WCO and IAPH Launch Updated Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities

Brussels, 10 September - The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) today announced the release of the updated Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities. Building on the success of the first edition launched in 2023 at the World Ports Conference, the new version strengthens public-private cooperation across the global maritime supply chain and introduces valuable contributions from the World Shipping Council (WSC).

The Guidelines serve as a practical tool to foster closer collaboration, better data sharing, and enhanced risk management between customs and port authorities. They are designed to help national governments, port authorities, customs services, and private sector stakeholders navigate the increasingly complex challenges of global trade.

The release coincides with the WCO global conference A collective response to safeguarding maritime supply chains from criminal threatstaking place at the WCO headquarters in Brussels. The conference brings Customs authorities, ports, terminal operators and shipping lines together with the international law enforcement community and governments to discuss the results of a two-year WCO-led global analysis into illicit trade.

WCO Secretary General, Ian Saunders, said: "This joint document reflects evolving priorities, including digitalization, coordinated risk management, and joint enforcement efforts. The guidance it contains reaffirms our commitment to strengthening collaboration at the border in an increasingly complex and data driven trade environment."

IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven added: "Ports sit at the nexus of trade, sustainability, and security. The revised Guidelines reflect the importance of engaging all stakeholders-including shipping lines-to ensure both efficiency and resilience in global maritime logistics."

The revised Guidelines provide governments, ports, and customs services with actionable best practices that balance trade facilitation with safety, security, and sustainability. By expanding the scope to include shipping line perspectives, IAPH and WCO aim to further strengthen trust, cooperation, and innovation across the global maritime community.

New input from the World Shipping Council

The updated Guidelines incorporate new contributions from the World Shipping Council (WSC), representing global liner shipping companies. WSC underscores the vital role of cooperation between shipping lines, Customs, and port authorities to ensure secure, efficient maritime trade.

Key recommendations include establishing robust consultation mechanisms with port stakeholders when introducing new data or regulatory frameworks, ensuring that business realities are taken into account. Shipping lines emphasise the importance of timely, accurate data exchange-covering vessel, crew, and cargo information-in alignment with international standards such as IMO FAL.14(46).

Additionally, the new section recommends and supports the adoption of Single Window Environments to simplify and harmonise data submission, reducing duplication while enhancing security and compliance. The contribution also highlights the need for trusted public-private partnerships to tackle illicit trade, drawing on lessons from cross-border, multi-stakeholder global operations such as "Tin Can,"* which resulted in 43 arrests and 158 drug seizures of approximately 100 tonnes of narcotics in 2022. Finally, WSC calls for clear international practices to address abandoned and uncleared containers, which pose both safety and security risks.

Through these inputs, WSC reinforces the importance of continuous dialogue and collaboration with authorities to improve trade facilitation, enhance risk management, and strengthen the collective fight against illicit trafficking.

Available in multiple languages

Thanks to the efforts of WCO and IAPH teams as well as the support of Members, the updated guidelines have also been translated into French and, for the first time, has been made available in Latin American Spanish.

One of the key contributors, Mariela Gutarra Ramos, Leader of Government and Digital Transformation and Chief of the Office of IT of the National Port Authority of Perú commented: "having these guidelines translated into Spanish makes a significant difference in terms of accessibility of use when it comes to bringing all the relevant stakeholders around the table to discuss how the best practices and recommendations can be applied in practice."

For the English version, clickhere

For the French version, clickhere

For the Spanish version, clickhere

*For details about Operation Tin Can see pages 50 - 52 of the guidelines (Eng)

About the WCO

The World Customs Organization (WCO), established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) is an independent intergovernmental body whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations. Today, the WCO represents 186 Customs administrations across the globe that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in Customs matters and can rightly call itself the voice of the international Customs community.

About IAPH

Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 200 port authorities as well as 173 port-related businesses. Comprised of over 94 different nationalities across the world's continents, member ports handle over one third of the world's sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on de-carbonisation and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalisation in the maritime transport chain. The IAPH's World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses - iaphworldports.org.