The General Directorate of Customs hosted this Tuesday (06.08.2024) the public presentation of the Report on Coordinated Border Management in MERCOSUR countries, which presents solutions to the difficulties encountered in the Integrated Control Areas to improve the flow of trade.
This technical study was prepared by the Procomex Institute of Brazil, with support from the World Bank, at the request of Technical Committee No. 2: "Customs Matters." The document consists of 14 chapters spread over 412 pages.
The presentation of the report took place at the organization's headquarters in Buenos Aires, attended by the directors of the customs of the MERCOSUR countries (linked to the study), the border agencies (Agriculture, Health and Migration) and the representatives of the MERCOSUR Cargo Transport Business Council. Also attending were 250 participants from the private sector online.
In this context, the opening was led by the Undersecretary of International Economic Negotiations and Integration of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Gabriel Martínez, and the Director General of Customs, Eduardo Mallea. The moderator on the occasion was Ernani Checcucci, Senior Specialist in Trade Facilitation at the World Bank Group.
Ambassador Gabriel Martínez stated that the MERCOSUR Coordinated Border Management Report constitutes relevant material to begin the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Integrated Control Areas, in order to propose solutions to the difficulties encountered in the Technical Study on the Status and Situation of the Level of Integration of MERCOSUR Integrated Control Areas, presented by Technical Committee No. 2 in June 2023. In this regard, he added: “The report provides proposals based on international good practices that will improve cargo and border flows.”
Director Eduardo Mallea joined the spirit of the panel, welcoming the MERCOSUR customs.
In the particular case of Uruguay, the National Director of Customs, Jaime Borgiani, shared that the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR will provide support. In his words, the report represents the “kick-off” to advance and improve the image of the bloc in the world, an approach also shared by Brazil and Paraguay.
Reflecting on the preparation of the report, John E. Mein, Executive Coordinator of the Procomex Institute, referred to the public-private partnership and the invaluable contribution of private sector foreign trade operators.
Managed by technical professionals Erika Medina, Antonella Lanfranconi Bobbio and César García, the Procomex report helped to carry out the mapping to make the difficulties visible, categorize the opportunities for improvement with a “holistic vision”, offering recommendations for the various groups of MERCOSUR and benefiting the analysis by country and by block.
The report was also presented as “an input for decision making"with the aim of improving the infrastructure of border points, implementing digitalization, harmonizing processes and working jointly with the private sector.
In detail, the project lasted 5 months (January to June 2024) covering 10 borders between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its methodology identified 274 opportunities for improvement and 347 actions, linked to solution proposals on procedures, infrastructure, regulatory system and human resources.
In essence, the MERCOSUR Coordinated Border Management Report is an opportunity for border crossing processes to cease being a chain of control with individual links, and to give way to a synchronous review that optimizes time and resources. Its implementation is adequately adjusted to the specific requirements of each country and border post, and its application can be extended to other countries as an interconnected whole in the region.
- The respective release can be viewed at the following link.
- Download a PDF of the final report
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