Our Chairman of the Board of Directors Mehmet Altay YEGIN's article titled “We are Participating in the WCO SAFE Working Group” was published in “Nasıl Bir Ekonomi” newspaper

The 30th “SAFE Working Group” meeting, which will be held in Brussels, the World Customs Organization (WCO) Headquarters, will be held from November 6 to November 8. Myself, Andaç Özsoy and Ahmet Sultan Şahin will attend the meeting on behalf of the Authorized Economic Operator Association.

In the invitation letter addressed to our Association and signed by Mr. Ian Sounders, WCO Secretary General, the “SAFE Working Group” meeting topics are clearly stated. It is also stated that the participation of our association will be welcomed in the negotiations to be held under the topics of increasing global security concerns and emerging threats, increasing digitalization of supply chains and refocusing on trade facilitation, increasing the security and facilitation of global trade, as well as the innovative method for the harmonious implementation of the SAFE Standards Framework and the Authorized Economic Operator program.

The World Customs Organization, an intergovernmental organization, is an independent organization established to ensure and improve national customs administrations' effective and efficient operation. The efforts of the Working Group, which was formed by 13 European countries in 1947 to examine and develop the customs issues raised in the GATT Agreement, resulted in the convention establishing the “Customs Cooperation Council”, which was signed in Brussels on December 15, 1950 and became effective on November 4, 1952.

The first meeting of the Customs Cooperation Council, whose Founding Agreement we were the first country to ratify, was held in Brussels on 26 January 1953 with the participation of 17 founding members, including Türkiye. In 1994, it was accepted to change the organization's name to the World Customs Organization. Today, 182 states, which carry out 98% of international trade, are members of the World Customs Organization.

The main objectives of the WCO can be listed as follows:

- Simplification and harmonization of customs regimes and procedures related to international trade in goods and cross-border movement of people,

- While simplifying customs procedures, taking measures to create an environment of cooperation to ensure effective implementation of the legislation and effective fight against customs crimes,

- Providing technical assistance to member states to adapt to changing conditions and legislation,

- Taking initiatives to improve cooperation both among member countries and with other international organizations,

- Supporting initiatives to improve human resources management, transparency, integrity, working methods, and governance in customs administrations.

The AEO concept is the first of the main building blocks within the WCO “SAFE Standards Framework”. These standards were adopted in 2005 and set out a set of rules for inter-customs cooperation and a customs and business partnership-based approach to harmonization.

The SAFE Standards are based on four main pillars:

- Harmonization of electronic cargo information,

- Each country committing to a consistent risk management approach to address security threats,

- Providing external inspection of high-risk containers and cargo with the customs authority of the sending country at the request of the customs authorities of the Parties,

- Defining the benefits that customs authorities can offer to businesses that meet minimum supply chain security standards and best practices. During the three-day “SAFE Working Group” meeting, the following topics are planned to be discussed

- Integration of SMEs into the AEO program,

- Extending the AEO concept to cover cross-border e-commerce,

- Expanding the FMS concept in free zones, introducing simplification practices in AEO programs for Free Zone stakeholders,

- Discussing the report of the sixth Global AEO Conference held on May 8-10, 2024, and the draft Shenzhen Action Plan.

AEO programs are recognized as one of the cornerstones of economic development. In particular, global investors prefer countries with AEO programs, security and growth, simplification of customs procedures increases supply chain efficiency and security, and it is obvious that AEO practices will become more widespread through increased cross-border cooperation.

 

We hope that a draft action plan will be prepared at the end of the meeting. The notes of the 30th “SAFE Working Group” meeting, which we will attend by invitation and share with our members, will also shed light on us for the new period. It is obvious that such a strong international working group, which we will participate in and which we are sure will contribute to our association, will add strength to our strength in terms of our future goals and vision. Our next goal will be to grant “International Association Status” to our association and to realize the amendment of the bylaws that will enable our association to accept members from abroad.