Jamaica Customs Agency

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2021 8 CUSTOMS W EK A SWE move towards recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, theWorld Customs Organization (WCO) has designated the 2021 theme for International Customs Day (ICD) as ‘Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a Sustainable Supply Chain’. Celebrated annually on January 26, International Customs Day presents an opportunity for WCOmembers, theWCO Secretariat and global partners of Customs to collaborate around a central theme to achieve the vision at hand. The 2021 ICD theme will be dedicated to the united efforts of Customs ad- ministrations across the globe, to emerge from the devastating effects of the coronavirus, by strengthening institutional capacity and sustainably rebuilding the global supply chain. The WCO acknowledges that ‘people’ are the centre of the restor- ative process, and that they form the backbone of all recovery initiatives. For this reason, throughout the year 2021, theglobal Customs community will commit to supporting people and businesses by strengthening the global supply chain, reinforcing col- laborationandharnessingtechnology. In fulfilling the 2021 ICD vision, the WCO will be undertaking a tripartite approach in rebuilding the global supply chain and envisions Recovery by reinforcingcollaboration, Renewal byembracingadvanced technologies, andResiliencebyputtingpeopleatthe centre of change. WCOmembers are encouraged to embrace digital trans- formationattheborders,payparticular attention to automation, the use of innovative technologies and adopt collaborative approaches with all stakeholders along the supply chain. RECOVERY BY REINFORCING COLLABORATION The coronavirus pandemic brought considerable disrup- tions to an already unpredictable global supply chain, leading to an economic impact of mammoth proportions. As COVID-19 stretched across the continents, the novelty of the coronavirus created more un- certainties within the global supply chain and led to an initial shortage of human resources. It also caused the implementation of additional control measures that led to delays at the borders. In response to the pandemic, many governments took mitigation measures, such as travel restrictions, lockdowns, quarantines and social distancing to minimise the impact of the pandemic. These measures inadvertently affected the supply chain, causing production and supply channels to become more erratic, and created greater instability. Additionally, the supply chain was already being negatively affected by trade wars and protectionist policies which some nations had undertaken. Examples of these in- clude the trade dispute between the USA and China, and the protection- ist policies of the United Kingdom, resulting in Brexit, which forced consumers to look inwards. The increased risk of trade wars, trends of nationalism and protectionism, issues of sustainability and human rights considerations have all con- tributed to the volatility of the global supply chain. Coupled with the uncertainties that the pandemic presents, recovery policies have to be contemplated and reinforced at the international level to achieve sustainability in the global supply chain. Customs, as gatekeepers at the borders, is uniquely positioned to drive supply chain recovery through collaboration. Reconstruction will not be achieved in silos, but rather through a collaboration of expertise from all border agencies and related stakeholders. Coordinated border management should be further institutionalised at the national and international levels, reinforced by the imple- mentation ofWCO tools and instru- ments that support such measures. The long-established WCO SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade is one such tool that focuses on partner- ship and cooperation. It is based on a three-pillar system that estab- lishes supply chain security stand- ards for Customs administrations, businesses through Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs), and governments focusing on intergov- ernment and other government agency cooperation. The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) implemented the SAFE Framework and were regional pi- oneers in the launching the agen- cy’s AEO programme in 2009. After fulfilling the necessary security re- quirements associated with WCO supply chain security standards, Jamaica relaunched its AEO pro- gramme in 2014, giving traders the opportunity to partner with the JCA in securing the supply chain. To date, the AEO programme re- mains robust, offering validated businesses, referred to as AEOs, the right to receive tangible benefits from Customs associated with a more efficient trading process. Jamaican AEOs are able to benefit, inter alia , from measures to expe- dite cargo release, reduce transit times and lower storage costs. Additionally, they can benefit from special measures relating to peri- ods of trade disruption or elevated threat levels which, in light of the SUSTAINABLY REBUILDING THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN IN THE FACE OF COVID-19 CUSTOMS TIP Goods imported for charity can benefit from full or partial waiver on some import charges under the Charities Act. To access this benefit, the charitable organisation receiving the donation must be registered with the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies.