On 1 July 2021, at the invitation of the Organization of American States (OAS), WCO Deputy Secretary General Ricardo Treviño participated in a virtual workshop on “AEO: Inter-institutional cooperation and the new challenges/opportunities in the SAFE Framework of Standards”.

This event was organized by the OAS Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for international trade-related government organizations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with the aim of promoting coordination and cooperation in the implementation of AEO Programmes.

The Deputy Secretary General addressed the importance of AEO Programmes for economic openness, and in terms of the strategic role of Customs in the economic recovery of countries through international trade, and in securing the supply chain in the face of the risks that arise with disruptive scenarios.  He also stressed that the integration of other government organizations is vital to the achievement of these goals.

Mr. Treviño underlined the challenges of expanding the AEO concept to E-Commerce and explained that the WCO is working to establish best practices and develop compendiums that may support a rapid and effective post-pandemic resumption.

During the workshop, representatives of different international organizations were able to provide updates on trends and promote the capacity building and technical assistance opportunities available to support the development of AEO programmes.

This workshop gave participants an opportunity to share their countries’ experiences of the implementation of AEO programmes and discuss the future challenges of AEO.