Within the framework of the Regional Business Meeting, an event held this Wednesday (11.08.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX), the Regional Vice President of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Werner Ovalle, highlighted the actions deployed for trade facilitation - simplification, modernization and harmonization of export and import procedures - in the Americas and the Caribbean.
At this meeting, virtually and interactively, Vice President Werner Ovalle detailed five actions linked to the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the proposal from the Organization to maintain the balance between control and facilitation, the Authorized Economic Operator Program and regional Mutual Recognition Agreements and how to strengthen the capacities of the countries of the region in customs matters through the tool known as the Dispatch Time Study.
He highlighted that of the thirty-three members of the Region of the Americas and the Caribbean, Twenty-seven countries ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the first multilateral trade agreement since the establishment of the World Trade Organization. He detailed the WCO tools that support trade facilitation, such as the Mercator Programme (an instrument that proposes simple, transparent, efficient and coordinated procedures), the SAFE Regulatory Framework, the Dispatch Time Study, among others.
Along these lines, Werner Ovalle pointed out that for facilitate trade Economic competitiveness, capacity building and the exchange of best practices between customs services have been promoted. Regarding the trade control, He pointed out the promotion of tax collection, risk management, joint operations and exchanges of information related to customs fraud and smuggling, undervaluation of goods and other actions that have allowed joint operations. He also said that the WCO promotes adherence to the Revised Kyoto Protocol Convention, the strengthening of the three pillars of the SAFE Framework, best practices for risk management through platforms and National Facilitation Committees so as to form a public-private forum to detect bottlenecks to facilitate trade.
Specifically, the Vice President of the WCO referred to the association with the private sector to take measures to guarantee the security of the logistics chain on the continent. In this regard, he indicated that five actions are being coordinated with the Regional Private Sector Group (established in 2019) in which Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay actively participate.
As for regional trade facilitation mechanisms, Werner Ovalle highlighted the WCO's support for the five short-term measures of the Central American Trade Facilitation and Competitiveness Strategy, with an emphasis on Coordinated Border Management, which consist of registration by means of Radiofrequency devices, streamlining and coordination of immigration controls, advance declaration of goods, electronic phytosanitary and zoosanitary certificates and the use of camera systems at border crossings. He clarified that one of the most notable advances occurred on March 1, 2021, when the pilot phase of the Advance Declaration of goods between Guatemala and Honduras was launched. He also referred to the "Paperless Customs" project, which consists of the incorporation of new technologies for the digitalization of supporting documents for merchandise declarations, achieving the progressive elimination of the use of paper.
According to the Vice President, twenty countries of the Americas and the Caribbean have Authorized Economic Operator Programs in their administrations, whose concept is based on international standards to ensure and facilitate trade through secure logistics chains and collaboration agreements between customs and the private sector. In addition, there are Four Multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreements in the Region:
- Pacific Alliance: Chile, Mexico, Peru and Colombia (2018)
- Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama (2019)
- Andean Community: Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia (2019)
- Mercosur: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (2019)
Additionally, in the words of Ovalle, work is being done a Multilateral Agreement in process, through the San Pablo Declaration, with ten countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Costa Rica requested incorporation in 2020. Ovalle positively valued the efforts of the countries to strengthen the relationship between customs and the private operator to ensure and facilitate the logistics chain.
The Vice President also highlighted the Actions to strengthen customs capacities. In this regard, he noted that seven countries (Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Chile and the Bahamas) submitted the Dispatch Time Study to the WCO. This implies that the 21 percent of the region has already implemented this unique tool that allows measuring the real performance of import, export and transit movements. In addition, the WCO supported the implementation of the first Study of Dispatch Times at Regional Level with six countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama) at seven border posts in Central America. Regarding the importance of the Study of Dispatch Times at the Regional level, he said that “it will allow progress in trade facilitation, coordinated management at borders between customs and draw up a medium-term action plan to advance competitiveness.”
Werner Ovalle also reviewed the achievements of the Regional Customs Union between Guatemala and Honduras, as well as the strategy of new border posts with Mexico.
Finally, he called for speeding up the movement, lifting and clearance of goods, including those in transit.Trade facilitation is not the exclusive responsibility of the customs service. Each actor in the logistics chain plays an important role.” He urged strengthening public-private communication and cooperation and remembering that “customs are a strategic arm for the competitiveness of the country and the region.”
The 2021 Regional Business Meeting was an event organized by the Guatemalan-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAMEX), with the support of the Mexican Embassy in Guatemala and the International Mediation Center, among other organizations.
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