The Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Mr. Ian Saunders took part in one of the Thematic Events of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held on August 19th in Yokohama, Japan. The session, titled “Paving the Way to the Africa’s Single Market: AfCFTA’s Journey for the Last Six-Years and its Future”, was organized by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in cooperation with the WCO and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
The event focused on the efforts needed to assist AfCFTA to reach its full potential and to identify needs and future actions towards the realization of a single African market. In his opening remarks, recalling that the WCO’s mission is to develop international standards including the Harmonized System (HS) on which AfCFTA’s preferential tariff rates and Rules of Origin are based, the Secretary General highlighted that the WCO is engaged in supporting its Members in Africa through an EU funded Programme on HS and Rules of Origin. Theseprogrammes are focused on developing capacity in the field of classification of goods leading to a consistent application of AfCFTA’s preferential schemes. Furthermore, the Secretary General emphasized the key role played by trade facilitation in realizing the potential of AfCFTA through minimizing border delays, increasing predictability, and lowering transaction costs, citing a World Bank estimate that well implemented trade facilitation measures are the most efficient way to ensure economic benefits under the AfCFTA.
During the panel, the Secretary General, stated that the role of Customs is crucial in implementing the AfCFTA, which carries the private sector’s expectations of preferential tariff and trade facilitation, because Customs, as administrator of trade, is responsible for appropriate application of preferential duties and the distinction of legitimate goods from high risk shipments, through which Customs can bring clarity and stability to international trade.
Other panelists, including the representatives of JICA, the AfCFTA Secretariat and Zambia Revenue Authority, also emphasized the importance of trade facilitation measures.
The panel helped the audience understand the importance of the work Customs administrations do as administrator of trade in realizing the benefits of AfCFTA.
The event also marked the completion of the Rules of Origin Handbook,which was developed though the WCO Master Trainer Programme (MTP) on Rules of Origin to support the implementation of AfCFTA, conducted from 2021 to 2024 under the WCO/JICA Joint Project.
Alongside his participation in TICAD 9, Secretary General Saunders met with Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, President of JICA, and Mr. Mitsuhiro Teraoka, Director General of Customs and Tariff Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Japan and his deputy Dr. Toshiaki Hiromitsu and exchanged views on the roles of Customs and the WCO in the current trade environment and on the cooperation between the WCO and their respective organizations.
He also attended a session with scholars of the Japan-WCO Human Resource Development Programme (scholarship program for Master's degree courses in Japan) and shared his insights.