The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held its third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM3) earlier this month in Seattle, Washington. USCIB Senior Director for Customs and Trade Facilitation Megan Giblin attended various meetings related to customs; Giblin was a panelist in the APEC Customs-Business Dialogue (ACBD) and moderated a session at the 15th Meeting of the APEC Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity (A2C2).  

The ACBD focused on women in trade, specifically women in customs, and featured several panels on how women are leading in the technology in trade space. The meeting provided a platform for discussion on how to deliver effective leadership development opportunities for women. Giblin spoke on a panel titled, Women in the Trade Workforce in the 21st Century, and was joined by fellow panelists from Viet Nam Customs Nguyen Thi Viet Nga and Expeditors’ Nanoh Park. The panel was moderated by the Deputy Director, Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Anne Maricich. Giblin and other panelists provided insights on the current state of women in international trade (customs), the types of jobs women hold, some of the challenges women face in such roles, how to interest next generation of women, examples of successful recruitment, how to retain women in these roles and how to develop women for senior leadership roles. Panelists shared experiences and best practices. As Giblin developed remarks, she consulted with her CTFC Chair and committee members to gather additional views and experiences to inform these critical discussions.   

USCIB members were also prominently featured during the ACBD. A panel titled, Trade, Technology and International Cooperation: How Women are Leading and Broadening the Tent for Inclusion. How do we bring in more allies?, featured USCIB member Raquel Guevera (Microsoft). Guevera’s panel included representatives from several APEC economy customs administrations and other private sector representatives. Panelists discussed how trade can support women’s economic empowerment and how women are leading technology in trade. 

The ACBD culminated in a critical small group discussion aimed at informing the Subcommittee on Customs Procedures about lessons learned and best practices from the private sector that Customs Administrations can benefit from. The ACBD also identified some short and long-term actions that can be taken to address some of the challenges and gaps identified during the event.   

“It was fascinating to have participated in an impactful event, which brought together, and provided a dialogue for, so many like-minded women in customs and trade from the APEC economies and the private sector,” said Giblin. “It was a powerful dialogue, which highlighted many commonalities we have all faced or experienced in our careers. There was general agreement among participants, moderators and speakers that we need to stop talking about doing more to engage women in customs. Now is the time to act.”  

Giblin added, “I look forward to seeing how the recommendations from the small group were received by the SCCP and which recommendations will be acted upon.”  Congratulations to the SCCP 2023 Chair, Kristie McKinney of U.S CBP and the U.S. team for a successful ACBD. USCIB looks forward to active engagement in the ACBD during Peru’s host year in 2024.  

Following the ACBD, the Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity (A2C2)—a USTR-led public private partnership mechanism focused on supply chain connectivity and resilience—allowed stakeholders from APEC economies to formally engage in APEC’s supply chain work. According to Giblin, USCIB’s CTFC has been very active in the A2C2, which has focused on WTO Trade Facilitation Implementation, as well as the Supply Chain Framework Action Plans (SCFAP) focusing on specific chokepoints.  

The 15th meeting of the A2C2, entitled “Operationalizing the SCFAP3,” hosted on this sideline of SOM3 in Seattle, allowed stakeholders to explore opportunities to overcome the chokepoints, such as digitalization and e-payment. Giblin and USCIB members served as either moderators or panelists. Giblin moderated the panel, Digitalization of End-to-End Supply Chains, during which panelists discussed how businesses and governments are grappling with digitalization reforms, including border procedures and trade documentation exchanges. Speakers on the A2C2 Digitalization panel included Peru’s Custom and Trade Facilitation Coordinator Ingrid Huapaya Puicon, SubCargo Co-Chief Executive Officer Fernanda Palacios, Microsoft Senior Corporate Counsel for Global Trade Carol Anderson and GS1 Peru Deputy General Mary Wong.  In addition, Giblin and Anderson were joined by USCIB members Welby Leaman, senior director, Global Policy Strategy at Walmart and Prashanth Rajan, director for Public Policy at Mastercard, who spoke, respectively on panels, ‘Understanding Green Supply Chain Management Practices” and “Data Flows and Cross-Border Payments to Support Increasingly Digitalized Supply Chains.” 

“We were pleased to see the APEC Subcommittee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) Chair Kristie McKinney of CBP overview the SCCP Agenda 2023,” said Giblin. “We look forward to the A2C2 continuing to focus on SCFAP III chokepoints and to continued contribution on the critical dialogue tied to digitalization,” said Giblin.”  

“USCIB has appreciated the direct and continued engagement on customs and trade facilitation matters with our U.S. government partners during this host year,” said Giblin. “We stand ready to provide relevant input into the establishment of goals and objectives for both this year and the years to come. We look forward to continued engagement, planning and preparation with U.S. partners for A2C2 meetings during Peru’s host year in 2024.”