The Deputy Secretary General takes part in the PEN-CP Annual Event

On 12 January 2021, the WCO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, attended the Pan-European Network of Customs Practioners (PEN-CP) Annual Event. The PEN-CP is an EU Horizon 2020 funded network with 13 European customs administrations which aims to facilitate translating customs security research, innovation ideas and requirements into scalable, viable solutions, technologies, and process improvements. The 4-days online conference gathered experts working in risk management, data analytics, detection technologies, customs laboratories, innovation procurement, customs policies, international relations and more.

At this occasion, the Deputy Secretary General made a keynote presentation on the 'Covid-19 practical implications on customs, border management and global supply chains'. He first provided the audience with some figures demonstrating how the volume of trade has been impacted with the outbreak of the pandemic, mentioning that this impact was uneven depending on the sector of activity. In this respect, he took the example of e-commerce which has experienced an increasing trend.

He pursued explaining that the Customs' response to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been quickly developed and has been based on 4 axis, namely: facilitate cross-border movement of relief and essential goods and of medical supplies, support the economy and sustain supply chain continuity, protect Customs staff and protect the society from counterfeits and fake medicines.

He stressed the importance of harmonizing the concrete actions conducted, reminding the need for multilateralism and proper coordination in order to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Hence, the WCO operation STOP and the Mercator Programme have shown the Customs' readiness to carry out such tasks, among other partnerships as, for instance, the WCO Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) and the collaboration with the WHO.

He finished his presentation referring to the resolution the WCO Council has endorsed last December to facilitate cross-border movement of situationally critical medicines and vaccines that includes measures to be taken by Customs administrations to carry out the clearance of vaccines for export, transit and import as a matter of priority.