Abstract
The World Customs Organization (WCO) council, in June 2015, approved the SAFE framework of standards for attaining a secure means of facilitating universal trade. The SAFE framework would sufficiently act as a warning to international terrorism, promote the facilitation of trade universally and further ensure the safety of the collected revenues. From that moment, a lot of activities have been done to encourage the implementation of the SAFE framework by the members of WCO. The structure was designed by the member states and WCO in collaboration with the universal corporations and the global business society to improving the global trade regime. That, in turn, causes the international supply chain to be secure and also, move at a faster rate. Despite the idea that the framework does not incorporate an express provision on the universal disaster relief consignments, it may, however, have a positive implication with regards to their facilitation.
International Security Agreements-WCO’s SAFE Program
The global supply chain has a highly vulnerable to the supply chain, and that can potentially affect worldwide economies. That prompt awareness and the need to facilitate and secure global trade have resulted in the establishment of the SAFE Framework. SAFE is ideally premised on two crucial pillars, and that is customs to business partnerships and customs to customs network engagements ( Fierke, 2015). The two provisions ensure a timely and a standardized passage of information between the parties involved and that allows for efficient management of risks.
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Fierke (2015) argued that a SAFE program should be capable of facilitating “fast-track” settlements between states and that in turn reduces the frequency of physical contact during a customs check. Furthermore, the framework should be capable of establishing the idea of Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) that gains from the lowered examination rates. AEO is well-defined when a party is incorporated in the international transfer of goods in whichever purpose that has been permitted by or on behalf of a nation’s administration of customs as having complied with WCO or an equal standard of the supply chain. The AEOs incorporates manufacturers, exporters, brokers, intermediaries, terminal operators, airports, warehouses, integrated operators, and distributors among others ( Pratama & Everett, 2017).
In conformity with the SAFE framework and the AEO idea, appropriate humanitarian functionalities can be selected and allowed simplified and fastened procedures at customs in the case of relief operations when disaster knocks. That will not only permit faster entry and relief food provision but also perform an additional role in assuring to the receiving state that the further assistance is in line with the humanitarian principles and meets the correct quality standards.
Pratama and Everett (2017) mentioned t hat the SAFE framework should provide room for the provision of advance information and in establishing an automated information exchange that is premised on harmonized and interoperable communications. The international trade agreement highly advocates for notices for the arrival of relief consignments and that gives enough space for efficient risk management, efficient coordination of duties between customs and operators and eventually to the expedited consents ( Fierke, 2015) .
As a standard, the SAFE framework remains non-binding legally but has a duty of presenting recommendations to member states. Irrespective of its non-binding nature, it is presently being implemented by nations across the world. Most countries have reported positive feedback. That is attributed to the fact that the goods pass the border pretty fast through the framework ( Pratama & Everett, 2017).
References
Fierke, K. M. (2015). Critical approaches to international security . John Wiley & Sons.
Pratama, D. H., & Everett, S. (2017). Supply chain security initiatives: The authorized economic operator and Indonesia's experience. Journal of International Logistics and Trade , 15 (1), 10.
