A group of international organizations joined together on Tuesday (06.02.2024) to make valuable contributions regarding the importance of the customs broker for the purposes of trade facilitation and security of the logistics chain, whose training places him as an effective collaborator with the respective customs service.
This was demonstrated by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Association of Professional Customs Agents (ASAPRA) to hundreds of participants who attended in person and virtually the meeting organized by the Centro Despachantes de Aduana (CDA), at its headquarters in the City of Buenos Aires. The objective was to present the “Chile Declaration”, signed on November 06, 2023, as it summarizes the global position of all customs broker associations in the world regarding “actions related to Risk, Surveillance and Control of merchandise and the Customs Service, through the Revised Kyoto Convention of the WCO.”
The meeting of the Argentine institution, with 112 years of a history of permanent work, was presented by Gerardo Pardal, President of the CDA, y Nelson Brens, President of ASAPRA"This event is another example of the constant search for greater efficiency and evolution of our profession," Pardal said at the opening.
“To this end, the title of the event 'Customs Brokers: Pioneers of Trade Facilitation'It is to share our preparation for the changes that the future holds for us, as well as to show the added value that we provide to the facilitation and security of trade," added the President of ASAPRA in his participation (via zoom) as sponsor of the seminar. It is an association created in 1969 to promote the adoption of effective measures to prevent illegal trafficking of goods or other breaches of customs and foreign trade laws. It currently has 35.000 direct professionals and 325.000 assistants in different countries. As such, it has the status of observer member of the WCO, in addition to advising different governments in the development and implementation of customs regulations.
Revised Kyoto Convention of the WCO
In this space of international collaboration and cooperation, Andrea Coscarello, Vice President of the CDA, invited the first speaker, Phuntshoi Dorji, WCO Technical Officer in charge of the instrument known as the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), dedicated to simplifying and harmonizing customs procedures around the world.
Dorji focused his presentation on the Chapter 8, referring to third parties and their relations with Customs. The CKR defines a third party as “any person who deals directly with Customs, for and on behalf of another person, in relation to the import, export, transit or storage of goods”. Among the most common examples of third parties are customs agents, “key actors in customs work” as they are essentially related to the presentation of customs documentation on behalf of importers and exporters, which must ensure its “accuracy”.
In his presentation, he reviewed the Historical Background of this body of regulations that were adopted in 1973 and revised in the 1990s to update them in line with evolving government regulations and international trade. Of the 185 WCO member countries, 133 have signed the Convention. Among them, 10 of the Americas and the Caribbean Region: Argentina, United States, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Dorji also explained the CKR structure It is made up of a General Body and Annexes. “Those countries that join have the obligation to comply with the general part, which are the guiding principles of the Convention, of which – according to the seminar – there are two main ones: cooperation with other agencies and association with the commercial sector.” In its analysis, it focused on relevant points of the Convention referring to the customs agent. 8.1 standard The General Annex provides that interested persons will have the option of conducting commercial transactions with Customs, either directly or by appointing a “third party” to act on their behalf. Here the instrument attempts to establish free market principles. In this regard, there are some customs administrations that are liberal, but others require that brokers have a professional license. In view of this, the WCO – in the exercise of its harmonization and technical advisory powers – presents a tool Travel Guide which expresses what the legal provisions are. “But they are not binding,” he clarified. As for the Standard 8.2, It requires the customs authority to specify in national legislation the conditions for persons to act as third parties and to stipulate their liability for any duties and taxes and for any irregularities in compliance with customs requirements. “Furthermore, it stipulates that licensing requirements for customs brokers must be transparent, non-discriminatory and reasonable.”
The modality of the event gave way to Ricardo Xavier Basaldúa, Argentine delegate to the Permanent Technical Committee on Customs Cooperation (now WCO) from 1971 to 1992, having been President of the Permanent Technical Committee (1982-1983), from where the Kyoto Convention was drawn up.
In his participation, Basaldúa referred to the current situation and the need for the third party to be qualified as a customs broker or agent, or to be qualified in customs matters.
Recapitulating the panel's topic, he recalled that the CKR obliges signatory countries to use customs agents on an "optional" basis. In addition, the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) establishes that, from the date of the Agreement's entry into force, countries will not establish the intervention of customs agents as mandatory.
“The truth is that the CKR and the AFC did not take into account the interests/customs of Latin American countries where the freight forwarders play an essential role in ensuring facilitation and security,” he said. “When their actions are restricted, the powers that each country must provide in customs matters are also limited, that is, who and how they act before customs.”
