WCO: WAEMU facilitates origin determination by aligning to HS 2022
The Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), with the technical and financial support of the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme, engaged in a year-long technical assistance exercise in 2025 to update the tariff codes of approved originating products benefiting from preferential treatment. The work was concluded during a regional workshop held from 4 to 8 May 2026 in Lomé, Togo, which validated the correlation table showing how products under the WAEMU preferential regime are classified under the HS 2017 and HS 2022 editions.
Updating free trade agreements in response to changes in the HS is critical
Goods classification and origin determination are closely interlinked. Typically, the requirements for determining origin are specified for individual products or product categories identified according to their respective Harmonized System (HS) codes. The classification of goods is therefore of the utmost importance in establishing which rules of origin (RoO) apply to a good. Moreover, in many cases, the RoO to be applied will refer to a change in tariff classification (CTC) at chapter, heading or subheading level, a criterion that requires the correct classification of both the final manufactured product and the input materials used in its production.
Since 2002, the WCO HS Nomenclature has been revised every five years to take account of changes in technology and patterns of international trade. Any update of the Nomenclature should therefore be accompanied by an update of the RoO, including those set out in trade agreements. Ensuring consistency between the structure of the HS and the RoO would prevent the misapplication of RoO, facilitate origin determination and allow Customs to enhance risk assessment and origin management, thereby helping to ensure accurate revenue collection. Source: WCO
WCO: SECO-WCO Global Trade Facilitation Programme Extended
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) have formally finalized a 12-month no-cost extension for the Global Trade Facilitation Programme Phase II (GTFP-II).
This formal amendment to the Contribution Agreement extends the Programme’s operational runway until December 2028, ensuring that critical capacity-building interventions can be fully realized across the beneficiaries.
This extension represents a mutual commitment to maximizing the sustainability of trade facilitation interventions, strengthening of Customs processes and procedures, enhancing the protection of society and ensuring long-term impact across global supply chains.
In a strong testament to its ongoing impact and the resilience of its partnership network, the additional 12 months will focus on a dual-track strategy to consolidate existing gains while strategically scaling the Programme's footprint:
- Finalizing Current Engagements: Providing uninterrupted technical assistance and capacity building to ensure existing beneficiaries—including Colombia, El Salvador, Kenya, Moldova, Morocco, Peru, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan—fully finalize, institutionalize, and sustain their ongoing Customs reforms.
- Welcoming New Beneficiaries: Paving the way for new eligible countries to join the GTFP-II framework, allowing them to align their Customs operations with international standards, improve border management, and foster robust public-private partnerships. Source: WCO
WCO builds the first global pool of Diagnostic Facilitators on the WCO Performance Measurement Mechanism
For the first time in its history, the World Customs Organization (WCO) has conducted a dedicated Global Pre-Accreditation Workshop for Diagnostic Facilitators on the Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM), bringing together 13 candidates from across the world. The PMM enables Members to benchmark their performance against regional and global averages, generate evidence for national policy decisions, demonstrate progress to stakeholders and donors, and identify precisely where capacity-building investment is most needed.
The Diagnostic Facilitators, upon full accreditation, will commit to making themselves available to the WCO for training, technical assistance and peer review support across the WCO’s membership. At the core of the WCO evidence-based approach to capacity delivery and in line with the WCO Capacity-Building Paradigm, this first Pre-Accreditation Workshop in the PMM field represents a key milestone.
The WCO has concluded the first-ever Global Pre-Accreditation Workshop for Diagnostic Facilitators on the Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM). Opened by the WCO Deputy Secretary General Ricardo Treviño Chapa, the event was held from 8 to 12 June 2026 at WCO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, with the support of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO)-WCO Global Trade Facilitation Programme (Phase II). The five-day programme was aimed at assessing the diagnostic skills of the candidates through practical exercises covering the full spectrum of the PMM, from key performance indicator (KPI) analysis and peer review facilitation to evidence-based capacity-building design and in-country assessment interviews. Source: WCO
WCO’s Second Webinar on the Theme of the Year Highlights Customs’ Role in Combating Money Laundering
On 12 June 2026, the World Customs Organization (WCO) successfully held the second webinar in its series dedicated to the 2026 theme “Customs Protecting Society through Vigilance and Commitment”. These webinars have been designed to foster dialogue among the Customs community and interested stakeholders on key issues affecting cross-border enforcement activities and initiatives.
The second webinar brought together representatives from Customs administrations, international organizations, law enforcement agencies, academia and the private sector to discuss the growing role of Customs in tackling illicit financial flows.
