Sao Paulo, 7-8 November 2011

Report

The WCO organized a seminar on the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) with the theme "Security of the Supply Chain and Trade Facilitation: Challenges of the RKC" in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 7-8 November 2011 in collaboration with ASAPRA (Customs Brokers Association in Latin America) and Brazil Customs.

Customs administrations of 12 countries, including 8 Directors General, and the heads of two regional groups, COMALEP and CCLEC, joined the seminar together with representatives from business and Customs brokers in the Latin American and Caribbean region to discuss issues relating to accessions to the RKC in the region.

After welcoming remarks by Brazil’s Secretary of Federal Revenue, Carlos Alberto Freitas, who stated that his country was near to accession, two panels composed of Directors General of Customs and regional groups, respectively moderated by the Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya and the Deputy Secretary General, Sergio Mujica, showed how Customs administrations in the region had incorporated the provisions of the RKC into their legislation and procedures, and based their Customs reform on the RKC. Panellists also explained their move towards RKC accession.

The private sector panel came to the common understanding that the RKC and the SAFE Framework of Standards were complementary, with the former providing the basis for the latter. They also discussed the reality on the ground and the need for well-established rules and systems to provide the basis for a partnership approach among the parties involved in trade.

A panel of academics stressed the importance of predictability and legal certainty in trade. Experts, including representatives from the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank, explained a range of benefits that accession to the RKC offers, including supporting regional integration and providing sustainability of Customs reform.

At the conclusion, the Director General of Brazil Customs, Ernani Checcucci, welcomed the commitment of regional Members to engage in the accession process and renewed his own country’s commitment to accede to the RKC as soon as possible. President Alejandro Ramos of ASAPRA confirmed business’s strong support for the RKC. Secretary General Mikuriya also welcomed moves towards RKC accession by Customs in the region and business support for these moves, and reiterated the WCO’s commitment to provide necessary assistance in this regard.

The seminar adopted the Sao Paulo Declaration that commits all partners to take necessary measures to progress the RKC accession process.

Most seminar participants later moved to Santos to visit Brazil Customs and the biggest port in Latin America before participating in the General Assembly of ASAPRA. Secretary General Mikuriya delivered a keynote speech to explain recent activities of the WCO that require an enhanced partnership with business.