On 19 April 2016 in Paris, the World Customs Organization (WCO), represented by its Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Sergio Mujica, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), represented by its Deputy Secretary General, Mrs. Mari Kiviniemi. The two organizations have long supported each other’s work in such traditional areas as Customs-Tax cooperation, Customs valuation, and transfer pricing. With the emergence of other areas of cooperation that include the development of public policies to counter illicit trade, joint research and joint publication of policy reports, exchange of knowledge and expertise in different domains in a more structured way, the two organizations decided to develop the framework conditions for enhanced co-operation.
The WCO is a member of the OECD Task Force on Charting Illicit Trade (TF-CIT), established in the context of the High-Level Risk Forum in 2013. The TF-CIT serves as a platform to co-ordinate international expertise in the area of countering illicit trade. By drawing attention to the scope of illicit activities and the interconnections between them, the High-Level Risk Forum and the TF-CIT assist countries to focus and coordinate efforts to drive criminal entrepreneurs and illicit networks out of business.
Within the Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade, in partnership with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EU-IPO), the OECD Secretariat completed a major analysis to assess the scope and impact of trade in counterfeits and pirated goods. The public launch of the final report on Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Mapping the Economic Impact took place on 18 April within the framework of the Task Force meeting. The WCO contributed to this work by providing Customs expertise in the area of countering illicit trade in counterfeits, as well as significant data on Customs seizures which enabled the OECD and EU-IPO to conduct a global analysis of this phenomenon.
By uniting resources and expertise, the MOU will enable both organizations to provide policymakers with a set of strong, evidence-based policy messages to fight against illicit trade, enhance Customs-Tax cooperation and act in other areas of common interest.
source: http://www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2016/april/wco-signs-memorandum-of-understanding-with-oecd.aspx
