BorderAgencyCooperation

Border Agency Cooperation addresses the operational aspects of inter-agency cooperation. Over the past 10 years, governments have paid increasing importance to this topic in response to security challenges and trade facilitation. Various international organizations have built entire concepts around the idea of coordinating border agencies. These various concepts carry different names, such as Coordinated or Integrated Border Management (see OSCE introduction to names), but in nature they have the same objective of increasing the efficiency of processing, and the effectiveness of agencies' operations through coordination and cooperation. =Statement of Problems= Border crossing and clearance procedures often entail lengthy formalities. Throughout the clearance process, traders may have to prepare various sets of data or documents and make them available in different formats or use separate access channels for each of the relevant agencies. When goods arrive at the border, traders have to undergo multiple formalities with multiple agencies, who conduct document and physical checks of the goods, means of transport, and persons accompanying the goods. This often leads to a duplication of effort and processes, such as the presentation of documents and the conduct of inspections. It is not rare that agencies have different operating hours and are located at different places. Often, specialized agencies, such as veterinary services, face staffing problems, thus delaying necessary inspections until an inspector can be dispatched. This lack of coordination also leads to inefficiencies for the public authorities. The agencies must maintain different systems for collecting data. This is inefficient, since the sharing of intelligence and information on consignments across borders would allow a better targeting of risks. Border Agency Cooperation attempts to identify and implement solutions to improve cooperation amongst border agencies. It also provides opportunities for financial savings for governments by sharing equipment and facilities, and alleviating the pressure on staff, such as inspection officers.

=Implementation Guidance= According to various publications and documents on this topic, Border Agency Cooperation can cover areas such as:
 * cooperation in the processing of goods, including coordinated intervention and joint controls,
 * integrated risk-management and integrated and shared IT systems, including the operation of a Single Window,
 * adoption of common standards through data harmonization and document alignment, and
 * common training activities.

In addition to cooperation at the national level, border agency cooperation has a cross-border dimension, in particular cross-border cooperation amongst Customs authorities, which includes joint controls, alignment of opening hours of border stations and the construction of juxtaposed Customs offices. The WCO Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) provides a framework for Border Agency Cooperation in Standards 3.3 to 3.5, calling for coordinated examinations (interventions), and Standard 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, urging Customs administrations to correlate business hours and competences, operate joint controls, and use or establish juxtaposed Customs offices. The SAFE Framework refers to integrated border management through cooperative arrangements amongst government agencies and across borders with agencies of neighboring countries in Pillar 1, Customs-to-Customs. Border agency coordination is also discussed in the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation in national and international dimensions. It broadly relates to the scope of Article VIII Fees and Formalities for the Importation and Exportation, and the requirement of this Article to minimize the complexity of formalities.

=Requirements and Pre-requsites=

Governance framework for agency cooperation
Border Agency Cooperation takes different forms. It can be informal processes limited to ad hoc coordination meetings at the level of border crossings. Often, however, the focus is a formalized process of cooperation, underpinned by institutional arrangements and legal frameworks. These include regular meetings of the agencies' senior political representatives and the signing of Memoranda of Understanding amongst agencies to agree on sharing facilities and delegating authorities and powers. There is an on-going discussion as to whether border agency cooperation needs to have institutional implications, such as the creation of new agencies to merge the functions of existing ones to reduce the number of agencies that intervene. In some countries, such as USA, Canada and Australia, border management related functions from several agencies have been grouped and placed in a single body(*) ; e.g. Canada Border Services Agency, Australian Customs and Border Protection Services, US Customs and Border Protection. Other administrations have decided to leave the organizations separate but add a layer of coordinated governance in the form of joint services or groups, such as the Wildlife Enforcement Group New Zealand, which is a joint initiative of Customs Services, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Border Sector Governance Group, bringing together the New Zealand Customs Service, Department of Labour, Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Food Safety Authority.

Prior analysis
Agency cooperation builds on the fact that every agency has clearly defined responsibilities and functions, and that processes underlying their operations can be coordinated and/or integrated. It is therefore necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the procedures, processes and requirements at the agency level, with the objective of identifying areas that can be simplified through coordination and integration. Business Process Analysis is a useful tool for this.

(*) For a study of the institutional arrangements for CBM in WCO member countries, please see Mariya Polner Coordinated border management from theory to practice, in World Customs Journal, Volume 5, Number 2 (xx).