XML Effort Detail Information:

Effort Name: World Customs Organization (WCO) Data Harmonization
Acronym (if applicable):
Point of Contact: Bill Nolle
Contact E-mail Address: william.l.nolle@customs.treas.gov
Telephone: 703.921.7377
URL:
Submitter Name: Bill Nolle
Submitter Organization: U.S. Customs Service
Submitter E-mail: william.l.nolle@customs.treas.gov k
Submit Date: 07-Mar-01

Description of Effort:
Standardize and harmonize information required by Customs administrations and other concerned federal trade agencies for the import, export and transit of merchandise and conveyances. The intent is to use commercial information as the basis for international trade processing. If all countries agree to a commercial based standard trade will flow more smoothly and at less cost. There is a sense that rigid, formatted records (edifact and x12) might be replaced by xml.

Major Participants:
The World Customs Organization (over 150 Customs administrations) and a WCo working group with representatives of US, Australia, Canada, UK, Netherlands, France and Switzerland.  EDIFACT Groups i.e. UNTDED, CEFACT, etc.  Importers, exporters, carriers, forwarders and customs brokers.

Types of people they would like to get involved:
Those who are working on data repositories and those who are working on DTD for commercial transactions. Any who might be defining commercial invoices, bills of lading, government import or export licenses, etc.

How people can get involved:
I want to be certain that data terms, definitions, and coding that might be negotiated with the WCO are consistent with whatever is being decided uon in the US. Others need knowledge of how international trade processes work and how dependent our economy is on international trade and the significance (value) of statistical data on trade. What we need is some concurrence that where we are going in the international arena is where we are going in the US. Review and awareness of this effort is critical.

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