In his opening remarks, Ricardo Trevino Chapa, WCO Deputy Secretary General emphasized the central role of Customs in combating financial crime, stating: “From the WCO’s perspective, Customs is not on the margins of this fight. Customs is right on the operational front lines.” He also stressed that the Organization’s efforts extend well beyond any one initiative: “Our work is broader than any single project. It includes policy support, operational capacity building, knowledge development, intelligence-sharing mechanisms and international partnership-building.”
The webinar underscored the significant threat posed by money laundering to economic stability, public security and good governance. Source: WCO
WCO: Global Trade Takes a Digital Leap with eATA Rollout in 30 Countries
The World Customs Organization (WCO) welcomes the launch of the digital ATA Carnet by the first group of Contracting Parties to the ATA Convention and the Istanbul Convention — the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
This important milestone represents a major advancement in the modernization of international Customs and trade procedures. The shift from paper-based Carnets to a digital system will benefit businesses, enhance border efficiency, and support the digital transformation of Customs operations worldwide. Source: WCO
WTO: Government Procurement Committee welcomes new observer, event marks GPA accession milestone
At a meeting of the Committee on Government Procurement on 24 June, parties to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) 2012 welcomed Uruguay as its 39th observer. The Committee also discussed accessions to the GPA 2012 and issues concerning implementation of the Agreement. A side event marked the 10th anniversary of Moldova and Ukraine becoming parties to the GPA 2012. Source: WTO
WTO: Information Technology Agreement’s role in AI readiness highlighted in thematic session
The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) Committee on 23 June held a thematic session featuring presentations from public and private sector experts on how the ITA can be harnessed to enhance access to AI-enabling technologies, particularly for developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs). The session aimed to enhance awareness of AI’s high dependence on information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and how eliminating tariffs on hardware – such as chips and servers – under the ITA helps reduce costs, accelerates the deployment of frontier technologies and stimulates inward investment in this sector. Source: WTO
WTO: Panel to review Indian measures on solar, IT goods; members share views on reform talks
The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed at its meeting on 23 June to a request from China for the establishment of a panel to review measures in India affecting imports of solar cells, solar modules and information technology goods. The DSB Chair, Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota (Brazil), convened an informal discussion after the meeting to take stock of members’ positions on dispute settlement reform. Source: WTO
WTO members review temporary US import surcharges
The Committee on Balance of Payments Restrictions (BOP) held consultations on 22 June 2026 to discuss a 10% import surcharge adopted by the United States to address its BOP deficit. WTO members heard a statement from the United States. They also considered a statement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the US BOP situation and a background note prepared by the WTO Secretariat. The United States responded to members’ questions and indicated that the temporary measure is expected to expire on 24 July 2026. Source: WTO
WTO: Members discuss proposals under 2026 review of Trade Facilitation Agreement
At the Committee on Trade Facilitation meeting on 10-11 June 2026, WTO members continued discussions on a total of 25 proposals submitted under the second review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Members also agreed to hold a dedicated session on trade facilitation issues for small economies and discussed transit issues facing landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). Source: WTO
WTO: Members discuss preparations to bring E-Commerce Agreement into force by mid-2027
Co-sponsors of the E-Commerce Agreement (ECA) met on 9 June to discuss preparations for ratifying the world’s first baseline set of global digital trade rules. The ratification process forms part of the interim arrangements adopted by over 60 members at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), pending incorporation of the ECA into the WTO rulebook. Source: WTO
WTO members review preshipment inspection challenges and customs valuation notifications
WTO members examined a number of questions related to preshipment inspection (PSI) at an 8 June meeting of the Committee on Customs Valuation. Drawing on recent private sector input and member experiences, the discussions focused on future Committee work related to PSI and how PSI issues should continue to be addressed. The Committee also examined 34 customs valuation notifications submitted by members for review and a trade concern raised by one member. Source: WTO
WTO: South Africa notifies launch of safeguard investigation on A3 and A4 office paper
On 8 June 2026, South Africa notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards regarding the initiation on 5 June 2026 of a safeguard investigation on A3 and A4 office paper imported into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Source: WTO
WTO: Experience-sharing on transparency in spotlight at import licensing committee meeting
Public and private sector representatives joined the Committee on Import Licensing’s second experience-sharing session on 4 June, focusing on improving WTO members’ transparency and notification compliance. Speakers from Cambodia, the European Union, Myanmar, Thailand and the United States shared practices on notifications, public-private cooperation, access to information and digitalization of licensing procedures. The Committee also reviewed recent notifications, addressed 12 specific trade concerns and heard an EU presentation on its Electronic System for Agricultural Non-Customs Formalities during its regular session. Source: WTO