Five New AEO MRAs Have Been Signed by Canada and Korea
The World Customs Organization has issued a press release announcing that it held its 115th/116th annual meetings in Brussels on June 24-26, 2010 which included three days of intensive discussions by Directors General of Customs representing the 176 Members of the WCO.
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Trade Facilitation, Risk Management, IPR, Etc. Discussed at Annual Sessions
During the meetings, the Directors General discussed a number of policy and technical issues dealing with Customs in the 21st Century including globally networked Customs, trade facilitation, security, revenue-related matters, intellectual property rights, and capacity building. They also spent considerable time discussing risk management; a strategic policy that is increasingly being applied by Customs administrations to more efficiently manage global trade both from a security and a facilitation perspective.
According to the WCO Secretary General, “All aspects of Customs’ operating environment has an element of risk, so the wide-scale implementation of innovative risk management solutions will enable Customs administrations to cope with high trade volumes at borders whilst ensuring the security of global trade.”
5 AEO MRAs Signed, Including One Involving the U.S.
The WCO also witnessed the signing of Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) -- which form an integral part of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards (which includes guidelines for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs), to secure and facilitate global trade between:
- Korea and the U.S.1,
- Canada and Japan,
- Canada and Korea,
- Korea and Singapore, and
- Canada and Singapore.
1This marks the fifth MRA signed by the U.S. The U.S. has previously signed MRAs with New Zealand, Canada, Jordan and Japan.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 06/28/10 news, 10062515, for previous BP summary on the signing of the U.S. and Korea MRA on C-TPAT/AEO mutual recognition.)
Training Center MOUs Signed with Congo, Korea, and Ukraine
The WCO’s regional network was expanded with the signing of memorandum of understandings (MOUs) between the WCO and the Republic of Congo, Korea and Ukraine which establish Regional Training Centers (RTC) in these countries. These RTC’s will serve as centers of excellence in these regions.
Philippines and Kenya Accede to Revised Kyoto Convention
At the annual meetings, the Philippines and Kenya deposited their instruments of accession to the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention.
Liberia Becomes Contracting Party to HS Convention
Liberia deposited its instrument of accession to the WCO Harmonized System Convention at the annual meetings.
Agreements to Promote WCO Standards Signed
Tripartite agreements were also signed in the margins of the sessions between the WCO and Lesotho/South Africa, Mauritius/South Africa, Ethiopia/Israel and Mauritius/Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. These agreements promote the implementation of WCO standards while encouraging WCO members to share their knowledge and skills with one another in the spirit of building sustainable capacity in Customs.
(Press release dated 06/26/10)