On 15 February 2024, the World Customs Organization (WCO) announced that the Ambassador of the Embassy of Nicaragua to the Belgium and Mission to the European Union (EU) had deposited Nicaragua’s Instrument of Accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), to the World Customs Organization (WCO) Secretary General. The RKC will come into force for Nicaragua on 15 May 2024.
The RKC now comprises 136 Contracting Parties with the accession of Nicaragua. Among the 33 WCO Members in the South America, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean region, Nicaragua will become the 10th Contracting Party to the RKC.
The WCO has been encouraging its Members who have not yet acceded to accede to the RKC, emphasising its role as an international treaty that provides a set of comprehensive Customs procedures to facilitate legitimate international trade while enabling effective Customs controls, including the protection of Customs revenue and society.
The RKC promotes key principles of simplified and harmonised Customs procedures, such as predictability, transparency, due process, maximum use of information technology, and modern Customs techniques e.g. risk management, pre-arrival processing, and post-clearance audit.
It is worth noting that while many WCO Members have embraced the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), acceding to the RKC presents a compelling option as the two complement each other and the RKC provides the necessary detail in ensuring the commitments to both conventions are fulfilled.