Thailand and Sierra Leone Join Kyoto Convention on Trade Facilitation, 101 Countries are In

On 12 June 2015, at the 125th/126^th Sessions of the Customs Co-operation Council, the Secretary General of the WCO Mr. KunioMikuriya, in his capacity as the depository of the Convention, took receipt of the instruments of accession of Thailand and Sierra Leone to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Revised Kyoto Convention).

This Convention will support implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

Having entered into force on 3 February 2006, the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) now has 101 Contracting Parties. The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention) was adopted in 1973 and entered into force in 1974 in its original version.

Implementation of the TFA will be treated as a matter of priority under the MERCATOR Programme launched by the WCO. Secretary General Mikuriya strongly urged the rest of the WCO’s Members to accede to the RKC as soon as possible, given this instrument’s significance for Customs, and above all to implement its provisions.

The Convention’s key elements include the application of simplified Customs procedures in a predictable and transparent environment, the optimal use of information technology, the utilization of risk management, a strong partnership with trade and other stakeholders and a readily accessible system of appeals.