores complex on the Chilean side of the Cristo Redentor system is about to open, which will alleviate certain shortcomings. However, progress must continue. Integrated checkpoints reduce the number of stops, but the same controls end up being carried out: Argentine customs-Chilean customs, Argentine immigration-Chilean immigration, and agricultural services. We must dare to do a little more. We must work on trust, that is, when a tourist leaves the country he must be checked only once by an authority who, in the event of an irregularity, calls the authority of the other country and the problem is resolved.
The Integrated steps solved the double stop, but not the double check. Infrastructure conditions must be created, but also legal conditions to reduce bureaucracy. This will benefit the private sector and the State. The amount of money invested in infrastructure, food, payment of salaries or travel expenses for personnel at the border is very high. So, in the end, a giant hotel is built to accommodate more than a hundred officials, and true citadels are created at the border. That is why processes must be automated and simplified.
Recently, we have been working on private vehicles at Cristo Redentor so that tourists do not have to do a double check. Therefore, We need to think more ambitiously and daring in how we manage to simplify, because, in the end, it benefits everyone if there is more tourism and exchange.
Are any joint programs being worked on?
Fabian Villarroel Rios: Each government has its own technological development for the simplified system of private vehicles. It is not a technological system in itself, but rather an interconnection.. In Paso Cristo Redentor, for example. And there are two other passes, such as Jama (north) and San Sebastián (Patagonia), where it should be implemented shortly.
Another thing we are working on, which is a medium-term project, is related to Bioceanic Corridor, which will link ports in Brazil, passing through Paraguay and northern Argentina, with the ports of Iquique, Mejillones and Antofagasta in Chile. It is a corridor for exporting products from Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraguay and northern Argentina through Chilean ports. These are large infrastructures adapted for the export of copper, but they have been left idle. So, how do we take advantage of them? Directing products towards this route is very interesting.
This corridor is the most advanced, they are regions isolated from economic centresMeetings were held in June 2018 in Salta; the possibility of exporting oranges through Chilean ports and generating development hubs in logistics is interesting. In this sense, there must be funds to support cities and communities so that they can benefit.
What is the biggest challenge for customs in this context?
Fabian Villarroel Rios: Customs are subject to challenges that will depend on the security, social protection and intellectual property. It's a new concept.
Collection is an important issue, as is the facilitation of implementing mechanisms that help lower costs; we must also be able to Integrating SMEs to the international trade chain.
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Profile of Fabian Villarroel Rios
- Chilean citizen
- Lawyer
- Master in International Law from the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
- Professor of Customs Law at various universities in Chile
- WCO Accredited Expert and WTO Panellist
- He worked for almost 20 years in the Chilean Customs, occupying various positions.
- International trade and customs consultant
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.
