The World Customs Organization (WCO), in collaboration with the WCO East and Southern Africa Regional Office for Capacity Building (ESA ROCB), conducted an online sensitisation on the WCO Trade Tool Platform on 14 August 2024. The meeting was organised under the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System in Africa (HS Africa Programme), funded by the European Union (EU).
Following the work of the HS Africa Programme on the HS and other HS-related matters in the region, the programme provided 24 full package access for 5 years to the WCO Trade Tool Platform for ESA Customs administrations and Regional Training Centres through the WCO ESA ROCB. This initiative is intended to support these countries by offering easy access to accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information on the HS, Rules of Origin (RoO), and valuation to strengthen the administrations' organisational capacities.
To ensure full utilisation of the Trade Tool, the online sensitisation session was an occasion where the WCO provided insight on the functionality of the tool and how to navigate its features by exploring the search functionality - for instance, the platform’s ability to filter information according to the user’s requirements, the interactive comment function for a team of users, and the consolidated historical HS changes enabling easy follow up of the HS migration over a period of time.
During the session, the participants could interact and provide feedback on their experience with the tool and how it has benefited their individual administrations. It is envisioned that this access will be a significant step towards greater efficiency.