e-Tradecon: the first conference dedicated to international trade facilitation

Experts in the field of Customs in the public and private sector, specialists in the field of international logistics, as well as anyone who is interested in trade had the opportunity to attend, on 25-26 March, the first Conference dedicated to international trade facilitation – e-TRADECON. The event was organised by the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, the USAID Moldova Structural Reform Program and the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova, with the support of the European Business Association and the European Union High-Level Advisers Mission. The forum brought together top experts from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the European Commission, USAID, representatives of Customs authorities from Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.

During the Conference, the experts discussed the innovative elements of the new Customs Code and their impact on international trade facilitation; the role of digitization in streamlining customs clearance processes, as well as in minimizing business interaction with public authorities and reducing related costs; peculiarities of the value chain of the international e-commerce in the context of the window of opportunity generated by the pandemic crisis, as well as the regulatory impact in stimulating e-commerce.

A special element of the Conference was the forum of the three Customs authorities from Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the discussions including the review of the good practices of international cooperation, such as joint control, data exchange, as well as the reaffirmation of collaboration plans on customs infrastructure modernisation.