Focusing on the matter, Basaldúa said that the customs service will feel its performance affected by a person with no knowledge (classification, valuation, origin of the merchandise) in foreign trade. In his opinion, “this would cause chaos.”
He said that, given the new international reality created after the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, customs had a crucial role to play in the security of international merchandise traffic. This made it necessary for the various customs authorities around the world to work in the most coordinated manner possible and to collaborate closely with each other. The WCO adopted a regulatory framework to provide security and facilitate global trade (SAFE Framework).
The expert clarified that this tool advances the guidelines of Customs with Third Parties. Therefore, in terms of control, if the world current imposes a different treatment for those who have obtained a certification derived from their reliable conduct before Customs, precisely “who is more reliable than a customs broker known for a long time,” he indicated. He recalled that “today Customs must ensure non-economic measures.” Therefore, “this must make us see that security is a very important issue for everyone.”
Declaration of Chile - ASAPRA
Since security is of interest to all countries, the third panel addressed the ASAPRA Statement – Santiago de Chile: “Guidelines for actions related to risk, surveillance and control of goods, and customs service”.
When moderating, Oscar Dhers (CDA Advisor and Institution Counselor to ASAPRA), referred to “the professionalization, the work, the suitability” of the century-old Argentine institution that is important for the performance of the profession. Among examples of its active participation to contribute to improving security and facilitating international trade, there is such a declaration of action for customs professionals arising from a contaminated overload panel in Cartagena.
Dr Guillermo Vidal Albarracin (Co-editor of the Customs Code of the Argentine Nation and Advisor to the CDA), stopped to comment on the fact that there is currently a tendency to de-rank these qualified operators and downplay the importance of suitability for customs clearance. “This is leveling down,” he said. In his words: “Decree 70/2023 was drafted with ignorance of customs activity. By eliminating the registry of customs brokers, all the harmonization that the Customs Code that has been in force since 1981 has been taken into account.”
For this reason, the Argentine jurist considered “the call to action to be timely.” He called on “international organizations to guide us in the need to have an orderly and systematic regulation of customs regulations so that customs can implement security and efficiency in international trade.”
Finally, he presented the Declaration of Chile – ASAPRA Agreement signed unanimously – which includes the guidelines for customs actions on issues related to risk, surveillance and control of goods, in accordance with what is established by multilateral, bilateral or national customs regulations, complying with all the necessary requirements and formalities for its application to foreign trade operators, both in the private sector and customs officials.
In that context, the Dr. Joe Henry Thompson Arguello (ASAPRA Legal Advisor and Representative of the Chamber of Customs Agents, Warehousemen and Shippers of Nicaragua) took the floor (via Zoom). He agreed on the opportunity of the event to address the international issue and contribute to guaranteeing the global trade chain in its various links. “This is reflected in the 2024 Agenda of the global and regional customs community, taking into account issues such as green customs and the SAFE group, to name a few.”
“Today the greatest threat does not come from states but from a terrorist network (trafficking in people, drugs),” he said. “The aim is to ensure compliance with the legislation that is enforced by customs and other authorities that intervene at the border” to guarantee food, environmental and human protection.
Thompson Argüello explained that the Chile Declaration systematizes a series of risk indicators based on the normative body of international organizations such as the WCO, FATF, WIPO and IMO, which collaborate in the coordinated management of borders. He stressed, in this regard, that the ASAPRA instrument “is for the purpose of contributing to the legal good; that is: the adequate control that the regulations grant to customs on the international traffic of goods.”
WCO Private Sector Advisory Group
The International Association of Professional Customs Agents -ASAPRA- is represented in the WCO Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG). In view of this, the Mr. Jaime King Gancedo, President of the GCSP, shared the rich experience of the private sector participating in the WCO, which came into being in 2006, following the terrorist attacks of the XNUMXst century, in order to protect society. “Today there are around thirty companies and associations” whose knowledge enhances the contributions of best practices in the WCO, since they address a variety of activities within the supply chain in global trade.
Alfonso Rojas Gonzalez del Castillo, Chair of the WCO Private Sector Advisory Group for the Americas and Caribbean Region, mentioned WCO tools and developments that are already being implemented (OAS, Single Windows and the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Initiative) with the input of the trade sector to support the activities of customs administrations for trade facilitation purposes. “Unity and victory are synonymous,” he emphasized.
From a national perspective. Given that the World Customs Organization promotes actions that allow maximizing the operational efficiency of foreign trade, the authorities of the Center for Customs Clearance of the Argentine Republic provided a national perspective to the press; in this regard, they considered that the Trade Facilitation Committee would be the valid instance to increase cooperation and participation of the private sector in order to improve compliance and facilitation.
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