The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly altering the manner in which individuals engage in work activities and go about their daily lives.
The global supply chains are expected to experience significant disruptions, including through reductions in trade volumes, declines in foreign direct investment, lower consumer goods demand, a reduction in commodity prices, and general economic decline in particular for vulnerable developing countries.
Countries have implemented measures to contain the spread of the virus by: i) limiting travel; ii) reducing non-essential work and promoting teleworking; iii) cancelling mass gatherings and promoting social distancing, among others.
Borders remain open in most countries to keep supply chains functioning and to allow for continued trade in essential items including food, manufactured goods, and vital medical supplies.
Customs Administrations and crossborder agencies provide “essential services” to guarantee and secure the cross-border movement of goods, especially essential products. Nonetheless, their staff and traders are exposed to contamination and further spread of the virus if appropriate measures are not adopted. Therefore, countries have to act decisively to prevent the spread of the virus and introduce measures to suppress further transmission.
The ASYCUDA World (AW) system is well-equipped to assist Customs and cross-border agencies in scaling-up necessary actions to better deal with this pandemic by adopting policies and procedures to prevent, and/or limit transmission of the virus in their respective work environments, while at the same time ensuring the smooth functioning of cross border trade.
The automated support provided by AW affords Customs, cross-border agencies and traders to electronically submit and exchange data and documentation, and computerize procedures to expedite the clearance of imports, exports, transits and other trade transactions, thereby reducing to a great extent the need for face-to-face interaction.
ASYCUDA is committed to continue supporting partner countries to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and recover strongly from the pandemic.
