World Customs Organization

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics such as commodity classification, valuation, rules of origin, collection of customs revenue, supply chain security, international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of intellectual property rights (IPR), illegal drug enforcement, combating counterfeiting of medicinal drugs,^[2] illegal weapons trading, integrity promotion, and delivering sustainable capacity building to assist with customs reforms and modernization. The WCO maintains the international Harmonized System (HS) goods nomenclature, and administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin.^[3][4]

World Customs Organization

Abbreviation	WCO
Formation	26 January 1953; 71 years ago (1953-01-26)[1]
Type	Intergovernmental organization
Location	Brussels, Belgium
Membership	186 customs administrations
Official language	English and French
Secretary General	Ian Saunders (January 2024 - present)
Website	www.wcoomd.org

Headquarters building

History

On 23 August 1947 the Committee for European Economic Cooperation created a European Customs Union Study Group (ECUSG) to examine economic and technical issues of inter-European Customs Union concerning the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In total, six ECUSG meetings were held in four years from November 1947 to June 1950.^[5] This work of ECUSG led to the adoption in 1950 of the Convention establishing the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), which was signed in Brussels. On 26 January 1953^[1] the CCC's inaugural session took place with the participation of 17 founding members. CCC membership subsequently expanded to cover all regions of the globe. In 1994, the organization adopted its current name, the World Customs Organization. Today, WCO members are responsible for customs controls in 186 countries representing more than 98 percent of all international trade.^[1]

Vision and objectives

The WCO is internationally acknowledged as the global centre of customs expertise and plays a leading role in the discussion, development, promotion and implementation of modern customs systems and procedures. Moreover, the WCO has been instrumental in assisting over 180 countries in modernizing their customs procedures through various initiatives such as the Revised Kyoto Convention and the Harmonized System.^[6] It is responsive to the needs of its members and its strategic environment, and its instruments and best-practice approaches are recognized as the basis for sound customs administration throughout the world.

The WCO's primary objective is to enhance the efficiency effectiveness other members customs administrations, thereby assisting them to contribute successfully to national development goals, particularly revenue collection, national security, trade facilitation, community protection, and collection of trade statistics.

Instruments

In order to achieve its objectives, the WCO has adopted a number of customs instruments, including but not limited to the following:

1. The International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention) was adopted in 1983 and came into force in 1988. The HS multipurpose goods nomenclature is used as the basis for customs tariffs and for the compilation of international trade statistics. It comprises about 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by a six digit code arranged in a legal and logical structure with well-defined rules to achieve uniform classification. The HS is also used for many other purposes involving trade policy, rules of origin, monitoring of controlled goods, internal taxes, freight tariffs, transport statistics, quota controls, price monitoring, compilation of national accounts, and economic research and analysis.
2. The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs procedures (revised Kyoto Convention or RKC) was originally adopted in 1974 and was subsequently revised in 1999; the revised Kyoto Convention came into force in 2006. The RKC comprises several key governing principles: transparency and predictability of customs controls; standardization and simplification of the goods declaration and supporting documents; simplified procedures for authorized persons; maximum use of information technology; minimum necessary customs control to ensure compliance with regulations; use of risk management and audit based controls; coordinated interventions with other border agencies; and a partnership with the trade. It promotes trade facilitation and effective controls through its legal provisions that detail the application of simple yet efficient procedures and also contains new and obligatory rules for its application. The WCO revised Kyoto Convention is sometimes confused with the Kyoto Protocol, which is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC).
3. ATA Convention and the Convention on Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention). Both the ATA Convention and the Istanbul Convention are WCO instruments governing temporary admission of goods. The ATA system, which is integral to both Conventions, allows the free movement of goods across frontiers and their temporary admission into a customs territory with relief from duties and taxes. The goods are covered by a single document known as the ATA carnet that is secured by an international guarantee system.
4. The Arusha Declaration on Customs Integrity was adopted in 1993 and revised in 2003. The Arusha Declaration is a non-binding instrument which provides a number of basic principles to promote integrity and combat corruption within customs administrations. Established in 1952, the WCO has introduced significant legal frameworks, including the SAFE Framework of Standards, aimed at simplifying customs procedures.^[7]
5. The SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade was adopted in 2005. The SAFE Framework is a non-binding instrument that contains supply chain security and facilitation standards for goods being traded internationally, enables integrated supply chain management for all modes of transport, strengthens networking arrangements between customs administrations to improve their capability to detect high-risk consignments, promotes cooperation between customs and the business community through the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) concept, and champions the seamless movement of goods through secure international trade supply chains.
6. The Columbus Program is a customs capacity building program works to promote customs modernization and implementation of their standards to secure and facilitate world trade. In 2005, the WCO adopted the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, an international customs instrument containing 17 standards that promotes security and facilitation of the international supply chain. Because of its complexity, the WCO launched a capacity building program called the Columbus Programme which focuses on needs assessments for WCO Members using the WCO Diagnostic Framework tool. The WCO defines capacity building as "activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behaviour of individuals and improve institutional structures and processes such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way.

