The World Customs Organization (WCO) believes that fluid international trade plays a fundamental role in the economic prosperity of countries. In this regard, the Office for the Americas and the Caribbean announced this Thursday (13.05.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX) the start of the Pilot Plan for the Study of Dispatch Times in Central America from the next May 17-19, 2021.
The methodology will be managed for the first time with a regional perspective, as part of the action plan for the implementation of Coordinated Border Management in Central America, with support and Coordination of the WCO, the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the Customs Administrations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.
It should be noted that the Dispatch Time Study is a strategic and internationally recognized tool to measure the actual period required for the release and/or clearance of goods, from the moment of arrival to the physical release of the cargo, with a view to finding bottlenecks in the trade flow and adopting the necessary measures to improve the efficiency of border procedures.
In this regard, the WCO Regional Office indicated that the tool will be applied to analyze the following: border posts land: San Cristobal (Guatemala-El Salvador), Pedro de Alvarado- La Hachadura (Guatemala-El Salvador), Amatillo (Honduras – El Salvador), Guasoule (Honduras – Nicaragua), Peñas Blancas – Peña Blanca (Nicaragua – Costa Rica), Guabito – Sixaola (Costa Rica – Panama) and Paso Canoas (Costa Rica – Panama).
This Regional Clearance Time Study is based on the “Guide to measuring the time required for the clearance of goods from the World Customs Organization”, and includes several Phases: study preparation, data collection and recording, data analysis, monitoring, as well as evaluation and preparation of an action plan.
The initiative demonstrates Central America's strategic commitment to implementing a key measure of customs performance. The goal is to evaluate and improve procedures related to the import, export and transit of goods, in order to facilitate the exchange of goods, in accordance with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
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.
