The World Customs Organisation (WCO) celebrated International Customs Day on 26 January, and officially launched the theme of the year: Data Analysis for Effective Border Management.
The WCO Secretary General explained the ways data flows along the global value chain and how Customs can use it in an equitable and inclusive manner to support globalisation. He also pointed out the vulnerabilities of cross-border transactions linked to e-commerce and the importance of understanding the challenges to be able to support legitimate trade and combat illicit trafficking. He invited Customs administrations to share best practices to enhance the effectiveness of border management and concluded by announcing that as data analysis empowered customs officers and contributed to establishing a level playing field, the WCO would organise, during the year, several events on the theme “Women in Customs” to improve gender equality.
The Ambassador and Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union (EU) underlined the major opportunities and challenges concerning the use of data as well as the tools available to harness its power. She also explained how gender balance was important in the workplace and also her own experience of the progress made so far.
The Vice President, EMEA Operations, Integration Point made a presentation on the use of data analysis in trade. She identified the challenges of having disparate data systems, an increasing volume of trade information and the importance of reconciling security demands - and the need for effective data sharing and analytics.