The Deputy Director General of Customs (DGA) of the Dominican Republic, Johannes Kelnerparticipated in the VIII OAS International Seminar on Coordinated Border Management: The OAS Program and Electronic Commerce, where he was a panelist and signer of the Mutual Recognition Agreement along with others ten countries in the region.
With said agreement, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay they recognize the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) accredited by the DGA and their programs for the facilitation and security of trade, and, in turn, our country recognizes those of said nations.
Kelner described this regional Mutual Recognition Agreement as a great achievement and a global milestone and considered that it will be a benchmark for the other regions of the World Customs Organization (WCO).
“In the case of the Dominican Republic, we have made many efforts to integrate the other authorities, through legislation, training, joint visits and support to achieve their integration into our program,” said the DGA representative at the event.
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Each member country intends to grant the OAS accredited by the signatory nationsthe same facilities and benefits as their national AEOs in accordance with their legislation.
Among those benefits are the expedited customs clearance through the reduction of cargo inspection in accordance with the risk criteria. Prioritization of certain loads in the event of an interruption in the flow of commerce, either due to a security alert, a border closure and/or a natural disaster.
In addition, customs officials will be assigned as a point of contact between the participants to coordinate the granting of the benefits agreed in this agreement and in previous ones.
The Dominican Republic had a representation of officials and technicians from the DGA at the seminar held during on the 18th and 19th of the current month.
Also, from the declaration of San Pablo signed in Brazil on November 27, 2018 and the Action Plan between the customs administrations of the Americas aimed at the mutual recognition of their respective Authorized Economic Operator programs, signed in June 2019 in Brussels, Belgium.
