On 08 November 2023, the World Customs Organization (WCO) announced that in a remarkable display of global collaboration and forward-thinking discourse, the 3rd WCO Global Origin Conference had commenced its proceedings in Santiago, Chile on November 8, centred around the theme “Building Trust in the Origin Environment”.
The Conference, hosted by the National Customs Service of Chile and supported by the Korea Customs Service, the European Union (EU), and various private sector companies, has garnered considerable attention, with over 500 registered participants from 82 countries.
At the opening of the conference, the Director General of Chile Customs mentioned her appreciation of the support of the WCO Secretariat and underscored the importance for the Customs community to strengthen their collaboration and pursue in-depth discussions on the topic of Rules of Origin (RoO). A video message by the Under-Secretary for International Economic Relations, on behalf of the Government of Chile, was played during the conference. In her message, she highlighted the organisation of the 3rd WCO Global Origin Conference, in Chile. In this regard, she showcased the importance of the RoO for Chile, which has more than 30 free trade agreements with other countries. Therefore, this conference is very important to strengthen the partnership between private and public sectors and enhance international trade.
In his opening address the WCO Secretary General (SG) expressed his thanks to Chile Customs and emphasised the importance of the rules of origin as one of the core aspects of regional integration and improving the business climate. The WCO SG maintained the continuous WCO support in upgrading various WCO tools in this area, including the WCO Feasibility Study on establishing an Interconnectivity Framework for Certification of Origin. The WCO SG suggested this conference would be an excellent opportunity for building trust between Customs and with business through dialogue and networking.
The inaugural day featured expert-led panel discussions and engaging origin business talks, delving deeply into the intricate landscape of navigating RoO under diverse trade agreements, streamlining implementation processes, factors influencing the utilisation of trade preferences, and establishing trust within the origin environments.
During the next day of the conference the speakers explored the topic of digitalisation within origin procedures, spotlighting best practices in Customs-to-Customs exchange of data and the undeniable benefits of Single Window solutions.
