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TRACIT
​Talking Points

TRACIT endorses OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade but encourages the organization to step up policy leadership on the governance gaps that foster illicit trade

31/3/2021

 
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​I was pleased to participate in the ninth meeting of the OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade (TF-CIT) on 26-27 March 2021. Over the past decade, the Task Force has risen to become one of the most important international forums to monitor and deter illicit markets and support governments in their efforts to countering illicit trade.

TRACIT’s interventions focused on strategies and actions to address the challenges of illicit trade going forward. In particular, TRACIT endorsed the OECD report on Misuse of Containerized Maritime Shipping, published in collaboration with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). 
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The new report shows that containerships carry more than half of all seized counterfeits and provides an urgent and compelling need for governments to set new standards for mitigating the abuse of international maritime shipping lines by illicit traders. 

​The Task Force meeting also addressed high-risk areas of the economy—pharmaceuticals, alcohol, food, tobacco and counterfeiting online—that were particularly impacted by illicit trade during the pandemic, and the need to evaluate best practices to improve regulations and mitigate the problem. 


Moving forward, TRACIT believes the Task Force should build upon the impressive body of quantitative work to more effectively deliver on its High Level Risk Forum mandate to ‘design and promote good practices in public policies as a means to reduce and deter trafficking and smuggling activities,’ and to map policies and practices and develop metrices on the governance gaps that foster illicit trade. 

This includes cultivating the work of the  task force within OECD member governments – to ensure that work is directed to the right national agencies and that messages and guidance properly percolate throughout national capitals. For example, the OECD Council’s Recommendation on Countering Illicit Trade: Enhancing Transparency in Free Trade Zones contains much-needed guidance for OECD member states. Success here will depend on work engagement, adoption and implementation by OECD governments. The OECD has changed the game here, now it’s time from member state to see it through.​

The Task Force should also look at ways to increase engagement and share its experience with non-OECD Member States that value the expertise of the OECD and look to it for leadership and guidance.  This includes regions such as ASEAN, which is in the process of addressing illicit trade and establishing its own policy standards.

Finally, I was pleased by the continued engagement with the private sector - especially those legitimate industry players most impacted by illicit trade. Industry partners represented by the Anti Illicit Trade Expert Group of the Business at OECD share the common goal of countering illicit trade and provide critical market knowledge, supply chain expertise and technical innovation. The ongoing public-private sector dialogue ensures a more effective approach to countering illicit trade by balancing incentive setting, taking into account industry-specific sensitivities and competitive advantages on private and public sides.
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If there is one thing we have learned from the Task Force’s work and accomplishments over the last nine years is that mitigating the cross-sectoral challenge of illicit trade is going to require an international, coordinated, response by all affected parties – and a lot of hard work!

Jeffrey Hardy
Director-General, TRACIT

Governments must step up enforcement against illicit pharmaceuticals

25/3/2020

 
I’d like to draw your attention to a new study on Illicit Trade in Fake Pharmaceuticals. It was published today by the OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade (TF-CIT) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It shows that international trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals reached USD 4.4 billion, representing 2.2 % of trade in pharmaceuticals. The report arrives at a particularly disquieting, yet very relevant time.  In the midst of people taking extreme steps to stay safe from the Covid-19 virus, we are being exposed to waves of counterfeit and falsified Covid-19 masks, hydro alcoholic gels, testing kits and possible treatments.
 
This is an upsetting example of the extreme steps counterfeiters will take to profit from the misfortune of others. And it is an urgent reminder that governments must step up enforcement against illicit pharmaceuticals.
 
The OECD and EUIPO report certainly presents a compelling imperative to protect patients, healthcare systems and the wider society from the negative impacts of ingesting substandard, falsified, unregistered and unlicensed medical products.
 
With this body of work, policymakers now understand the nature and scale, the size and scope, the shock and horror of illicit trade.  But is OECD willing to follow up by evidencing a strong international policy framework that will provide meaningful tools to governments—inside and outside OECD—to help them clamp down on illicit trade in pharmaceuticals? 
 
TRACIT thinks that it is incumbent on the OECD Task Force to Counter Illicit Trade to identify, analyze and disseminate effective policy and good practices to assist OECD member states to better regulate illicit trade in pharmaceuticals. This is fully consistent with the organization’s mandate to design and promote good practices in public policies, to identify the governance gaps that facilitate illicit trade, and to reduce and deter illicit trafficking and smuggling.  The OECD’s quantitative studies are extremely useful, but now is the time for OECD to demonstrate the policy leadership that it’s renowned for. 
 
Whether it’s the horror of falsified anti-malaria medicines or today’s fake, governments inside and outside OECD are hungry for effective public policies, and the task force has an important opportunity to fill this gap by mapping the best of the best and helping us close governance gaps that foster illicit trade.
 
Jeffrey Hardy
Director-General, TRACIT
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Stepping up integrity in trade and customs: Going beyond policy principles to combat illicit trade at the border

22/3/2018

 
Illicit trade has an extensive destabilizing impact on global security due to its central role in facilitating transnational organized crime and illegal flows of money, people and products across borders. Combating the twin devils of corruption and illicit trade is critical to unlocking the potential of clean international trade and protecting prosperity, profitability, global supply chains and natural resources.

