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Regions and Countries Regional Cooperation Greater Mekong Subregion Publications Proceedings of Ministerial, Forum, and Working Group Meetings Meeting of the Ad Hoc Subgroup on Customs Matters
Meeting of the Ad Hoc Subgroup on Customs MattersIntroductionThe Meeting of the Ad Hoc Subgroup on Customs Matters was held in Manila, Philippines on 11 January 2000. The Meeting was hosted by the Asian Development Bank coinciding with the Ninth Conference on Subregional Cooperation of the Greater Mekong Subregion. The Meeting was convened following the decision at the Inception Meeting of the Trade Facilitation Working Group (TFWG) in Bangkok, Thailand 1-2 November 1999 to convene an ad hoc Sub-Group on Customs during the Senior Officials' Meeting prior to the 9th Ministerial Meeting. The Sub-Group was seen to formulate potential areas of cooperation among customs authorities of the GMS countries. The Sub-Group Meeting was chaired by Mr. Hans Peter Brunner, Senior Project Economist, Infrastructure, Energy and Financial Sectors Department (West), Asian Development Bank, with Mr. Florian A. Alburo as Resource Person. The participants to the Sub-Group Meeting included delegates from Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Mr. Thomas F. Jones III, Senior Project Economist, Transport and Communications Division, Asian Development Bank and Mr. Honorio R. Vitasa, Assistant Director, Infrastructure and Tourism Unit, ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia also participated in the Meeting. The list of participants is attached as Appendix 1. The participants approved the provisional agenda attached as Appendix 2. Review of Developments and Initiatives Related to Cooperation in Customs Facilitation in the GMS. The Meeting was briefed on three developments and initiatives relating to customs facilitation cooperation namely: (a) the inception meeting of the GMS Trade Facilitation Working Group, (b) tripartite agreement between and among Thailand, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam for the East West Corridor, and (c) ASEAN initiatives in customs cooperation. These were presented by Resource Person Mr. Florian A. Alburo, Mr. Thomas F Jones III of ADB, and Mr. Honorio R. Vitasa of the ASEAN Secretariat, respectively. The emerging priority activities for trade facilitation arising from the inception meeting were briefly described. The first four activities which were decided to be implemented immediately were further elaborated which include (a) the establishment of national institutional arrangements for trade facilitation, (b) national studies and seminars on regulatory, procedural and documentation systems for international trade, (c) pilot testing trade facilitation arrangements in the GMS countries, and (d) customs cooperation in the GMS. The final draft agreement between and among Thailand, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam for the East West Corridor was described to the participants with particular attention to activities that relate to customs matters. It was noted that though the agreement covers only three of the six GMS countries this did not prevent the Meeting from adopting relevant activities for consideration. The briefing on ASEAN initiatives on customs cooperation covered the ASEAN Customs Policy Implementation and Work Program in particular the 15 areas of cooperation among the ASEAN countries. Although most of these are not currently implemented many of them have similarities to potential modalities of cooperation in the GMS. Two activities were suggested for cooperation at the GMS: (a) automation of customs procedure systems, and (b) compatibility among GMS countries of statistics and data elements of declaration forms for customs purposes. Potential Areas for Subregional Cooperation in CustomsThere was agreement among the participants to the Meeting that customs cooperation is essential in facilitating trade among the GMS countries. The delegate from Lao PDR pointed out that being the land-locked country in the GMS customs cooperation is even more critical. As a result of the briefing on the tripartite agreement for the East West Corridor the participants considered five cooperation schemes: (a) single window inspection, (b) single stop inspection, (c) coordination of hours of operation, (d) transparency of customs practices, and (e) adherence to Kyoto convention. The ASEAN initiatives on customs cooperation led participants to consider the possible automation and trade data collection system as areas of cooperation. In addition the meeting also considered distinguishing between information transparency which is general and information that is for the purpose of mutual assistance among customs authorities in preventing fraud, smuggling and other violations of customs regulations. After deliberating on the suggested options the Meeting agreed in recommending seven areas of cooperation to the Senior Officials Meeting for consideration by the Ministers. The draft statement by the Sub-Group on Customs is attached as Appendix 3. The Meeting agreed not to consider subsequent meetings since its purpose for convening has been accomplished. Being ad hoc the sense of the Meeting was to await directions from the TFWG. The Meeting also suggested that ADB look into the possibility of supporting the resource needs for the cooperation modalities agreed upon within the context of the technical assistance needs for the activities under the TFWG. The delegation from Thailand offered the possibility of providing training support for customs officials from the other GMS countries.
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