The World Customs Organization issued an updated guide on Wednesday (16.12.2020) to strengthen the effectiveness of public services involved in border control.
The publication, titled “Coordinated Border Management”, exposes a series of new features and aims to comprehensively support customs administrations, cross-border regulatory agencies (CBRAs) and international organizations in the implementation of their work in various fields.
The concept of Coordinated Border Management (CBM) has been around for many years and refers to an approach by border control agencies, both national and international, to achieve greater efficiency in managing trade and travel flows, while maintaining a balance with compliance requirements.
The extensive document compiles several instruments and tools of the World Customs Organization (WCO), including the Revised Kyoto Convention, Risk Management, Single Window, WCO Data Model and SAFE Framework. It also mentions that CBRAs are guided in their work by other international standards, and that both Customs and CBRAs need to acquire a working knowledge of each other's standards. The aim is to reach a common understanding that will improve CBM and the experiences of the working teams. It also describes its internal order and the ecosystem of related actors and institutions.
The initiative proposed in the text also includes a new section on Cooperation between the WCO and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). This section sets out potential opportunities for joint work between Customs administrations and designated postal operators, including advance electronic data exchange aimed at improving risk management, trade facilitation and control of postal items, particularly in the context of increasing electronic commerce by mail.
The publication also includes examples of practices and experiences related to CBM in the context of two countries: Botswana and Finland. It also contains the manual of Cooperation between customs and police, prepared by the WCO and INTERPOL.
For the WCO, this updated guidance is important to improve cross-border trade and ensure the security of international supply chains.
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.
