Singapore supports trade facilitation

Singapore, 10 June 2011

Report

At the invitation of Director General Fong Yong Kian of Singapore Customs, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya visited Customs and had a meeting with business representatives in Singapore on 10 June 2011.

Singapore Customs explained its TradeFirst initiative launched on 26 January 2011, on the occasion of International Customs Day, as a new trade facilitation framework. This initiative packaged the existing AEO and other customer programmes of Customs in an inclusive manner and provided greater facilitation to companies rated in a higher category. There are currently 300 member companies with each having an assigned Customs officer serving as an “Account Manager” to help them in facilitating trade and improving compliance. The current 70 AEO companies are rated at higher categories in the TradeFirst programme.

Noting this initiative as enhancing customer-oriented service in line with this year's WCO theme on “Knowledge”, the Secretary General discussed the on-going programme of improving professionalism in Customs and compliance in business. He also explored ways with the Customs management team on an enhanced role for Singapore in supporting the implementation of WCO tools and Customs reform in the ASEAN and APEC regions, such as the Revised Kyoto Convention, the AEO programme and the Single Window.

He also took the opportunity to meet with senior officials of the Ministries of Finance and Transport and the CEO of the Singapore Business Federation as well as several members of the Customs Advisory Group, to discuss current issues that have ramifications for global and regional trade facilitation including security.