Customs modernization a major issue for world business
Brussels, 28 April 1997 - A top representative of international business today described the effort to modernize customs procedures and reduce red tape in many trading nations as a major aspect of lowering barriers to international trade.
The Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, Maria Livanos Cattaui, told senior customs officials and business executives in conference here that although there were big differences between national administrations, procedures were too often cumbersome, time-consuming and unpredictable.
Maria Cattaui was addressing a three-day World Customs Organization Customs Reform and Modernization Forum, called to promote cooperation between business engaged in international trade and customs authorities.
She said : "We welcome all examples of customs modernization that can bring the full benefits of modern technology and management practices to bear on a daily reconciliation of the control requirements of customs and the imperatives of trade in a global economy."
The ICC Secretary General said successive multilateral trade negotiations, culminating in the Uruguay Round agreement, had brought tariffs down to their lowest levels this century. "This has provided a huge impulse to international trade, but has inevitably drawn attention to other practical obstacles to the free flow of goods across borders - rather like rocks revealed by an ebbing tide.
"Our member companies all over the world have urged the ICC to raise the issue of customs modernization at all available opportunities," Maria Cattaui said. The ICC intends to use its cooperation agreement with the WCO, which came into force in June last year, to get this message across to customs administrations.
She further noted that the ICC succeeded in having the simplification of trade procedures, including customs, placed on the agenda of the World Trade Organization at its first ministerial conference in Singapore last December.
"This was a major breakthrough for world business," the ICC Secretary General said. She added
: "We have prepared detailed guidelines on how business sees customs procedures being made more effective through the application of modern techniques. We commend these practices to all customs administrations. "
The ICC guidelines urge greater reliance by customs authorities on automation and electronic information systems. They recommend that essential control information be processed before the goods arrive at frontiers, the use of X-ray and other non-intrusive examination techniques, and that customs working hours be tailored to commercial needs. Among suggestions for cutting red tape is acceptance of a commercial document as the export declaration instead of insistence on completion of an official form.
The ICC Secretary General said: "The growing complexity of international trade lends urgency to the business drive to convince governments that they should focus on customs modernization as a significant element in further trade liberalization. If for no other reason, increasing reliance on just-in-time production and delivery makes speedy customs clearance a major issue for business."