A one day basic training course in customs and trade facilitation was hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Energy and Employment on Thursday, October 20th.
The aim, to enhance the ability of customs officers and other agencies in implementing the Caribbean forum of African and Pacific States (CARIFORUM)-European Union (EU), Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and to facilitate enhanced professionalism and harmonization of customs procedures within the CARIFORUM region.
The course is one of the activities under the CARIFORUM- EU, capacity building project on competition, public procurement and customs and trade facilitation funded under the 10thEuropean Development Fund.
The main objective of the project is to support the beneficial integration of CARIFORUM member states in the world economy.
At the opening ceremony. EPA coordinator Yvanette Baron-George described the aim of the EPA.
“The EPA aims to promote trade and investment in an effort to enhance sustainable growth, employment and development. It takes into consideration the socio-economic circumstances in CARIFORUM states by offering asymmetric rights and obligations, specific safeguards as well as transition periods for taking on the commitments under the agreement. The EPA also promotes dialogue and cooperation in areas such as technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, competition, procurement and customs and trade facilitation.”
The one day session was prompted by a training needs assessment carried out in customs and trade facilitation within the CARIFORUM countries.
“Dominica like all the other member states of CARIFORUM intends to honor the commitments made in the EPA to seek to take the advantage of opportunities created by the agreement. However, like all the other member states of CARIFORUM we face a variety of challenges in implementing the agreement and in fully exploiting the opportunities which may be created by it. The project is designed to deliver training at three levels and in all three of the focal areas.
The level one basic training which is being conducted is geared towards addressing implementation capacity deficit in the specific area of custom and trade facilitation. It is targeted towards public officers as well as private sector agencies with responsibilities for trade. It will enhance the human and institutional capacity to better allow CARIFORUM states to honour their commitments and attain the objectives of the EPA,” she explained.
During the course, participants focused on customs valuation; customs tariff classification; post clearance audits; risk management; customs management; coordinated border management; and strategic trade control.
Deputy Comptroller of Customs Roderick Irish represented the comptroller Roderick Dechamps.
“I have been informed reliably that we will be given full explanation of the key areas of trade facilitation measures containing the EPA during this workshop. We will also discuss some of the challenges associated with the implementation and also the non-compliance of the EPA within the region. You will learn about specialized areas in the modern customs environment such as risk management, post clearance audit, rules of origin and how the knowledge and application contributes positively to improving the trading environment,” Irish noted.
He hopes following the training, stakeholders will have a higher level of awareness of the important issues addressed and take steps to resolve them.
