WCO standards ensures transparency and predictability of Global Trade : WCO Secretary General

SINGAPORE: The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, spoke about WCO initiatives on data and technology at the ICC Future Trade ForumheldinSingaporeon30March2023.

After being introduced by the Secretary General of the ICC, Mr. John Denton, Dr. Mikuriya presented WCO standards that ensure transparency and predictability of trade, and described how technology could be used to support the sound development of a digitalized trading system. While welcoming and encouraging private sector initiatives to standardize trade data,includingtheDigitalStandardsInitiativesupportedbythe ICC, he suggested considering the use of the WCO Data Model as a basis for such initiatives. This would facilitate the development of business standards offering interoperability withbusiness-governmentstandards.

Dr. Mikuriya also took this opportunity to meet with the

Director General of Singapore Customs, Mr. Tan Hung Hooi, to discuss issues related to Singapore Customs and to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration. In addition, he participated in a roundtable meeting with Singapore International Chamber of Commerce to exchange views on the way forward for CustomsBusinesspartnerships.

Secretary General Mikuriya also met with the Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, and her team to explorefurtheravenuesforcooperation.