RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/W/96/Rev.2
16 July 2002
(02-3957)
Committee on Customs Valuation
DRAFT AGENDA FOR THE
SEMINAR ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION
Note from the Secretariat
Revision
Following on the general objectives stated by Members at the February 2002 meeting of the
Committee, as well as the discussion of the programme at the Committee meetings of 27 March, 6
May and 3 July, a revised draft agenda for the seminar is presented below.
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Wednesday, 6 November
Morning
8:30 - 8:50 Registration
9:00 - 9:15 Welcoming remarks by the Chairman  of the Committee on Customs Valuation
Welcoming remarks by the Director-General of the WTO
Session I: CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTING THE AGREEMENT ON CUSTOMS
VALUATION
Moderator: TBC
9:15 – 10:45 Presentations by panellists of ab out 15 minutes each on the following issues:
(Panellists TBC)
Issues for technical assistance donors to  incorporate in their presentations:
- Are there economic/infrastructural/political factors that indicate challenges
in the implementation of the Custom s Valuation Agreement in developing
countries?
Examples might include:- over-emphasis of customs revenue in national income/fear of loss of this
revenue
-  informal trade
-  lack of financial, human and technological resources
-  political instability and high-turn over of customs officers-  political will to make the changes necessary to implem ent the Agreement
-  use of preshipment inspection services
- Can technical assistance on customs valuation, short-term or long-term,
seek to address these factors?  If so, how?  If not, what other means are
available to address these difficulties in order to facilitate implementation by
developing countries?G/VAL/W/96/Rev.2
Page 2
Issues for recipients to include in their presentations:
- Please provide examples of any difficulties identified in the process of
implementation of the Agre ement on Customs Valuation?
-  Has technical assistance contributed to dealing with these difficulties?  If so,
how and to what extent?  If not, how were the solutions found?
10:45 – 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 – 1:00 Panel Discussion based on questions and comments from the Moderator and
seminar participants
 1:00 – 3:00 Lunch
Afternoon
Session II: DEFINING/DEVELOPING CAPACITY-BUILDING IN THE AREA OF
CUSTOMS VALUATION
Moderator: TBC
3:00 - 4:45 Presentations by panellists of 15 - 20 minutes each on the following issues:
(Panellists TBC)
Issues for technical assistance donors to  incorporate into their presentations:
- What type of core capacity/capacity-building is necessary in order to
implement the Customs Valuation Ag reement and how are these needs
assessed for the purposes of providing technical assistance on customs
valuation?
- Is there any prioritization of needs when planning technical assistance
activities?  How does this translate into providing short-term versus long-
term technical assistance?
- Is follow-up of the capacity-building elements possible/feasible for short-term
technical assistance missions on customs valuation?  If so, how is it
incorporated into the technical assistance you provide?  If not, how can
capacity provided be maintained and built-upon after conclusion of thetechnical assistance mission?  How can this process be improved?
- Do you use performance indicators?  If so, please elaborate on this.
Issues for technical assistance recipients to  incorporate into their presentations:
- What type of capacity-building is necessary in order to implement the
Customs Valuation Agreement and how do you assess your capacity-building
needs in this area?  Have these needs evolved during the post-implementation
phase?
- how do you work with donors to ensure that the needs identified are
addressed in the assistance they provide to you?G/VAL/W/96/Rev.2
Page 3
- How do you do ensure follow-up of the capacity-building component of
assistance provided on customs valuation?  Do you request that a follow-up
component be included in the technical assistance provided?
- Are short-term technical assistance missions worthwhile in helping to
implement the Agreement on Customs Va luation, and how realistic is it to
talk about capacity-building in this context?
4:45 - 5:00 Coffee break
5:00 – 6:00 Panel discussion based on questions and comments from the Moderator
and from seminar participants
Thursday, 7 November
morning
Session I: CAPACITY BUILDING IN PRACTICE: EXPERIENCES AND
CHALLENGES MET
Moderator: TBC
9:00 – 10:30 Presentations by panellists of ab out 15 minutes each on the following issues:
(Panellists TBC)
Issues for both donors and recipients to  incorporate into their presentations:
- What type of technical assistance/project/funding has worked in terms of
meeting the challenges identified earlier and in building capacity?  What has
not worked?  Please provide concrete examples.
- Share views on why it worked or not worked, what would you do differently,
and lessons learned.
10:30 - 10:45 Coffee Break
10:45 - 12:30 Panel Discussion based on questions and comments from the Moderator and
from seminar participants.
12:30 - 2:30 Lunch
Session II: PROMOTING COOPERATION AND COORDINATION IN TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE/CAPACITY BUILDING
Moderator: TBC
2:30 – 4:00 Presentations by panellists of ab out 15 minutes each on the following issues:
(Panellists TBC)
Issues for donors to incorpor ate into their presentations:
- What procedures/policies/practices do you use to promote cooperation and
coordination among other donors of technical assistance on customsG/VAL/W/96/Rev.2
Page 4
valuation (for example, regular exchange of information on technical
assistance activities in this area)?
- How can the notion of "demand-driven" technical assistance be reconciled
with efforts to coordinate assistance among donor organizations andgovernments?  Do the mandates and constituencies of the various donor
organizations and governments drive the provision of technical assistance,
and, if so, does this hamper coordination and cooperation efforts?
- Have the work programmes developed in the context of WTO Committee
extension Decisions helped to promote coordination among donors?
- What role can the Committee on Cust oms Valuation play in improving
coordination and cooperation, and in ensuring that appropriatefollow-up is undertaken?
Issues for recipients to incorp orate into their presentations:
- Do you make efforts to ensure coordination and cooperation among the
donors that provide technical assistance to you?
- Are you aware of the particular areas of expertise or mandates of the
organizations that provide technical assistance in this area?  Do you
work with them and donor governments to ensure that your technical
assistance needs are allocated among the most efficient/suitable providers ofthe particular area of need?
- From your perspective, how can coordination and cooperation among
donors of technical assistance in this area be improved ?
4:00 – 4:15 Coffee Break
4:15 - 5:30 Panel Discussion based on questions and comments from the Moderator and
from seminar participants.
5:30 - 6:00 Concluding remarks by the Chairman of the Committee on Customs Valuation
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