The official closing of the SECO-WCO Global Trade Facilitation Programme (GTFP) Light-Touch Intervention (LTI) for Jordan Customs Department (JCD) was celebrated on 2 August 2023 in Amman, Jordan, with the participation of 50 people including the Director General and Heads of Units of the Jordan Customs Department, the Embassy of Switzerland in Jordan, delegates of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, the Jordan Chamber of Industry and representatives from the express shipping industry, including DHL, Aramex, FedEx, UPS, Royal Jordanian Airlines and the Jordan Post Company, and the GTFP team.
The GTFP officially launched its light-touch intervention in Jordan on 16 May 2022 with the overall objective to support the JCD in developing a procedure allowing for the expedited release of goods entered through air cargo facilities, thus aligning with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Article 7.8 on Expedited Shipments.
A total of 78 Customs officials representing a wide range of areas such as legal, risk management, international airport, postal customs, clearance, and IT from the JCD participated in and benefitted from the capacity building assistance provided, gaining knowledge and skills that will surely trickle into other areas within the Customs to contribute to the overall Customs modernization process in the country.
As a result of the support, the JCD developed and approved an Expedited Shipment Procedure that enables transparency, predictability, and certainty to all relevant stakeholders and seeks to expedite the release of goods entering through the air cargo facilities and a Risk Management Enhancement Plan, which details concrete steps to continually enhance risk management to ensure the sustainability and safety of the facilitations provided.
The successful completion of the LTI represents an important achievement for the JCD and the GTFP, as the enhanced efficiency of the JCD’s air cargo clearance through re-engineering of the process incorporating the risk management elements is expected to have a positive impact on the overall national efforts to become a leading e-commerce centre.
For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.