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Thursday, 4 July 2013

Inside the World Customs Organisation (WCO) (3) International Trade Facilitation – again!

Woke up to a very rainy Brussels – I have my umbrella and raincoat though, us English are always prepared for bad weather; not sure what I’ll wear if we get brilliant sun shine though.  So, after a very wet walk around the corner I arrived for day two at the WCO and another day on Trade Facilitation.

I learnt a lot. Useful stuff? – We’ll see.  I’ve been sat here at the computer for 10 mins now trying to think of another way of saying it but I can’t.  It was boring today.  Apart from a short group quiz (which was fun, even though I didn’t win) it was just listening to people running through lists of rules and regulations in both English and French.  I have a terrible habit when listening to other people presenting, I try and sketch them, sad I know. It doesn’t mean I’m not listening, it usually helps me concentrate – anyway today I started sketching the delegates too.  Enough said.

But it was informative, I am certain I could write a paper on the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) – probably in both French and English, and you know how good my French is!  Actually, I do have to write a paper on the RKC for the Institute of Export – that’s lucky then.  Oh, yes, met some USA and European delegates today but they weren’t in the Trade Facilitation sessions.  Also told that a lot of delegates from developing countries had been sponsored to attend – explains the imbalance a bit. I did wonder, as we were going through the RKC recommendation on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures how many of the attendee’s countries could afford to follow these recommendation.  Of the 179 countries that are members of the WCO 89 have contracted to the RKC – we were shown the list (one of many lists) and I didn’t see many African or South American countries on there but then neither was Israel.  Here’s a link if you want to know more about this really excellent initiative RKC READ MORE

Tomorrow I move over onto Harmonised System classification work – I can’t say I’m sorry; I’m not sure I could have found enough to draw to get me through 2 more days of Trade Facilitation. 

Forgot to say – lunch was good today; almost made up for the restaurant meal last night.  Tonight a couple

of us are trying the Grill next-door.  Fingers crossed. 


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