WCO-UPU Contact Committee held jointly with reconstituted members

The 42nd Meeting of the WCO-UPU Contact Committee was held jointly by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 8 and 9 November 2022. This year, the Committee was reconstituted for the 2022-2025 cycle with eight new members from each organization. The meeting was hosted by the WCO in a hybrid mode and it was attended by experts from 48 Customs administrations, 20 Designated Postal Operators and 3 International Organizations.

In his opening remarks, Pranab Kumar Das, the WCO Director of Compliance and Facilitation, welcomed Members and Observers to the WCO-UPU Contact Committee meeting. The Director stressed the importance of cooperation between the WCO and the UPU at the international and national levels, and in exploring possible measures to jointly overcome the common challenges ahead. The UPU Secretariat echoed the opening message by congratulating the new members of the Committee, and by expressing appreciation in advance for their dedication over the next four years.

The Committee was briefed on the new Cooperation Agreement between the WCO and the UPU that was signed in May 2022, which would help to enhance the ongoing cooperation reflecting recent challenges around the Customs procedures of the Postal items. The Committee was also briefed on the first Joint WCO-UPU Global Conference that will be held in June 2023 in Japan, and encouraged WCO and UPU members to participate.

The Committee shared views and provided guidance on addressing common challenges and identifying potential solutions to improve Customs-Post collaboration, including; capacity-building workshops, the implementation of electronic advance data (EAD) exchanges, the handling of E-Commerce and trade facilitation, the strengthening of security and safety measures, and the processing of regulatory matters. A joint expert team was established to work on enhancing data quality, and to update the joint WCO-UPU Postal Customs Guide.

Finally, the Committee reviewed its Work Plan for the 2022-2025 cycle and approved the amendment of its Terms of Reference, which will now be submitted to the competent bodies of each organization for endorsement.

The 43rd meeting of the WCO-UPU Contact Committee will take place in the Fall of 2023.