Viet Nam-USA Customs Initiative endorsed as an APEC Demonstration Project

APEC Senior Officials have endorsed a project that will serve as a demonstration for other APEC Member Economies on modernizing customs procedures.

Viet Nam and the United States are undertaking a Custom Demonstration Project that will include the implementation of an eManifest system based on the APEC Framework for Secure Trade. The project will be implemented at the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Airports and be completed by November 2006.

Viet Nam and the United States, along with the US National Center for APEC and several leading U.S. companies will implement this trade facilitation project to modernize Viet Nam's customs procedures and practices. The ultimate goal of the project is to facilitate and secure trade links between Viet Nam and its trading partners.

Upon implementation, the project is expected to eliminate numerous hours of processing time for the nearly 10,000 air-express packages entering Viet Nam each day.

The system will allow improved inventory management and the new electronic system will create a more transparent process for Viet Nam Customs and their stakeholders.

The project is in keeping with past APEC Demonstration projects such as the Shanghai Model Port project as an example of public-private cooperation. The Viet Nam-US project demonstrates the value of the private sector as not just a funding provider, but also a partner in implementing security enhancements.

The development and installation of the eManifest system is the centerpiece of the project and an important step for increasing regional trade security. The system uses advanced electronic information to identify high-risk shipments and will enable Viet Nam Customs to provide timely clearance of express deliveries.

The project also conforms with the Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) IV conference recommendations for increasing trade facilitation and enhancing security.

Consideration and approval of the initiative as a demonstration project took place at the Third APEC Senior Officials Meeting for 2007 that took place in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on September 16-17.