The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the United Kingdom Border Force (UKBF) have concluded an agreement to enhance the WCO Cargo Targeting System (WCO CTS). This marks the latest chapter in the growing partnership between the WCO and UKBF following the recent agreement to deploy the WCO CTS to Guatemala and Thailand.

The new agreement will see the WCO and UKBF working together to update and improve every aspect of the WCO CTS from cargo manifest data handling to risk assessment and targeting functionality. It will combine UKBF expertise with that of the established project partners, such as United States Customs and Border Protection and private sector cargo transportation industries, to deliver an enhanced version of the popular WCO tool that is available to all WCO Members, which will be available in 2022.

“The WCO is looking forward to enhancing WCO CTS. We are grateful to United Kingdom Border Force for supporting this effort which will further increase the cargo targeting capacity of those WCO Members adopting the system,” said WCO Compliance and Facilitation Director Mr. Pranab Das.

Mr. Nick Fowler, Head of Border Force International, stated: “This collaboration builds upon successful joint working between WCO and Border Force over the past few years.  It is a pleasure to be involved in enhancing the WCO CTS, which we view as an important tool for users in the fight against organized criminal groups seeking to exploit border controls.”

The WCO CTS is a cargo manifest risk assessment and targeting solution developed by the WCO for Customs administrations around the globe. It allows those adopting the solution to implement international best practice cargo risk assessment and targeting, including key pillars of the WCO’s SAFE Framework of Standards to secure and facilitate global trade.

For more information on the WCO CTS please contact cargotargetingsystem@wcoomd.org