Partnership with WCO

The UPU and the World Customs Organization (WCO) have forged a longstanding partnership aimed at enhancing efficiency and security in the movement of postal items across borders. The WCO, established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council, is an independent intergovernmental body whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of customs authorities. The WCO represents 186 customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. As the global centre of customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in customs matters and that can rightly call itself the voice of the international customs community. Focused on developing international standards, fostering cooperation and building capacity, the WCO supports customs administrations worldwide in facilitating legitimate trade, ensuring fair revenue collection and protecting society.

The WCO–UPU Contact Committee was established in 1964 at the Universal Postal Congress in Vienna, for coordination on customs clearance issues for postal items. Through this committee, the WCO and the UPU collaborate on the development of procedures, guidelines and training resources that support Posts and Customs at national and international level. A cooperation agreement was signed in 2022. 

The key areas of current collaboration include:

1. Capacity building: The WCO and the UPU jointly organize workshops, undertake projects such as the SECUREX initiative, and conduct surveys to support customs compliance and enhance designated operator capacity in member countries.

2. Electronic advance data (EAD): Efforts focus on advancing EAD requirements to enhance data quality and enforce compliance, using tools such as the UPU Global Postal Model, the Customs Declaration System (CDS) and the WCO-UPU Joint Messaging Standards CUSITM-CUSRSP.

3. Security and safety: Both organizations prioritize security in the postal supply chain, working together on initiatives such as the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards, Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes for designated operators, and UPU standards S58 and S59.

4. E-commerce and trade facilitation: The WCO and the UPU address e-commerce challenges through standards such as the WCO Framework of Standards for cross-border e-commerce, and support designated operators’ participation in the National Trade Facilitation Committees.

5. Regulatory matters: The WCO and the UPU collaborate on regulatory guidance, including comprehensive review of the Revised Kyoto Convention. These alignments help to ensure consistency and support the safe and efficient exchange of postal items.

6. Guidelines and publications: Through the Contact Committee, the WCO and the UPU produce key publications to guide postal–customs operations.

• First Joint Global Conference (Tokyo, June 2023): Held on the theme of “Challenges and opportunities for cross-border e-commerce”, this conference aimed to identify synergies between Customs and postal operators to strengthen global postal chains. Hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan Customs and Japan Post, the event produced the WCO–UPU Tokyo Joint Declaration on facilitating safe, secure and efficient global trade. Read the full declaration here.

• Joint improvements: In April 2024, the UPU and WCO adopted updates to postal customs declaration forms CN 22 and CN 23, which were endorsed by the WCO Council in June 2024. Additionally, the 2024 version of the WCO–UPU Postal Customs Guide was ratified.

In honour of the UPU’s 150th anniversary, the UPU Director General welcomed the WCO Secretary General to the UPU International Bureau in Berne on 9 October 2024. This milestone event highlighted the enduring partnership between the WCO and the UPU, with both leaders emphasizing their commitment to advancing secure and efficient global postal systems. The meeting underscored shared goals in supporting Customs–Post collaboration to meet the challenges of an evolving global trade landscape.

More about the event in photos, click here.

• About WCO and postal supply chain integration, see here.
• More about customs, see here.
• To listen to the UPU podcast featuring Dr Kunio Mikuriya, former WCO Secretary General, in “Episode 22: Shifting paradigms – Post–Customs cooperation in the era of e-commerce”, click here.