1. Introduction

Clarification of concepts: In this text expressions such as “State Parties”, “Contracting States”, “Signatory States”, “Signatory Countries”, and similar wording that are used to refer to members of the World Customs Organization should be considered with the same scope and identical meaning as the expression “Contracting Parties”; i.e. without taking into account whether said parties are effectively “States” or constitute “Customs Unions” or “Separate Customs Territories” as it is explained in Section 1.5. MEMBERS.

The updated list of Member States is available on the website of the World Customs Organization: http://​www.​wcoomd.​org/​en/​about-us/​wco-members/​membership.​aspx Accessed May 10, 2021.

Data updated as of April 2021.

WCO. World Trade Statistical Review 2019. https://​www.​wto.​org/​english/​res_​e/​statis_​e/​wts2019_​e/​wts19_​toc_​e.​htm. Accessed May 10, 2021.

In French and English.

Available in Annex I of this book.

ARTICLE XVIII (a) The Government of any State which is not a signatory to the present Convention may accede thereto as from April 1, 1951.

Gómez-Pallete and María (2002), p. 27: In December 1996, the Council had to once again address the issue of organization’s headquarters so that it would be able to accommodate its already 142 contracting parties. On this occasion, circumstances of diverse natures led the WCO to consider the possibility of relocating the headquarters to another Member State. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Morocco submitted bids for the WCO’s headquarters to be situated in Bonn, The Hague, Brussels, and Casablanca, respectively. On December 6th, 1996, the Council held a special session to decide on the organization’s new premises. After voting on the various proposals, Belgium’s offer obtained the necessary majority and it was agreed that the Organization’s headquarters would remain in Brussels.

At the end of the book, in Annex II, the original version of the Agreement is included. The Agreement roughly states that: 1. The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium offered the CCC the possibility of maintaining its headquarters in Brussels by way of an annual subsidy (BEF 50 million) for as long as the long-term lease and call option between the CCC and BURCO CDP (Limited Liability Company) exists between the years of 1997 and 2024; 2. Should the CCC decide to exercise the call option upon expiry of the contract, it must offer the Kingdom of Belgium the possibility of acquiring 50% of the undivided property, or should it decide not to exercise the call option, it must offer the Kingdom of Belgium 100% of the call option; 3. Whether the Kingdom of Belgium partially or completely acquires the land and property complex, the Kingdom agrees to refrain from any claim for rent from the CCC while the WCO occupies the complex and from any request to abandon the complex without the agreement of the CCC;

In the event that the complex not be available in accordance with the provisions and conditions of the contract mentioned in the first point, the Kingdom of Belgium undertakes to guarantee an adequate space for the Organization until the complex can be made available to it, taking into consideration that the CCC’s contribution cannot being greater than the amount that would have been payable, if the complex had been able to be occupied on July 1st, 1998.

World Customs Organization. http://​www.​wcoomd.​org/​en/​about-us/​what-is-the-wco/​vision-mission-values.​aspx.

World Customs Organization. http://​www.​wcoomd.​org/​en/​about-us/​what-is-the-wco/​vision-mission-values.​aspx. Accessed May 10 2021.

World Customs Organization. http://​www.​wcoomd.​org/​en/​about-us/​what-is-the-wco/​vision-mission-values.​aspx. Accessed May 10 2021.

World Customs Organization. http://​www.​wcoomd.​org/​en/​about-us/​what-is-the-wco/​strategic-plan/​goals.​aspx. Accessed May 10 2021.

For a more detailed display and access to the dates of accession, see Annex III at the end of the text.

Software for the control and administration of customs management, developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It is currently used in over 80 countries.

This resolution does not yet imply the admission of Palestine as a full member of the Organization, as this would require the approval of the UN Security Council in which the United States opposes. On December 17th, 2014, the European Parliament publicly supported the recognition of the State of Palestine. In May 2015 it was also officially recognized by the Holy See, and by early 2018, a total of 136 states recognize Palestine as a sovereign state.

Council Decision No. 318 (2007). In: “Status of the European Communities vis-à-vis the World Customs Organization”, doc. SC0081E1a.

At its 109th/110th Sessions, the Council adopted the amendment to the Convention establishing the CCC (Articles VIII and XVIII). This amendment was approved as a Recommendation dated June 30th, 2007 (“Recommendation of the Customs Co-operation Council concerning the amendment of the Convention establishing a Customs Co-operation Council”). To enter into force, this Recommendation, deposited with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, must be accepted by all Contracting Parties to the Convention establishing the Customs Cooperation Council. According to the information available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium (last updated on November 13th, 2017), 73 instruments of acceptance have been deposited.

