The WCO organized its Origin Conference in Brussels on 20-21 January 2014.
The Conference was chaired by WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica and attended by more than 100 participants, including representatives from Customs administrations, international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce, academic institutions, as well as private stakeholders and other interested parties.
The participants heard very interesting and highly appreciated key note speeches from Mr. Vangelis Vitalis, Ambassador of New Zealand to the EU, NATO and Sweden, and from Mr. Antoni Estevadeordal, Manager of Integration and Trade at IDB. The participants also had first hand information from Mr. Kunio Mikuriya on his meeting with WTO Director General, Roberto Azevedo, regarding the Bali Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
The interest and very active participation of all delegates showed the importance of rules of origin both within Customs administrations and for the trade community.
The major objective of the Conference was to share experience and exchange views on origin practices, on origin-related procedures and on Customs’ role in fostering FTA utilization. The Conference provided a platform for future dialogue and cooperation between the public sector, the private sector and academia in the area of origin, and last but not least, forged new partnerships and encouraged the exchange of knowledge between Members, private stakeholders and the academic community.
The WCO Secretariat received very positive feedback in relation to the origin tools and instruments and inputs for the future work in the area of origin, including enhanced cooperation between all stakeholders in order to jointly improve Customs performance and business compliance. The WCO will continue to work with other international organizations and the business community in order to improve the utilization of free trade agreements for economic growth and better regional economic integration.
To consult the conference programme and the presentations please click here