“Trade Works” The World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 27 April 2015 released its call for proposals for the 2015 public forum to be held at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from 30 September to 2 October under the theme “Trade Works”. Should you be interested in participating in any of the sessions at the forum you simply need to submit your proposal by no later than 1 June. The forum will focus on how trade helps to foster growth, reduce poverty and increase access to goods, medicines and innovation. In addition, it will look at what makes trade work and how countries can use trade to integrate into the global economy. Seychelles WTO’s number 161st On 26 April 2015 Seychelles officially became the 161st WTO member, ending 20 years of negotiation of its accession terms with WTO members. WCO ESA HS Workshop Zimbabwe hosted the Customs Administrations of the East and Southern African (ESA) region’s workshop on the Harmonised System Infrastructure Support/ Train-the-Trainer in Harare from 20-24 April. The workshop was attended by 22 customs officers representing seven countries of the ESA region, namely, Burundi, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. According to the World Customs Organisation (WCO) the group discussed the use and future prospects of the Harmonised System (HS) and some practical cases of tariff classification. The participants were trained on the principles for classifying goods, as well as the Guidelines and the Diagnostic Tool on Tariff Classification Work and Related Infrastructure. ICAO-WCO Air Cargo The International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) and the WCO held a joint workshop on air cargo security and facilitation at the Icao regional office in Bangkok, Thailand from 28-30 April. The workshop was held with the financial support of the Japanese Customs Co-operation Fund and with the assistance of the WCO, regional office of capacity building and the Icao Asia and Pacific regional office. According to the WCO, the workshop was attended by 58 participants representing customs and aviation security authorities from 28 countries, as well as representatives from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) and the Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU). Duty Calls Watch List Comment on the proposed new regulations relating to the grading, packing and marking of table olives intended for sale in South Africa is due by 29 May 2015. Comment on the proposed revised import requirements for cattle, sheep and goats from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS countries) is due by 17 May 2015. Comment on the request for the implementation of statutory measures in the pomegranate industry for four years effective from January 2016 is due by 16 May 2015.
