Singapore Customs hosts first APEC 2009 meeting on customs procedures Let’s stamp out illegal cigarettes together! Formula One: How the cars came in   Singapore hosts chemical incidents training for Asian counterparts Traders give Singapore Customs’ service delivery the thumbs up Singapore Customs gains ground against cigarette offenders in 2008 Selective sealing of containers results in time-savings for traders   Singapore Customs marks International Customs Day 2009 Look smart! Look sharp!         Singapore Customs hosts first APEC 2009 meeting on customs procedures Singapore Customs hosted the first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) meeting in 2009 held from 23 to 26 February at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Singapore Customs’ Assistant Director-General Mr Loh Fook Meng (right) chaired the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Customs Procedure (SCCP) meeting held in Singapore from 23 to 26 February 2009. The SCCP meeting is part of a series of meetings that Singapore is hosting for APEC 2009. The meeting on customs procedures was attended by Customs officials from 20 APEC member economies. They include Australia; Brunei; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States and Vietnam. The four-day SCCP meeting was chaired by Singapore Customs’ Assistant Director-General Mr Loh Fook Meng. In his opening address, Mr Loh reiterated the critical role of Customs in trade facilitation by ensuring that customs procedures were kept simple and transparent for traders who emphasised ease, speed and predictability for the clearance of their goods. To help traders tide over the current economic crisis, it was even more important for Customs to facilitate the reduction of business costs without compromising trade security. The APEC SCCP meeting held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel was attended by Customs officials from 20 APEC economies. The SCCP discussed trade facilitation issues related to the APEC Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP 2) which aims to further reduce trade transaction costs by five percent over the period from 2007 to 2010. The meeting also discussed the progress made in achieving key performance indicators under TFAP 2 that have been tasked to the SCCP, such as the Time Release Survey and the APEC Framework based on the WCO Framework of Standards. APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) The APEC SCCP was established in 1994 and its main objectives are to simplify and harmonise regional customs procedures to ensure that goods and services move efficiently, effectively and safely through the region, and to reconcile and facilitate border controls. Click here for more information on the APEC SCCP. In addition, the member economies deliberated and reported on the progress of the Single Window Initiative, the Authorised Economic Operator Programs, simplification of customs documentation on rules of origin and possible customs responses to the global economic crisis. Customs officials from the APEC economies will meet in Singapore again in the second half of the year when Singapore Customs hosts the second SCCP meeting for APEC 2009.   Copyright © 2009 Singapore Customs. All Rights Reserved.