From 25 to 28 July 2017, the acting Deputy Director of the Tariff and Trade Directorate attended the "VII International Scientific and Practical Conference on the Problems of Expert Activities" in Vladivostok (Russian Federation).  The Conference was opened by Mr. Peter Tokarev, Head of the Central Expert Criminalistic Customs Administration (CECCA) who emphasized the important role played by Customs Laboratories in the protection of the society and the environment.  The Russian Customs Laboratory became in 2016 WCO Regional Customs Laboratory.  During the conference, approximately 50 experts from Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Russian Federation and the WCO exchanged experiences and challenges regarding chemical analysis by Customs Laboratories.

During the Conference, a wide range of topics related to the Harmonized System (HS) and Customs Laboratories were addressed and the participants were informed about the changes introduced to the HS 2017 edition that might affect the routine of the Customs Laboratories.  Participants were also informed of the WCO strategy regarding the Regional Customs Laboratories.

Moreover, the chemical analysis of some specific commodities (e.g., polymers, mineral oils, tropical wood, food, juices, narcotics and designer drugs) and some modern analytical methods (e.g., capillary electrophoresis, immunochemistry) were discussed by participants and facilitators.  In his closing remarks, Mr. Tokarev thanked participants for the high level discussions and emphasized the importance of the cooperation and networking between Customs Laboratories.