The Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) held a hybrid meeting on 3 and 4 October 2022 at World Customs Organization (WCO) Headquarters following the fruitful dialogue with the WCO Policy Commission in June 2022. Over 30 representatives were in attendance at WCO Headquarters, while others joined via the Zoom platform to discuss a number of important topics related to the SAFE Review Cycle, SAFE Framework of Standards (FoS) Implementation Monitoring, Trade Facilitation, and Business Resumption. The Group had an opportunity to meet with the Deputy Secretary General, the Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs, and the Deputy Director of Capacity Building.
With regard to the SAFE Review Cycle which was addressed as a priority item on the agenda, PSCG representatives discussed and provided comments on the draft survey questionnaire on implementation of the SAFE FoS and the SAFE review proposals suggested by Customs administrations and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Most of comments were in favour of focusing on a comprehensive review of the SAFE FoS and monitoring its implementation. In-depth conversations on the SAFE Review Cycle continued at the 28th Meeting of the SAFE Working Group, which was held back to back with the PSCG meeting.
The WCO Deputy Secretary General, Ricardo Treviño Chapa, after welcoming PSCG members and thanking them for their active participation in the WCO’s work, gave a presentation on WCO Strategic Plan for 2022-2025. This was followed by a productive discussion on the key focus areas of the Strategic Plan, namely the WCO Data Strategy, Green Customs, and Modernization of the WCO. In this connection, the Deputy Secretary General made reference to the activities conducted by the WCO to implement these key focus areas, such as the launch of the WCO-WTO Study on Disruptive technologies, version 4.0 of the Data Model to be presented at the upcoming Permanent Technical Committee sessions, and the Study Report on the Circular Economy.
The Deputy Director of Capacity Building, Ebenezer Gebling Tafili, then gave a presentation to the Group on the WCO’s work to assist Members with their modernization and organisational development efforts. He outlined the broad range of projects and capacity building initiatives covering not only core Customs work, but also cross-cutting enablers such as human resource management, gender equality and diversity, and performance measurement. He highlighted the important role played by expert trainers, accredited experts, Regional Offices for Capacity Building and Regional Training Centres in the endeavours to raise awareness and support the Customs modernization process. He welcomed the PSCG’s assistance in securing political will for modernization, particularly in developing countries, and in promoting the digitalization of Customs, especially through Single Window implementation.
On the second day of the PSCG meeting, the Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs, Konstantinos Kaiopoulos, gave a presentation of the Exploratory Study project on a possible strategic review of the HS, followed by a discussion with the Group on topical issues such as the periodic review of the Harmonized System (HS) and Rules of Origin. During the conversation, he took the opportunity to introduce the team responsible for the Exploratory Study of the HS Project. The resulting conversation ranged freely over a large number of areas such as the preferable frequency and duration of the HS Review Cycle, how to improve the ability of the HS to reflect the most recent technological developments and ways to enhance its usability. PSCG members were also informed about another important area of work: looking at how the HS can support environmental policy measures. He updated the PSCG on the “Visualising a Greener HS” symposia series. These symposia, with input from the trade community, will encompass a range of sectors and will consider what can be done within the HS Review Cycle to increase its support for environmentally sustainable trade.
The PSCG meeting drew to a close with representatives expressing their appreciation to WCO management and suggesting further such dialogue to continue fostering close cooperation between the WCO and the private sector.