Maximum contribution rate. Up to 1963, there was no legal basis regarding a maxi-mum contribution rate. In May 1963, the Council (on its 22nd Session) decided that “the Council Budget share borne by each Member State cannot, in any case, be higher than 30% of the budgetary income provided by the contributions” (Council Decision No. 152, May 23, 1963). In June 1970, the Council (on its 35th/36th Sessions) decided that “the Council budget share borne by each Member State cannot, in any case be higher than 25% of the budgetary income provided by the contributions” (Council Decision No. 184, June 12th, 1970 which annulled Decision No. 152)

Japan was the largest contributor with a rate of 13.21% before the accession of the United States on November 5, 1970 (according to the scale of contributions adopted in June 1970 - Decision No. 182, June 12, 1970, for the 1970/1971 budget).

After the accession of the United States, the revised scale of contributions for that same 1970/1971 budget (Decision No. 186, June 11, 1971) included the United States as the largest contributor with a rate of 25% (Decision No 184).

United States remained the largest contributor with a rate of 25% for 34 years when it requested to level its contribution rate to the WCO with the maximum level of contributions defined by their Department of State (22%) for all the international organizations of which the US is a member.

Council finally approved this request in the 109th/110th Sessions (Decision No. 319, on July 5th, 2007). To this end, there would be a gradual reduction over three years: 24% for the 2007/2008 budget, 23% for the 2008/2009 budget, and 22% for the 2009/2010 budget onwards.

Minimum contribution rate: Since the beginning, the minimum contribution rate has been variable depending on the specific situation of each budget. In June 2018 (Decision No. 351, July 5, 2018), the minimum rate for the 2018/2019 budget was set at 0.161%.

Situation on April 15th, 2019.

Languages with the most native speakers are Mandarin Chinese (917 million speakers), Spanish (460 million), English (379 million), and Hindi (341 million). Ethnologue. Languages of the World: https://​www.​ethnologue.​com/​guides/​most-spoken-languages.

Information available in http://​ec.​europa.​eu/​education/​languages/​pdf/​doc3275_​en.​pdf.

Arabic is already being used as a partially official language in the Management Committee of the Customs Convention on Containers and as a working language in the Harmonized System Committee.

Spanish is already being used as a partially official language in the Customs Valuation Technical Committee, Rules of Origin Technical Committee, and in the Management Committee of the Customs Convention on Containers, and as a working language in the Harmonized System Committee.

The first monitoring actions revealed important progress in the participation of Arabic speaking members.

Sources: (i) Customs Cooperation Council Bulletin No. 1, (1995), (Printed in France at the ENCYCLOPEDIE DOUANIERE). (ii) Booklet “Brief introduction” of the Customs Co-operation Council (1990). (iii) World Customs Organization website: www.​wcoomd.​org.​

The League of Nations, officially named Société des Nations (SDN), was an international organization created by the Versailles Treaty on June 28th, 1919, which aimed to establish the bases for peace, and reorganization of international relations after the end of First World War. The SDN was dissolved on April 18th, 1946, after the end of the Second World War, and was succeeded by the United Nations Organization (UN).

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Turkey.

Customs Day is celebrated every year on January 26th in commemoration of this date.

The WCO birth certificate can be seen from two points of view: legal or operational: (i) from the legal standpoint, the correct date is November 4th, 1952, the moment when Germany deposited its ratification instrument, i.e. the seventh State pursuant to Article XVII (a) of the Conventions establishing the Customs Cooperation Council; and (ii) from the operational point of view, the correct date is January 23rd, 1953. Throughout WCO history, both dates (1952 and 193) have been used to celebrate anniversaries. From the operational point of view (10th anniversary in 1963, 25th anniversary in 1978, 30th anniversary in 1983, and 40th anniversary in 1993). However, since 2002, following a decision made by Secretary-General Michel Danet, the legal point of view has been used (50th anniversary in 2002, 60th anniversary in 2012, 65th anniversary in 2017).

The official name of the Organization, or its founding Conventions were not changed as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium informed the organization of the possible harmful consequences, particularly, for Belgian officers who would lose tax benefits and prerogatives they hold under the original convention.

Doc. 38. 149 E/REv (1993). In: 29th Session of the Policy Commission, “CCC 40th Anniversary 1953-1993”, para 2.

The logotype official colors are “WCO blue” (pantone 3005), and “WCO grey” (pantone 877 – 20% black).

With reference to the previous and current WCO logotype, Don Jorge Enrique Loera, in the prolog of the book “World Customs Organization and its Conventions”, by José María ALVAREZ GÓMEZ – PALLETTE: states that “The Council logotype did not survive: that kind of wind rose with an eye in the middle of the world has been swept by the wind of modernity and replaced by a simple design whose meaning is a little complicated to unravel.”