Online tools

The World Customs Organization (WCO) released a new online platform, WCO Trade Tools,^[8] that encompasses the Harmonized System, preferential Rules of Origin and Valuation. It includes the 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022 editions of the HS, around 400 Free Trade Agreements with their preferential Rules of Origin/ and Product Specific rules, and the set list of Valuation texts, including those of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation.

Administration

The WCO Secretariat is headed by a Secretary General, who is elected by the WCO membership to a five-year term. Ian Saunders from the United States was elected WCO Secretary General in June 2023 and took office on 1 January 2024. The WCO is governed by the council, which brings together all members of the organization once a year, in a meeting chaired by an elected chairperson. Additional strategic and management guidance is provided by the Policy and Finance committees. There are several other WCO committees, including the Harmonized System Committee, the Permanent Technical Committee, the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, Technical Committee on Rules of Origin, the Capacity Building Committee, and the SAFE Working Group.

Members

Region	Member	Date Of Membership
South America, North America, Central America and the Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda	10/04/2017
	Argentina	01/07/1968
	Bahamas	16/08/1974
	Barbados	07/01/1999
	Belize	22/04/2008
	Bermuda	01/07/1990
	Bolivia	14/08/1997
	Brazil	19/01/1981
	Canada	12/10/1971
	Chile	01/07/1966
	Colombia	11/07/1993
	Costa Rica	29/08/2001
	Cuba	01/07/1988
	Curaçao	11/07/1988
	Dominican Republic	28/07/2004
	Ecuador	16/12/1997
	El Salvador	07/07/2005
	Guatemala	22/02/1985
	Guyana	29/07/1976
	Haiti	31/01/1958
	Honduras	08/12/2005
	Jamaica	29/03/1963
	Mexico	08/02/1988
	Nicaragua	24/09/1998
	Panama	08/03/1996
	Paraguay	03/10/1969
	Peru	27/01/1970
	Saint Lucia	12/05/2005
	Suriname	26/11/2018
	Trinidad and Tobago	15/10/1973
	United States	05/11/1970
	Uruguay	16/09/1977
	Venezuela	01/07/1996
Europe	Albania	31/08/1992
	Andorra	03/09/1998
	Armenia	30/06/1992
	Austria	21/01/1953
	Azerbaijan	17/06/1992
	Belarus	16/12/1993
	Belgium	11/12/1952
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	04/07/2008
	Bulgaria	01/08/1973
	Croatia	01/07/1993
	Cyprus	31/08/1967
	Czech Republic	01/01/1993
	Denmark	19/10/1951
	Estonia	18/06/1992
	European Union*
	Finland	27/01/1961
	France	06/10/1952
	Georgia	26/10/1993
	Germany	04/11/1952
	Greece	10/12/1951
	Hungary	16/09/1968
	Iceland	15/02/1971
	Ireland	23/09/1952
	Israel	23/05/1958
	Italy	20/11/1952
	Kazakhstan	30/06/1992
	Kyrgyzstan	10/02/2000
	Kosovo	25/01/2017
	Latvia	22/06/1992
	Lithuania	18/06/1992
	Luxembourg	23/01/1953
	Malta	06/07/1968
	Moldova	28/10/1994
	Montenegro	24/10/2006
	Netherlands	23/01/1953
	Norway	06/08/1951
	North Macedonia	01/07/1994
	Poland	17/07/1974
	Portugal	26/01/1953
	Romania	15/01/1969
	Russian Federation	08/07/1991
	Serbia	27/03/2001
	Slovakia	01/01/1993
	Slovenia	07/09/1992
	Spain	13/07/1952
	Sweden	17/10/1952
	Switzerland	19/12/1952
	Tajikistan	01/07/1997
	Türkiye (Republic of)	06/06/1951
	Turkmenistan	17/05/1993
	Ukraine	26/06/1992
	United Kingdom	12/09/1952
	Uzbekistan	28/07/1992
East and Southern Africa	Angola	26/09/1990
	Botswana	25/08/1978
	Burundi	20/10/1964
	Comoros	01/07/1993
	Djibouti	19/03/2008
	Eritrea	08/08/1995
	Eswatini	15/05/1981
	Ethiopia	06/08/1973
	Kenya	24/05/1965
	Lesotho	02/08/1978
	Madagascar	18/02/1964
	Malawi	06/06/1966
	Mauritius	29/03/1973
	Mozambique	01/07/1987
	Namibia	01/07/1992
	Rwanda	03/03/1964
	Seychelles	25/07/2000
	Somalia	04/10/2012
	South Africa	24/03/1964
	South Sudan	18/07/2012
	Tanzania	07/11/1964
	Uganda	03/11/1964
	Zambia	27/09/1978
	Zimbabwe	19/03/1981
North of Africa, Near and Middle East	Algeria	19/12/1966
	Bahrain	18/04/2001
	Egypt	26/10/1956
	Iraq	06/06/1990
	Jordan	01/01/1964
	Kuwait	04/10/1993
	Lebanon	20/05/1960
	Libya	11/01/1983
	Morocco	01/07/1968
	Oman	11/09/2000
	Palestine	24/03/2015
	Qatar	04/05/1992
	Saudi Arabia	08/05/1973
	Sudan	08/06/1960
	Syrian Arab Republic	19/11/1959
	Tunisia	20/07/1966
	United Arab Emirates	07/02/1979
	Yemen	01/07/1993
West and Central Africa	Benin	09/11/1998
	Burkina Faso	16/09/1966
	Cameroon	09/04/1965
	Cape Verde	01/07/1992
	Central African Republic	28/07/1986
	Chad	16/02/2005
	Congo (Republic of the)	02/09/1975
	Côte d'Ivoire	02/09/1963
	Democratic Republic of the Congo	26/07/1972
	Equatorial Guinea	22/12/2021
	Gabon	18/02/1965
	Gambia	14/10/1987
	Ghana	01/08/1968
	Guinea	30/10/1991
	Guinea-Bissau	19/08/2010
	Liberia	07/01/1975
	Mali	07/08/1987
	Mauritania	02/10/1979
	Niger	01/07/1981
	Nigeria	21/08/1963
	Sao Tome and Principe	23/09/2009
	Senegal	10/03/1976
	Sierra Leone	06/11/1975
	Togo	12/02/1990
Far East, South and South East Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands	Afghanistan (Islamic Republic of)	10/08/2004
	Australia	05/01/1961
	Bangladesh	01/07/1978
	Bhutan	12/02/2002
	Brunei Darussalam	01/07/1996
	Cambodia	03/04/2001
	China	18/07/1983
	Fiji	01/07/1997
	Hong Kong, China	01/07/1987
	India	15/02/1971
	Indonesia	30/04/1957
	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	16/10/1959
	Japan	15/06/1964
	Korea (Republic of)	02/07/1968
	Lao People’s Democratic Republic	16/01/2007
	Macao, China	07/07/1993
	Malaysia	30/06/1964
	Maldives	08/09/1995
	Mongolia	17/09/1991
	Myanmar (The Republic of the Union of)	25/03/1991
	Nepal	22/07/1986
	New Zealand	16/05/1963
	Pakistan	16/11/1955
	Palau	02/02/2024
	Papua New Guinea	18/03/2002
	Philippines	01/10/1980
	Solomon Islands	26/01/2023
	Samoa	01/10/2001
	Singapore	09/07/1975
	Sri Lanka	29/05/1967
	Thailand	04/02/1972
	Timor-Leste	19/09/2003
	Tonga	01/07/2005
	Vanuatu	17/11/2009
	Vietnam	01/07/1993

