Border Management Modernization

Gerard Mclinden

Description

Border clearance processes by customs and other agencies are among the most important and problematic links in the global supply chain. It takes three times as many days, nearly twice as many documents, and six times as many signatures to import goods in poor countries than it does in rich ones. Delays and costs at the border undermine a country's competitiveness, either by taxing imported inputs with deadweight inefficiencies or by adding costs and reducing the competitiveness of exports.
As countries have come to realize the importance of trade in achieving sustainable economic growth they have progressively lowered tariffs, established regimes to encourage foreign investment and pursued opportunities for greater regional integration. This progress has, however, been undermined by the high costs and administrative difficulties associated with outdated and excessively bureaucratic border clearance processes which are now often cited as more important barriers to trade than tariffs. Inefficient border processing systems, procedures, and infrastructure result in high transaction costs, long delays in the clearance of imports, exports, and transit goods, and present significant opportunities for administrative corruption. They essentially undermine a country's competitiveness in the international marketplace.
Governments around the world are therefore placing increased emphasis on border management reform designed to remove unnecessary barriers to the flow of legitimate trade across their borders. However, in spite of the widespread recognition of the need to improve the efficiency of border management regimes, Customs and other border management agencies in many countries have frequently paid lip service to the trade facilitation agenda.
This book is designed to shed new light on these problems and to identify a range of strategies that will help officials meet their traditional control responsibilities while at the same time facilitating legitimate trade. It also provides advice to development professional and key policy makers about what works, what doesn't and why.

Sujets

• Trade facilitation
• World Trade Organization
• World Customs Organization
• Single Window System
• Logistics
• Transport

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 30 novembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 75
• EAN13: 9780821385975
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

BORDER
MANAGEMENT
MODERNIZATION
Gerard McLinden, Enrique Fanta
David Widdowson, Tom Doyle; EditorsBorder
Management
Modernization
Editors
Gerard McLinden
Enrique Fanta
David Widdowson
Tom Doyle
Washington, D.C.© 2011 T e International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/T e World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: [phone]
Internet: www.worldbank.org
All rights reserved
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ISBN: 978-0-8213-8596-8
eISBN: 978-0-8213-8597-5
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-8596-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data has been requested.
Cover design by Drew Fasick. Text editing, design, and layout by Nick Moschovakis and Elaine Wilson of
Communications Development Incorporated, Washington, DC.Foreword
Foreword
Trade is an important driver of economic growth and development:
integration into world markets allows producers to specialize and reap
the benef ts of economies of scale. Trade also gives f rms and households
the opportunity to buy goods, services, and knowledge produced any-
where in the world.
Developing countries face many chal- to simplify trade procedures and to use
lenges in fully utilizing the opportuni- information technology to implement
ties of ered by participation in the global risk management systems to facilitate
economy. Some of these are associated trade. However, progress has of en been
with traditional trade barriers: tarif s halting and has yet to make a real dif-
and nontarif measures that impede ference in many countries. On average
market access. While such barriers con- it still takes three times as many days,
tinue to be important for products in nearly twice as many documents, and
which many developing countries have six times as many signatures to import
a comparative advantage—such as agri- in poor countries as it does in rich ones.
cultural goods—the average level of T e development community, in-
tarif s has fallen signif cantly in recent cluding the World Bank, has invested
decades. Moreover, many of the poorest heavily in the reform and moderniza-
countries have duty free access to high tion of customs administrations around
income markets. It is increasingly recog- the world, and the results achieved in
nized that a key factor determining the terms of reduced clearance times have
competitiveness of developing country at times been very impressive. But re-
exporters is the national investment cli- cent data compiled in the World Bank’s
mate and business environment, as this Logistics Performance Indicators sug-
is a major determinant of the costs—and gest that customs authorities are only
thus the prof tability— of production. responsible for approximately one third
An important part of the agenda to of the delays traders encounter at the
lower operating costs is to reduce ad- border. An array of other government
ministrative red tape and remove un- institutions are responsible for the ma-
necessary regulation. While there is jority of the problems traders face at the
nothing countries can do to improve border. It matters little if customs are
their geography or resource endow- fully automated if traders still need to
ments, they can take action to facilitate carry bundles of paperwork to a multi-
trade and to eliminate unnecessary ad- tude of other government agencies that
ministrative burdens for traders when continue to process them manually.
moving goods across borders. Many Likewise, it matters little if customs
developing countries have taken steps employ sophisticated risk management
BORDER MANAGEMENT MODERNIZATION iiitechniques to limit the number of time consuming in the book, they have also been selective. T us,
physical inspections they perform if other agencies the book does not focus on subjects that have been
continue to require containers to be opened for rou- dealt with in some depth in other publications or on
tine inspection. which there is already signif cant resource material.
Focusing exclusively on customs reform is there- For example, customs reform is the subject of a 2005
fore unlikely to realize the sorts of breakthroughs World Bank publication on customs modernization
necessary to signif cantly improve the competitive- and is therefore not addressed in great depth in this
ness of traders in developing countries. A wider and book. Instead the focus is on those emerging issues
much more comprehensive ‘whole of government’ that present the most perplexing challenges for ef-
approach is necessary. While there is no shortage of f cient border management.
blueprints and reform tools available to guide the I hope that the advice, guidelines, and general
customs reform agenda, this is not the case for the principles outlined in the book will help govern-
many other agencies involved in clearing goods. In ment of cials, the trade community, and develop-
contrast to customs agencies that are linked into the ment practitioners to better understand both the
World Customs Organization, most of these agen- importance of ef ective border management and the
cies are not connected through an intergovernmen- challenges of and options for making the border less
tal body that acts as a focal point for the develop- of a barrier for traders. Designing and implementing
ment of international instruments and the sharing practical initiatives and programs that make a posi-
of good practice approaches. tive dif erence to national competitiveness is con-
T e objective of this book is to summarize and ditional on governments giving priority to border
provide guidance on what constitutes good practices management reform and modernization. T ere are
in border management—looking beyond customs costs associated with launching the kind of compre-
clearance. T e contributions to the volume make hensive border management modernization agenda
clear that there are no simple or universally appli- outlined in this book. Reform in this area can be a
cable solutions. Instead, the aim is to provide a range long, complex, and at times frustrating process. But
of general guidelines that can be used to better un- the costs and risks associated with ignoring this very
derstand the complex border management environ- important dimension of trade competitiveness are
ment and the interdependencies and interrelation- signif cant.
ships that collectively need to be addressed to secure
meaningful change and improvement. Bernard Hoekman
While the editors have tried to be as comprehen- Director, International Trade
sive as possible in the choice of the topics addressed Department, T e World Bank
iv BORDER MANAGEMENT MODERNIZATION
ForewordAcknowledgments
Acknowledgments
T e chapters included in this handbook are a product of a collaborative
ef ort, involving many World Bank colleagues and border management
experts from around the world, that was supported by a grant from the
government of the Netherlands through the Bank-Netherlands Partner-
ship Program (BNPP).
Preparation of the book was led by Department), who provided invaluable
Gerard McLinden of the World Bank’s advice at several stages of the project,
International Trade Department with and to Mona Haddad (Sector Manager),
support from a dedicated team of co- who provided strong leadership and en-
editors: Enrique Fanta, David Wid- thusiastic encouragement for the team
dowson, and Tom Doyle. T e editors and ensured the timely completion of
are particularly grateful for the assis- the book.
tance provided by Patricia Wihongi, T e editors would also like to ac-
who took on the painstaking task of knowledge the contribution of the chap-
coordinating the f nal editing and pub- ter authors not mentioned above who
lication process in a thoroughly profes