Investor’s Guide
Foreign Trade Single Window
By Edith Flores de Molina Vice-Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade
The complex procedures to meet customs formalities or the duplicity of the required information affect the competitiveness and logistics of companies that must deliver goods in a timely manner. If we add to that the lack of socialization of requirements demanded at the border and therefore the unawareness of operators, we are facing a true hurdle for trade. Hence, the simplification and facilitation of procedures at the border have a positive effect for companies and the price of goods regardless the level of development of the countries. From an investment point of view, the facilitation of trade at the border also plays an important role to establish global supply chains, especially with countries with which trade depends more and more on facilitation measures and less on customs duties. With this in mind, the Central American Presidents instructed the Council of Ministers for Economic Integration (COMIECO, the acronym is Spanish) to implement a Central American strategy for the Facilitation of Trade and Competitiveness, with emphasis on the Coordinated Management of Borders. COMIECO prepared the Roadmap to achieve this objective and identified five short term transversal measures to facilitate trade in the region; and eight medium and long term measures for the Coordinated Management of Borders. The five short term measures are the following: • Early goods declaration to prevent drivers from processing the export documents
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when they arrive to the border post. Streamlining and coordination of migratory controls envisions only one migratory control in the departure country and interchange of information in the data base of the country being entered. Issuance and electronic interchange of zoo and phytosanitary certifications for animal and plant products respectively. Inspection and registration of vehicles using radio frequency identification (RFID) devices to establish, among other things, the times for dispatch and the hours of highest demand for customs service. Use of cameras at border posts for the permanent monitoring of transportation means.
For the implementation of these measures the operation of a Single Window for Foreign Trade is required, which allows operators involved in trade and transport to submit through a single point of entry all the information and documents required for the import, export and transit of goods operations. The implementation of the Single Window for Foreign Trade is also one of the commitments of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement that increases transparency and predictability over applicable requirements and regulations and can be used as a platform to support the process and internationalization of MSMEs. Taking into account the above, the Ministry of
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