Dear Affiliates,

This is the INCU Affiliates’ Brief for December 2016 and January 2017.

New Members Welcome! We would like to welcome the following new Members (who have agreed to be listed in the INCU Membership Directory):

New Individual Members

• Ramon Anquilan – Paranaque City, Philippines • Martijn Schippers – Rotterdam, Netherlands

WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Enters into Force Message from INCU President, Prof David Widdowson

On 22 February 2017, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that its historic Trade Facilitation Agreement had entered into force following its ratification by two-thirds of the WTO’s 164 members. In doing so, the WTO Director-General, H. E. Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo declared that it is now time to begin the work of turning the potential benefits of the Agreement into reality.

The Director-General has previously publicly acknowledged the work of the INCU in developing and promoting the Agreement, including the development of the first version of WTO Trade Facilitation Self-Assessment Guide in 2007. This guide was used by approximately 100 developing and least developed countries to assess their trade facilitation needs and priorities which enabled them to participate more effectively in the WTO Trade Facilitation negotiations.

Recognising the importance of trade facilitation to global economic growth, the resolution of the INCU on the future direction of the organisation (Baku, 23 May 2014) determined that the organisation would support the work of the WTO Committee on Trade Facilitation through a range of initiatives, including empirical studies to help inform decision making. I would therefore encourage all INCU members and associates to continue to pursue activities that support implementation of the Agreement, including initiatives that will help to maximise the benefits for developing and least developed countries.

As noted by the WTO Director-General, “Now, working together, we have the responsibility to implement the Agreement and make those benefits a reality”. On behalf of all INCU members and affiliates, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the WTO on this important achievement, which, in the Director-General’s words, represents the biggest reform of global trade this century. The WTO announcement can be found here.

Professor David Widdowson President, INCU

World Customs Journal Vol.10 No.2 – Now Publicly Available Online! The latest issue of the World Customs Journal (Vol.10 No.2 - September 2016) is now available online for public access. (INCU members have been able to access this edition since its release).

This edition of the World Customs Journal represents a significant milestone in the Journal’s history and that of the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) as it marks a full ten years of publication. It includes a variety of articles that examine the issue of regulatory compliance management from the perspective of both government and industry, all of which highlight in some way the increasing compliance burden that regulators are placing on the international trading community. It also features a special report on the unforeseen cost of Brexit related to Customs matters.

To access and download this issue please visit the journal’s website.

INCU Vice-President Visits Shanghai Customs College

In November 2016, INCU Vice-President, Prof. Hans-Michael Wolffgang visited Shanghai Customs College (SCC) where he delivered several lectures on topics such as "General Introduction of EU Customs Legal Regime", "Latest Development of EU Customs Code" and "AEO Legal System of EU". Furthermore, he gave seminars on the topics "New Development of EU Customs Law" and "Higher Education of Customs Law".

During his stay in China, Prof. Wolffgang also met with faculty and students of the SCC and visited the Haoliwen Law Firm, Pujiang Customs and Xinhai Customs Broker Co. Ltd.

http://incu.org/docs/SCC_Nov03.jpg

INCU Member Appointed as BORDERPOL Director of Digital Borders

In December 2016, an INCU Member and Co-Director of the Center for Information Convergence & Strategy (CICS) at San Diego State University, Mr Akshay Pottathil, was appointed as Director of Digital Borders by the BORDERPOL Executive Committee during its 2016 annual meeting in Budapest, Hungary.

This newly created position will enable BORDERPOL to promote the digitization of borders, enhance global security, strengthen the fight against illicit trafficking, provide technology training and consultation, and establish and enhance innovative strategic relationships, while developing sustainable global and regional certification programs in the Internet of Everything era.

INCU Member Delivers Lecture for Kenya School of Revenue Administration

On 14 December 2016, an INCU Member, Dr Dennis Ndonga, delivered the inaugural Corporate Lecture at the Kenya School of Revenue Administration (KESRA), which is an Institutional Member of INCU, in Mombasa, Kenya.

The theme of the presentation was 'E-government and Single Window Systems', which explored the value of utilising Kenya's Single Window system as a tool to promote broader e-government dissemination within the economy. The inaugural lecture was attended by staff and students of KESRA, Kenya Revenue Authority officials, officers in charge of the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KENTRADE) and officers and representatives of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA).

Customs Scientific Journal – New Issue (Vol.6 No.2) Released! The latest issue of the Customs Scientific Journal (Vol.6 No.2) has been published. This edition features articles on mutual customs assistance, public administration principles as mechanisms for Customs modernisation, the impact of trade openness, customs control and risk management, the fiscal components of customs activity and other contributions including those from young researchers.

You can download this latest issue here.

All past editions of the CSJ are available on the Journal’s website.

Message from Editor-in-Chief of the Customs Scientific Journal The Editor-in-Chief of the Customs Scientific Journal, Prof. Dr Olena Pavlenko wishes to inform and congratulate members of the Advisory and Editorial Boards of the Journal as well as all of the journal’s authors and readers that the Customs Scientific Journal has been indexed in the international database INDEX COPERNICUS.

In view of results of 2015 the journal has a very high index:ICV 2015 : 73.13 and ranks 37th out of 517 among Ukrainian journals included in this scientometric database.

All articles, published in the Customs Scientific Journal in 2015 and 2016, are considered to be published in the internationally indexed journal, which has both electronic and printed editions with ISSNs: ISSN 2518-1599 (Online), ISSN 2308-6971 (Print).

Head of INCU Secretariat Visits Shanghai Customs College In December 2016, Head of INCU Secretariat, Dr Mikhail Kashubsky visited Shanghai Customs College (SCC). During his visit Dr Kashubsky worked closely with staff of the newly-established International Exchange Department to help SCC enhance its international cooperation with other customs institutions and relevant international organisations.

During his visit, Dr Kashubsky also met with new President of SCC, Mr Cong Yu Hao, to discuss ongoing and future cooperation between INCU and SCC, met with SCC students who serve as interns on the INCU Secretariat and with staff of SCC library to present the most recently published editions of the World Customs Journal.

INCU Baku Regional Office Winter Internship/Fellowship 2017 From 18 to 26 January 2017, the INCU Baku Regional Office held its second Winter Internship/Fellowship program in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The program included three 2-day workshops, work in the INCU Regional Office, visits to the WCO European Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) and Azerbaijan Customs Academy, and a social program.

The three workshops were hosted by the WCO European ROCB and focused on the following topics:

• Tariff Classification and Preferential and Non Preferential-Preferential Rules of Origin from the Industry Perspective;

• International Trade Transactions and Documentation; and • Machine and Human Intelligence: Threat Detection Awareness and Non-Verbal Behavioural Analysis in

the Border Environment.

Participants in the program included students and lecturers from the United States (Centre for Information Convergence and Strategy at San Diego State University and Sentir Global), Russia (North-Western Institute of Management), Azerbaijan (Baku Higher Oil School, Azerbaijan Customs Academy, State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan), Italy (Easy Frontier and Federation of the Italian Association of Mechanical and Engineering Industries) and Australia (Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, Charles Sturt University).

The Official Closing of the INCU Regional Office Winter Internship/Fellowship program was held on 26 January 2017, which coincided with International Customs Day celebrations, and it took place at the WCO European ROCB.

INCU Members Participate in International Customs Conference in Baku and 25th Anniversary Celebrations of Azerbaijan Customs

From 27 to 30 January 2017, several INCU Members and representatives of INCU Affiliates attended the International Theoretical and Practical Conference “Economic Security: Aspects of Trade Facilitation and Security” jointly organised by the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan State

University of Economics, followed by attendance of the Official Ceremony to celebrate 25th Anniversary of the Azerbaijan State Customs Committee.

The conference was attended by the WCO Secretary-General, Dr Kunio Mikuriya, who delivered a keynote address, several Directors-General of Customs administrations, and other dignitaries from governments, academia and the private sector. INCU Members and representatives of INCU Affiliates who participated in this conference acted as presenters and moderators.

At the official ceremony of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which was held on 30 January 2017, INCU members Akshay Pottathil and Lee Wakefield were

awarded medals "for consolidation of international customs cooperation" by the Chairman of the State Customs Committee, Prof. Aydin Aliyev.

WCO PICARD Conference 2017 – Call for Papers!

The 12th annual WCO PICARD Conference will take place from 26 to 28 September 2017 in Tunis, Tunisia and will be hosted by the Tunisian Customs Administration with support from Korea Customs Service.

This year the conference will focus on the following topics: Data Analysis, Trade Facilitation, Security and Customs-Tax Cooperation.

• Data Analysis was selected as the WCO’s annual theme for 2017, in recognition of the crucial role it plays in the Customs context, underpinning virtually all functions of a Customs administration. Data analysis can improve risk management which supports enhanced detection of irregularities, illicit consignments, the suspicious movement of people and financial flows, and the facilitation of legitimate trade; it can provide a comprehensive analysis of historical activity to predict trader or passenger behaviour; assist in the collection of quantitative research for purposes of building knowledge; and enhance performance measurement to improve officer practices and integrity. Data analysis can provide a robust foundation for the core Customs’ objectives of revenue collection, border security, collection of trade statistics, and trade facilitation.

• The Trade Facilitation topic refers to methods for improving the efficiency of border procedures, including but not limited to, Risk Management, Single Window, Post-Clearance Audit (PCA), and advance rulings. Sub-themes include measuring the impact of trade facilitation measures (on average clearance times, trade costs, trade volumes, trade security, transparency, revenue, etc.); obstacles to implementing trade facilitation measures; and managing e-commerce.

• The Security topic refers to the contribution of Customs to securing territories at the border and against threats accompanying trade and financial flows, in different frameworks and environments: from

borderlands where trade is highly facilitated, to conflict and post-conflict zones where Customs and civilian enforcement agencies seek to restore the presence of the State.

• The Customs-Tax Cooperation topic refers to all forms of interaction between Customs and tax agencies, including organizational interactions (e.g. Revenue Authorities) and the exchange of information between the two agencies, particularly relating to data exchange mechanisms - interoperable or integrated IT systems.

See Call for Papers in English and French.

Thank You to Outgoing INCU Secretariat Staff Members On behalf of the INCU, we would like to thank the following INCU Secretariat Staff members who have completed their tenues at the INCU Secretariat and have now moved on to new roles and the next phase of their careers:

• Ms Lala Imanova, Baku Regional Office Manager

• Ms Alina Baranova, Event Manager and Research Officer

• Ms Nhung Nguyen, Communications and Research Assistant

• Ms Yi-Xin Xu, Research Assistant

• Ms Ruo-Tong Zhao, Research Assistant

We thank Lala, Alina, Nhung, Vera and Carol for the time they devoted to the INCU and for their valuable contribution the work of the INCU Secretariat and wish them successful careers ahead.

Send Us Your News! Given the range of exciting activities and work being done by many of our members, we encourage you to send us information about your past or upcoming events, activities and publications. If you have any news items that may be of interest to your fellow INCU Members and Affiliates, please send those to us and we will circulate those throughout the INCU.

With compliments, INCU Secretariat International Network of Customs Universities (INCU)

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