Customs in the 21st Century

In an increasingly globalised world in which both legal and illegal trade is expanding, customs administrations need to identify and understand the key international, regional and national strategic drivers in order to respond appropriately. These drivers are universal, and while most customs administrations recognise that their role has fundamentally changed and their mandate expanded, the international customs response has been uncoordinated. This has engendered an active response by the World Customs Organization (WCO) which, as part of its commitment to a new vision and action plan for Customs, has adopted the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade in order to provide a global response to supply chain security and facilitation.