Hanoi (VNA) - 𒀰Vietnam plans to propose the inclusion of the Green Customs Programme into the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) customs action plan aimed at strengthening the check of illegal import, export and transport of scraps.

The Vietnam Customs plans to propose the inclusion of the “Green Customs” Programme into the ASEM customs action plan. This is one of the noteworthy contents at the 13th conference of the heads of the customs authorities of the ASEM to be hosted by the Vietnam Customs on October 9 and 10 in Ha Long city of the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

From four main priorities

According to leading officials of the Vietnam Customs, the conference is expecting to welcome 53 delegations from the customs authorities of the ASEM members, the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Union. The total number of the participants will range from 150 to 180. The biennial event plays the role of a forum that orients, directs and guides working groups to implent the action plan in various stages. It is responsible for reporting the outcomes of the activities to the meetings of finance ministers and those of economic/trade ministers of the ASEM.

Previously, the 12^th💜 conference of the heads of the customs authorities of the ASEM in 2017 approved the ASEM customs action plan for the 2018-2019 period. The four main priorities agreed upon include the facilitation of trade and ssecurity of the supply chain, the fight against fake commodities and the implementation of the intellectual property right, the social and environmental protection, and the community connectivity and ASEM vision.

In the facilitation of trade and security of the supply chain, customs authorities of countries have achieved noteworthy outcomes, including the determination of concrete measures to provide support to the ASEM members in the filling of the gap and the realization of requirements related to the building and implementation of priority enterprise programmes. In the fight against the violation of the intellectual property rights, they also made an overall assessment of advanced practices in the intellectual property control in the field of customs. The countries provided mutual assistance to one another in the fight against fake commodities and the best utilization of the available control mechanisms, the expertise and statistics, as well as the exchange of information on trends and arrests. Leading officials of the Vietnam Customs affirmed that within the framework of the ASEM customs cooperation, the authority has taken an active part in the cooperation programmes as well as the annual sessions. It has also shared practical experiences in the implementation of the simplification and harmonization of the customs procedures, non-paper customs services and the one-stop shop mechanism at relevant ASEM forums.

Proposal on strengthening checks over scraps for 6-8 weeks each year

Continuing the ASEM customs action plan for the 2018-2019 period, in its position as the chair of the conference, the Vietnam Customs raised the proposal on a number of priority contents to be included into the ASEM customs action plan for the 2019-2020 period. They include the application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution into the strengthening of integration and combination of information technology systems in service of the effective customs management; the boosting of the customs-business partnership; and the environmental, social and security protection as well as the facilitation of the supply chain. It is noteworthy that Vietnam plans to propose to include two programmes into the ASEM customs action plan. The first is the implementation of the Green Customs Campaign in the ASEM in a two-year roadmap, from 2020 to 2021. Every year, the Vietnam Customs will launch an intensification of checks over the illegal import, export and transport of wastes and scraps, lasting for 6 to 8 weeks. And the second is the connection and sharing of information through the establishment of a liaison mechanism among the countries. Leading officials of the Vietnam Customs hold that one of the ASEM priorities is the strengthening of connectivity, exchange and mutual understanding between the two continents. However, because of the absence of the joint coordination clue (secretariat), the connectivity is still loose./.