6/10/2023 0 Comments Trick tg pro buildsHow do we make sure that customs is working alongside other agencies that make border decisions so that disruptions that could mean life and death don’t happen again or don’t happen in the same way? Running for this position at the World Customs Organization is an opportunity to bring some of that perspective into the organization. We also came to terms with the fact that delays in customs clearance can be a life-or-death matter when it comes to personal protective equipment, other medical devices, and vaccines. In its starkest form, we have experienced not having basic goods available that we’ve needed. How did this influence your decision?ĭeputy Assistant Secretary Saunders: Supply chain disruption is something that all of us have lived with during the pandemic. Q: It has been noted that the disruptions in the supply chain that have been felt in every American household also inspired you to run for this position. This is an opportunity I think will help that cause. Because as the conditions of trade change, we need to have consistency and reliability in customs operations. At a time, when change is very rapid, and the way we do business is changing, I saw an opportunity to contribute in a different form to an organization that will continue to be critical for international trade. What we haven’t done since the 1990s is offer our leadership at the top level of the organization. So, as a country, we have done a lot of work supporting the WCO at a technical level. We’ve seen approaches similar to ours replicated around the world, approaches that create predictability for trade, that improve security in other countries and the United States. We’ve had a good track record of supporting the products of the World Customs Organization with our expertise. Q: What inspired you to run for the secretary general position of the World Customs Organization?ĭeputy Assistant Secretary Saunders: The United States has a lot to offer the organization. candidate Ian Saunders, right, discusses the progress of his campaign with a customs leader at an official reception hosted by the U.S government in Washington, D.C., on March 16, 2023. The next election will be June 24, 2023, and will be open to the 185 heads of customs agencies throughout the world who are members of the WCO.įrontline magazine caught up with Deputy Assistant Secretary Saunders in April to discuss his vision for the WCO and his key priorities. The WCO and its members collectively work to lower the costs of trade, facilitate cross-border movement of essential goods and protect society from unsafe products.Įlections for WCO secretary general – the senior-most position responsible for providing executive management and overall strategic direction to the organization – are held every five years. It is independent of the United Nations and has 185 customs administration members worldwide. The WCO was established in 1952 and is the only international body dedicated to developing customs standards and instruments. He is responsible for developing programs, policies and strategies to strengthen commercial cooperation in the Western Hemisphere in his current position at the Department of Commerce. delegations to the WCO and chaired the organization’s Permanent Technical Committee from 2018 to 2020 while serving as CBP assistant commissioner for International Affairs. He was responsible for overseeing international policies, capacity building, information sharing and global technology exchange programs. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Highway Administration. Along the way, he held senior positions at U.S. Customs Service, a CBP legacy agency, and worked his way up to leadership roles in the federal government’s Senior Executive Service. He began his career as a student trainee at the former U.S. Department of Commerce and has more than 30 years of experience in customs and international trade. Saunders is currently the deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere at the International Trade Administration within the U.S. official led the WCO, the customs equivalent to the United Nations, was 25 years ago. candidate to lead the World Customs Organization in Brussels as secretary general. It was big news in the trade community when Ian Saunders was nominated in January as the U.S. Department of State’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., after meeting with colleagues to discuss international trade issues. candidate nominated for secretary general of the World Customs Organization, stands in the foyer of the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |