The Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) of the World Customs Organization (WCO) held a meeting on 24 April 2023 to discuss various issues related to the activities of the WCO. The meeting was chaired by the PSCG Chairperson, Jaime King (IFCBA), who called the meeting to order.

The agenda for the meeting included participation by Ricardo Trevino, the WCO Deputy Secretary General, a conversation on the relationship between the Permanent Technical Committee (PTC) and the PSCG, highlights of 239th/240th PTC Meeting’s Agenda, a presentation by the WCO Academy and a review of ongoing PSCG work.

The Deputy Secretary General briefed the PSCG on the WCO's Strategic Plan highlighting three focus areas: Technology and Innovation; Green Customs; and, Governance and Accountability. PSCG members were updated on the progress made so far on these initiatives and were encouraged to continue to support the WCO in achieving its objectives.

After the Deputy Secretary General's briefing, the meeting resumed with a conversation on the role of the PTC within the WCO. The WCO Secretariat highlighted the 239th/240th PTC Meeting’s Agenda, which included items on the WCO Performance Measurement Mechanism, Data Model 4.0, the Cross-border Regulatory Data Exchange Framework, E-Commerce, the WTO TFA, development of the new Time Release Study (TRS) online system and Customs-Port Cooperation Guidelines.

The meeting continued with a presentation by the Secretariat on the WCO Academy and the organization's training and capacity building e-learning courses designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of Customs officers and other supply chain stakeholders, including the private sector.

During the afternoon session, the PSCG reviewed its ongoing work in two areas: what trade facilitation means to the private sector and how to ensure business continuity in the face of trade disruption. Members discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with these areas and shared ideas on how to overcome them.

Lastly, the co-facilitator of the SAFE Review Sub-Group, Colm Leonard (IBM), provided an update on the outcomes of the last Sub-Group’s meeting on 4 April, including the new proposed filtration mechanism for the SAFE review cycle and preliminary results of the Pilot Survey on monitoring the implementation of the SAFE Framework of Standards.

The next PSCG Meeting will take place from 19 to 20 June 2023.