^[9]

• Status akin to WCO membership

References

1. "Organización Mundial de Aduanas OMA" [World Customs Organization WCO]. Chile Aduanas (Customs) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2021.
2. Gelbart, Hannah (16 September 2021). "On the trail of fake medicine smugglers". BBC News.
3. "La OMC y la Organización Mundial de Aduanas (OMA)" [The OMC and the World Customs Organization (WCO)]. WTO (in Spanish). Organización Mundial de Comercio. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
4. "Organización Mundial de Aduana (OMA) – Servicio Nacional de Aduana del Ecuador" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2020.
5. Kormych, Borys (28 January 2018). "The European Customs Union Study Group: Drafting the EU Customs Law" (PDF). European Political and Law Discourse. 4 (6). ISSN 2336-5439.
6. Allende, J. (2022). World Customs Organization. Springer International Publishing.
7. Weerth, C. (2017). "The World Customs Organization: A history of 65 years of growth and its legal milestones". Customs Scientific Journal CUSTOMS. 7 (2): 17–24.
8. "World Customs Organization". www.wcoomd.org. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
9. "List of Members with Membership date" (PDF). World Customs Organization. Brussels, Belgium. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

External links

• Official website
• B. Kormych The European Customs Union Study Group: Drafting the EU Customs Legislation
• WCO Trade Tools