COMALEP 2023 is already underway. The 21 Customs Directors of America, Spain and Portugal began today (15.03.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX) the meeting in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where they will analyze important issues for the development of trade in the region, reported the Dominican General Directorate of Customs (DGA).
For this purpose, the XLIII Meeting of the Multilateral Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Customs of Latin America, Spain and Portugal (COMALEP) will be extended until Tuesday 16th.
In the opening plenary session, the head of the Dominican General Directorate of Customs, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, pointed out that “the forum aims to share topics of innovation in the techniques of world trade, where we are more interconnected and interested in human capital and in increasing commercial activity.”
For his part, Rafael Marín Mollinedo, head of the National Customs Agency of Mexico – the country that hosts the COMALEP Secretariat – Rafael Marín Mollinedo, recounted how during the last two years, customs operations and supply chains have been impacted by global inflation and geopolitical conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, and the tightening of monetary policies by governments in the region.
“In this difficult situation, it is urgent to move forward in the formation of a broad and stable regional market that generates jobs and fosters interregional production chains,” said Marín Mollinedo.
The opening ceremony also included speeches by Martha Garamendi, Director General of Customs of Peru and Vice President of the WCO for the Americas and Caribbean Region, and Ricardo Treviño, Deputy Secretary General of the WCO.
The WCO Deputy Secretary General participated as a keynote speaker at the Meeting, speaking at the panel “Sustainable Trade in Customs”. He referred to the key tool for the identification and classification of goods on a global scale, which is the Harmonized System (HS). On this matter, he said that the WCO continues to review the HS in light of the SDGs in order to meet international requirements to make it “increasingly greener”. He also encouraged customs to continue working for “greater regional integration, cooperation, assistance and, above all, greater compliance in the exchange of information”.
Thus, the XLIII COMALEP meeting will analyze the following during the two days: Topics: Current Trade Trends, Trade Facilitation, Customs Security and Control, and Customs Equity and Diversity.
And after COMALEP? Following this meeting, the 17rd Joint Forum of Customs and the Regional Private Sector Group will be held on Wednesday 18 May. The 19th Regional Conference of WCO Customs Directors General will be held from XNUMX to XNUMX May.
Given the importance of the customs meeting, we leave you with some suggestions to further explore the topic and a preview.
A summary of COMALEP. They can read here.
A preview of the regional private sector. They can read here.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