Customs has a particularly important role to play in combating illicit trade, with Customs officers on the front-line conducting inspections and detecting and seizing illicit goods. If this role is compromised, such as when customs officers are not acting in accordance with their official duties because of the promise of, or receipt of a bribe or other undue advantages, the system fails and enables opportunities for illegal trade, criminal activity, illegal financial flows and trafficking in products and persons.

In spite of meaningful progress in some countries, corruption continues to plague customs administrations around the world regardless of their level of development. Recent high profile cases simply reinforce what we always knew – that no country is immune to the problem and that there are no quick-fix solutions available. The very nature of customs work makes it vulnerable to many forms of corruption and other serious criminal activities.[1]
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  • In Mumbai, 19 Customs department officials were suspended due to ‘professional inadequacies of conduct’ that contributed to lost import duties and allegations of co-operation with smugglers.[2]
  • In the Philippines, a congressional hearing investigated the Bureau of Customs in a drug smuggling case, where the illicit shipment made its way relatively unhampered through customs' so-called express "green" lane[3]. Several high-level officials were implicated as corrupt and complicit.[4]
  • In the Ukraine, respondents to a survey carried out by the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC) amongst more than 180 domestic and foreign companies said that the fight against corruption should be the main priority for enhancing the country’s business climate. 54 per cent consider tax and customs authorities to be the main source of corruption.[5]

While some innovative approaches have shown genuine promise in addressing integrity risks, the problem of corruption and the challenges and vulnerabilities faced by customs administrations are ongoing and require constant vigilance and practical strategies to address the problem in a holistic way.

The OECD and WCO are at the forefront of addressing integrity in customs. To date, a selection of what the two organizations have developed includes:
  • Ten principles of the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration on Integrity in Customs;
  • G20 High Level Principles on Countering Corruption in Customs; and the
  • OECD Integrity in customs: Taking stock of good practices.

However, the work does not end there. The OECD and WCO have come a long way in identifying what needs to be done and what has worked well on a national scale in addressing integrity issues in customs. Now is the time to bring these lessons and principles to life to address the remaining gaps.

TRACIT looks forward to advancing the integrity in customs agenda together with the OECD and WCO. Through our envisaged cooperation, we can involve the private sector in the collective action to fight corruption at the border and promote shared responsibility between the public and private sectors in achieving clean trade. By joining forces, we will be able to bring together the best and brightest on these issues to facilitate true knowledge exchange between government representatives in charge of integrity, trade and security issues; national customs authorities; key implementing IGOs; and private sector experts on trade and supply chain management.

The upcoming OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum provides an important venue for advancing the work on improving integrity in customs. We look forward to engaging with our partners and Forum participants in Paris in the end of March and beyond.
 
​
Notes
[1] McLinden, G. & Durrano, A. Z. (2013). Corruption in Customs. World Customs Journal. 7 (2). 3-10.
[2] Dasgupta, A. (2017, November 3). A custom of corruption haunts Customs dept. Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved from https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/crime/a-custom-of-corruption-haunts-customs-dept/articleshow/61474969.cms
[3] Parpan, L. (2017, August 1). Senate alleges corruption and incompetence in customs bureau over biggest haul yet of shabu smuggled into PH. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/07/31/senate-probe-customs-drugs-china-faeldon.html
[4] Nonato, V. F. (2017, August 8). Broker accuses BOC execs of accepting bribes. Philippine Daily Inquire. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/921110/broker-accuses-boc-execs-of-accepting-bribes
[5] Emerging Europe. (2018, February 14). Perceived Corruption Continues to Hold Back Ukraine FDI. Emerging Europe. Retrieved from http://emerging-europe.com/in-brief/perceived-corruption-continues-hold-back-ukraine-fdi/
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Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade
​The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) is a private sector initiative organized as a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization under US tax code 501(c)(6). TRACIT draws from industry strengths and market experience to build habits of cooperation between business, government and the diverse group of countries that have limited capacities for regulatory enforcement. Its work program focuses on strengthening the business response to illicit trade by exchanging information and mitigation tactics in and across key industry sectors and reducing vulnerabilities in supply chains, including transportation, digital channels, free trade zones and financial networks. TRACIT’s work program covers alcohol; agri-foods; counterfeiting and piracy; fisheries; forestry; pesticides; petroleum; pharmaceuticals; precious metals and gemstones; and tobacco. trafficking in persons, and wildlife. 
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www.TRACIT.org : [email protected]

    About tracit talking points

    TRACIT Talking Points is a channel we’ve opened to comment on current trends and critical issues. This blog showcases articles from our staff and leadership, along with feature stories from our partners in the private sector and thought-leaders from government and civil society. Our aim is to deepen the dialogue on emerging policy issues and enforcement measures that can be deployed against illicit trade.

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        • Launch event | Money Talks: The Crooked Connection Between Corruption and Illicit Trade
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      • Link Between Illicit Trade and Sovereign Credit Ratings
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