ATA Carnet
ATA Carnet training aims to simplify trade with Senegal
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) World Chambers of Federation (WCF) commends the recent five-day training programme, jointly organized by the Senegalese Customs Administration and the Dakar Chamber of Commerce, on the ATA Carnet System, the passport for goods that facilitates international trade.
This workshop, which ran between 7 and 11 February 2011, was designed for all Senegalese stakeholders involved in international trade: customs officers, chamber representatives, businesses and business associations. The aim was to inform Senegalese businesses and Cote d’Ivoire Chamber of Commerce officials of the benefits and advantages of the ATA Carnet System.
Laurence Bottier-Heiderscheid, WCF’s ATA Carnet Manager, and Xavier Fetter, ATA Carnet Manager with the Paris Chamber of Commerce, conducted the training with 50 participants at the Dakar Chamber.
Senegal has been a member of the ATA Carnet System since the early 1970s. But use of the Carnets has become even more crucial as African countries continue to register higher growth rates than Europe. The system not only helps to facilitate such intercontinental trade, but it also adapts to the shifting rules of world trade.
“Even if our country adopted the ATA Carnet a long time ago, its importance in international transactions was not fully perceived”, Ali Mboup, the Dakar Chamber’s Secretary General, said at the outset of the workshop.
“The ATA Carnet allows all actors to better answer requests for improved service quality and competitive economy,” he said.
This was echoed by Jean-Baptiste Diouf, representing the Senegalese Minister of Commerce: “The ATA Carnet is an internationally recognized customs document, useable in all the countries having implemented it. It allows a reduction of delays and a standardization of procedures that are vital in today’s economic world.”
The ATA Carnet eliminates the payment of customs duties and taxes at each border crossing, saving exporters both time and money. ATA Carnets cover all temporarily exported goods: professional equipment, commercial samples and goods for fairs and exhibitions. Over 150,000 Carnets are issued worldwide every year for goods valued at US$17 billion.
ATA Carnets are currently accepted in 69 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, which will become a full member on 1 April. Outreach to African countries will be accelerated in 2011.
The ATA chain, administered by the ICC World Chambers Federation comprises chambers and business organizations that have been appointed by their national customs authority to issue and guarantee Carnets.
For more information on ATA Carnets, please click here.
