Supporting Philippines in meeting international trade facilitation commitments

More than 60 participants from the Bureau of Customs, Philippine Trade Regulatory Government Agencies and the private sector recently attended a hybrid national workshop titled “Strengthening the Trade Facilitation Capacity of the Philippines”

The 3-day National Trade Facilitation Workshop addressed three priorities including the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program, the e-Commerce Clearance, and its Taxation Mechanisms, and the value proposition of an Integrated Risk Management System.

Results of the assessment studies in all three priority areas which were conducted in close consultations with public and private stakeholders and presented challenges as well as recommendations for future reform implementations were also presented at the workshop.

The AEO session focused on assessing current AEO implementation status, development of an effective AEO Design Framework and its Core Principles, future MRA arrangements as well as specific AEO criteria for the benefit of SMES.

The challenges associated with the country’s supply chain and logistics landscape, and how these, directly and indirectly, affect the Customs clearance process were highlighted in the e-commerce session whereas the risk management session covered a compliance measurement strategy, and support to BOC’s risk targeting and profiling activities.

Participants appreciated the comprehensive integration of various international trade initiatives into the AEO, IRM and e-commerce umbrellas at the workshop.

This workshop was organized through ARISE Plus Philippines, which is a project of the Government of the Philippines, with the Department of Trade and Industry as lead partner together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Customs, the Department of Science and Technology, as well as the private sector. It is funded by the European Union (EU) with the International Trade Centre (ITC) as the technical agency for the project.