Christophe Zimmermann is the Coordinator for the Fight against Counterfeiting and Piracy at the World Customs Organization (WCO). In a friendly conversation, he said that “Customs has become the police force for goods. Now, in addition to collecting, border controls have this new role and need techniques such as risk analysis, keys to detecting illicit trafficking,
including drugs.”
How does Customs facilitate and control trade at the same time?
It is a bit antinomic. New techniques were needed to be able to do both things, and the first of them is “Targeting” or “Risk Analysis”. There is no facilitation without control. Customs cannot just control everything, as in the past: it must find a technical solution to reduce and improve controls. That is, reduce control time without blocking the trade chain. This can be summed up in one word: “Targeting” (Profiles). The Customs of Mercosur and Chile will have two days of training on this technique applied to transport documents such as the Cargo Manifest (land), the Air Traffic Guide and the Bill of Lading (sea). We will apply selectivity criteria to these documents. We will analyze the transport document with questions such as where, why, when and how. When the answer is vague, it is controlled, but if it is lied to, it is because something is hidden. Customs must take care of the logic, credibility and coherence of the data in the transport document. The customs declaration is designed for collection purposes, it must be remembered that it is a financial administration, for this reason it depends on the Ministry of Finance. However, in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, Customs has to exercise police control of goods; it is a new job with new risk analysis techniques to detect illicit trafficking, including narcotics.
Does technology help detect counterfeiting and piracy?
The trained customs officer can exercise selectivity, anticipating the future. The machine works with information from the past, while the customs officer can infer whether there is fraud in a declaration. Big Data does not exist at the moment, which is why we need trained humans. This is a problem because very few customs officers are trained in risk analysis as they should be. This is the key.
The WCO expert during his presentation at the Forum on Intellectual Property in the Digital Economy in Buenos Aires. Photo: Customs News
How is Argentina doing regarding counterfeiting?
Argentina has improved in counterfeiting, it is a different country. I remember that ten years ago I trained customs officers with the WCO and there were thousands of counterfeits on Florida Street. Not today: there is great progress. But it shares the same problems as countries in the region and the world, such as the fight against corruption and drug trafficking. It is not easy for a customs officer to control all containers. The problem is that the more we facilitate, the more crimes are committed. If we control, as in Europe, 3% of trade, in the remaining 97% that has no physical control there is sure to be fraud. I believe that Customs should allocate a percentage, 5% or 6% to carry out control under the modality of drug risk analysis, CITES, or counterfeiting, to detect some crime. This is controlling and facilitating trade.
Can Customs raise awareness among consumers about the risk of consuming counterfeit products such as toys, medicines, shoes?
The consumer has a double standard. On the one hand, he will buy counterfeit products such as trainers from brand X that cost 200 dollars, but he pays 10 dollars. He accepts this. But the same consumer, when we talk about medicines, fake food or drink, is the one who demands the intervention of Customs. The biggest problem is that counterfeiting launders money. That is why the Tax and Customs database must be cross-checked. There are many things to do! But with a database, risk analysis, the appropriate law and, above all, very good training, the fight against counterfeiting has a chance of success.
The WCO expert offered these statements to Customs News during the opening of the Forum on Intellectual Property in the Digital Economy, on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, in Buenos Aires.
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.
