US Trade Agency Funds Vietnam US$600,000 for APEC Customs Clearance

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will fund Vietnam more than US$600,000 for improving customs clearance transactions during the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting due in November.

 

An agreement on such a deal was signed in Hanoi on June 26 by Miguel Pardo de Zela, Consul for Commercial Affairs at the US Embassy in Hanoi, and Vu Ngoc Anh, deputy director general of the Vietnam's General Department of Customs (VGDC).

 

This pilot project is a public-private partnership alliance, helping Vietnamese customs modernize customs facilities and procedures, using loans from the World Bank and the government efficiently. An eManifest system will be employed to improve security risk management, as well as the completeness and accuracy of customs clearance transactions for airfreight carriers.

 

Unisys Corporation of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and FedEx Express, the largest subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee, will take part in this pilot program.

 

According to the USTDA announcement, the project will be highlighted at the 2006 APEC Economic Leaders' meeting in order to realize the World Customs Organization Framework to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade and to further promote Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) Initiative.

 

Vietnam & World’s Economy, Labourer