About us > Strategic Plan > Customs Environment

The following issues, identified through a process of scanning the international environment and drivers, have guided the preparation of the 2009/2010 - 2011/2012 Strategic Plan. The environment in which the WCO and its Members operate will continue to be defined by the core roles of Customs : (1) Revenue collection; (2) National security; (3) Community protection; (4) Trade facilitation; and (5) Collecting trade data. The following list includes many of the current challenges faced by Customs administrations around the world today:

• The need for the Customs community to be responsive to the global financial crisis and join global efforts to sustain confidence in the trading system. It is important to avoid the introduction of new barriers to trade, or measures that will increase costs and generate additional delays at the border. The use of risk management is a key element in this connection;
• The adoption by the WCO Council of the policy document, “Customs in the 21^st Century”, as the high-level strategic direction of the WCO Secretariat and WCO Members, which embodies a new strategic perspective and policies that will shape the role of Customs in the 21^st Century;

• Continued investment by the private sector in modern manufacturing, information and supply chain management systems, supported by information and communication technologies, and a resultant increase in expectations for prompter and more cost-efficient and predictable border processing of goods and people;

• Heightened awareness of the external drivers that add complexity to the global trade landscape, including initiatives to further liberalize trade and more complex trade rules;

• Proliferation of regional trade agreements involving preferential rules of origin, resulting in a variety of rules of origin and procedures, which add costs to both governments and businesses;

• Greater awareness of the factors that increase the vulnerability of the international trade supply chain, including international terrorism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and revenue fraud, and the resultant increase in expectations for strengthened border control while ensuring continued improvements in trade facilitation, which also concerns issues of public health and safety as well as environmental issues;

• Heightened awareness of the adverse economic and social effects of the infringement of Intellectual Property Rights;

• More complex policy and procedural requirements associated with meeting international commitments and standards for efficient and effective border procedures, that enhance co-ordination and co-operation among border agencies;

• Increased awareness of the importance of Customs as a key vehicle for economic growth, social development and national security, and the resultant need for governments and donor organizations to invest in sustainable capacity building activities in Customs, supported by research-based strategy and professionalism;

• Increased awareness of the implementation of good governance and sound integrity within Customs services in co-operation with stakeholders, as a foundation for development policy and capacity building;

• Constraints on budget and human-resource allocation notwithstanding the increase in workload and government expectations; and

• Changes in organizational arrangements reflecting changes in government priorities.