125th/126th Annual Sessions of the WCO’s Council

Submitted by IFCBA on Mon, 2015-06-29 09:59

The 125th/126th Annual Sessions of the World Customs Organization’s Council was held in Brussels from 11 to 13 June, 2015, with the participation of Directors Generals of Customs representing the 180 Members of the WCO. Chaired by Mr. Zouhair Chorfi of Morocco and led by Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, this Council meeting was especially important to members because of the election of candidates to three senior WCO posts. The IFCBA was represented at the meeting by Carol West, Secretary and Jaime King, Past Chairman. 

125th/126th Annual Sessions of the WCO's Council

The 125th/126th Annual Sessions of the World Customs Organization’s Council was held in Brussels from 11 to 13 June, 2015, with the participation of Directors Generals of Customs representing the 180 Members of the WCO. Chaired by Mr. Zouhair Chorfi of Morocco and led by Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, this Council meeting was especially important to members because of the election of candidates to three senior WCO posts. The IFCBA was represented at the meeting by Carol West, Secretary and Jaime King, Past Chairman. 

IFCBA Invited to Join Newly Constituted WCO Private Sector Consultative Group

Submitted by IFCBA on Thu, 2015-06-25 15:39

When the World Customs Organization formed the Private Sector Consultative Group in 2005, the IFCBA was one of thirty organizations invited to participate.  Since then, the IFCBA has taken a leadership role through its membership in the PSCG and  through its own status as an observer at the WCO.  IFCBA Secretary Carol West served as chair of the PSCG from 2008-2015, as well as co-chair of the WCO SAFE Working Group, and many members of the IFCBA team have attended meetings at the WCO.

Australia and India to Sign FTA by end of 2015

Australia, which recently concluded FTAs with other Asian nations like Japan, Korea and China, is also expected to conclude the forthcoming deal with India by end of 2015.

The two nations first agreed to undertake a feasibility study in 2008, and since then they have had five rounds of talks regarding the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. With negotiators racing against the tight deadline set by the political leadership of the two countries, the next round of negotiations are expected to kick off in July.

China, South Korea Sign FTA

Did you know the China-South Korea FTA is one of the largest trade agreements that China has signed in terms of trade value? The negotiations, which started back in May 2012, continued into November 2014, when the heads of state of the two countries announced the conclusion of the substantive negotiations. Confirmation of the contents of the agreement was reached on February 25 2015.  And on June 1, 2015, both countries officially signed their bilateral FTA in Seoul.

Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body

The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 19 June 2015, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them. The meeting notice is circulated in the form of a document officially called an “airgram”.

Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body

The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 17 June 2015, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them. The meeting notice is circulated in the form of a document officially called an “airgram”.

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