The World Customs Organisation (WCO) announced that members of the Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) met on 21 and 22 October to prepare for dialogue with Customs administration representatives attending the WCO SAFE Working Group on 23 October.
The PSCG was formed to inform and advise the WCO Secretary General, the Policy Commission and WCO Members on Customs and international trade matters from the perspective of the private sector. The PSCG complements the vital contributions made by private sector Observers to WCO Committee meetings.
Twenty-four representatives of the private sector attended the meeting, including the following new members for 2019-2020: Baker Hughes, an oil and gas company, GS1, a not-for-profit organization that develops and maintains global standards for business communication, INDELOX, a company providing business outsourcing solutions, the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
The Group discussed matters relating to the review of the Revised Kyoto Convention and of the Harmonized System, as well as to Free Trade Zones and regional private sector groups’ concerns.
The Group’s representatives unanimously agreed to create a vision document on the future of Customs in order to support the WCO’s work in this area. In addition, 14 members of the Group, representing a variety of supply chain operators, volunteered to participate in a working group on the Future of the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade under the leadership of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Story by: Riaan de Lange