In recent months, customs in Latin American and Caribbean countries have had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, they have developed security and digitalization measures to mitigate its impact and keep foreign trade operational in the region.
This transformative experience was discussed this Wednesday (28.10.2020) in the virtual seminar “COVID-19 Situation and Containment, Biosecurity Measures and Good Practices”, organized by the Regional Vice Presidency of the World Customs Organization (WCO) for the Americas and the Caribbean.
“Covid-19 has affected our countries. It is important to highlight the role of foreign trade at this time. Customs has the challenge of guaranteeing the integrity of officials, who are on the front line ensuring the security of the international logistics chain. Therefore, I highlight the leadership that the WCO has had, since it has provided us with its guidelines, which help customs implement our actions and strategies in this situation. It has also created spaces for us to share good practices,” he said. Werner Ovalle, Superintendent of Customs SAT Guatemala and Regional Vice President of the WCO, in the opening.
The official, with extensive experience in Central American integration, highlighted the collaboration between customs, the role of the private sector and the coordinated management of borders, which are essential in this emergency. And he encouraged “to present the efforts as an example of our commitment to continue working in a digital region and to generate actions that integrate us more, to demonstrate to other regions that the Americas are capable of addressing this emergency.”
The new role of Customs
In the same line, Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, spoke about “the new role of Customs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic” and the work that has been carried out during 2020, all within an unprecedented global and regional context.
Treviño pointed out that “Communication and information exchange are essential factors for customs to mitigate the impact that COVID-19 has generated at a regional levelHe also said that customs, in their new role, must be prepared and vigilant for crisis and emergency situations, working more on simplifying customs processes, digitalization and risk transparency.
“Without global coordination, it would have been difficult to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. After this, international cooperation and multilateralism will emerge stronger,” emphasized the WCO Deputy Secretary General from Geneva.
Biosecurity measures in the region
Among the topics discussed, four countries They presented the experiences they have had during these months of pandemic and the biosecurity measures they have adopted to facilitate foreign trade in the region.
Mexico
Teresa Zermeño, Central Administrator of Customs Investigations at SAT of Mexico, stressed that the customs service strengthened automation and digitalization, with the aim of safeguarding the health of customs officers and users. He detailed the operating measures and protocols for customs and foreign trade personnel: the reduction of exposure of administrative and operational personnel, suspension of deadlines by the competent authorities in matters of permits, issuance of guidelines for the return to the new normal at SAT and prioritization of customs clearance through the use of technological tools such as the PITA project, the strengthening of the single window for foreign trade and electronic payment.
El Salvador
Meanwhile, Director General of Customs of El Salvador, Samadhy Martínez, noted that biosecurity protocols were activated at border points and He highlighted the coordination with the homologous customs of Guatemala and Honduras, which allowed the flow of goods to continue. He highlighted the establishment of the guidelines approved by COMIECO and COMISCA applied to transport, in addition to the coordinated intervention of institutions at the border.
Antigua and Barbuda
To talk about the situation in Antigua and Barbuda, he took the floor Raju Boddu, Director of Customs. He highlighted the implementation of best practices to ensure the health of customs human resources, temporary organizational restructuring, operational strategies, protocol adjustments, and coordination and communication with health agencies and other law enforcement agencies.
"Customs responsibilities have increased worldwide and they need sustained support in terms of non-intrusive inspection equipment, secure infrastructure, leveraging disruptive technologies and a robust risk management system,” stressed the representative of the country located where the Atlantic and the Caribbean meet.
Chile
Meanwhile, National Director of Customs of Chile, José Ignacio Palma, detailed a series of actions taken to expedite the import and donation of critical medical supplies in coordination with other public services, support for MSMEs, facilitation of the logistics chain and protection of both officials and collaborators and users.
The highest Chilean customs authority highlighted the important coordination that has been established with Prosur (comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Guyana) and the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) to not stop the dispatch of essential goods, such as medical supplies and food.
In addition, Palma indicated that digitalization is the key in the new normal: “There must be strong reflection on digitalization, which takes on a very deep meaning, has to do with a work culture, but at the same time with having information systems that can be interconnected for efficient, essentially predictive, and on-time auditing work.”
José Ignacio Palma added that it is necessary to “prevent the violation of border security, traceability, collection and control mechanisms of foreign trade operations, because even though we are in a pandemic period, or later in a post-pandemic period, the roles of customs administrations cannot be ignored and must be kept within the scope of their respective competences.”
Private sector cooperation
Additionally, the President of the Regional Group of the Private Sector for the Americas and the Caribbean of the WCO, Alfonso Rojas González, recognized the work of customs and highlighted the work they have been doing in agreement with the Private Sector Consultative Group and the WCO, through the preparation of a document with the first recommendations. In turn, it highlighted the single window, the lifting of time, the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the OAS as points for continue working to speed up exports from the region.
At its end, Margarita Libby, IDB specialist, found agreement on several points detailed by the speakers. “Security, innovation and the guarantee of food supply to each of the populations, and measures to relieve SMEs are highlighted as central, without neglecting coordination and adaptation. The great challenge for customs is not to lose control in the name of facilitation”, he concluded after moderating the event.
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