WCO facilitating import of green goods

New solutions and innovative approaches are required to facilitate sustainable trade, Gael Grooby, Acting Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs at the World Customs Organization (WCO), stated at the event "Green Customs: Facilitating Sustainable Trade, Development through Innovation and Standards" held within COP29 in Baku, Report informs.

Grooby emphasized the importance of the activities on preventing illegal trade and managing waste based on prior informed consent. The WCO official stated that improving existing methods is necessary but not sufficient:

"If we continue to repeat the same approaches, we won't achieve real progress. New solutions and innovative approaches are required. We need to both improve and be open to innovations."

Grooby added that currently, a working group on improving the harmonized system is operating within the World Customs Organization. According to her, one of the main objectives of the action plan is to increase the number of environmentally important goods in the classification system.

"This approach allows governments to facilitate the import of green goods and restrict trade in harmful products," Grooby stated.

The WCO acting director also noted that applying circular economy principles in the trade sector will make a significant contribution to eliminating existing challenges in the customs system.