Speech by Nanette van Schelven at WCO Maastricht, 18 October 2022
Speech by the director-general of the Customs Administration of the Netherlands Nanette van Schelven at WCO Maastricht.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I bid you all a warm welcome. It is great that we can get together here, to be able to physically meet and speak with each other again.
I wish to thank the Customs Orchestra for their wonderful performance. Every time I listen to the Customs Orchestra, I feel proud. Proud of your musical skills, proud of the way you look, and proud that you form part of the Dutch Customs family. And here, these days in Maastricht, of the global Customs family.
It is great to note that so many customs organisations, from so many different countries, are represented here. My compliments go out to the World Customs Organisation, which has managed to have all these colleagues, from all around the world, gather here.
As customs organisations, our duty is the same, no matter where in the world we’re from: we levy import and excise duties at the border. We protect our society against unwanted goods passing that border. And we disrupt bona fide trade as little as possible when doing our job.
During this conference, you will hear about how we try to accomplish these goals in the Netherlands. Something I’m happy to speak a few words about right now.
One third of all goods entering and exiting Europe, passes through the Netherlands. You may have entered via Schiphol Airport. So do a great many goods. In addition, many goods enter our country via our ports. Ports like those of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Vlissingen.
The processing of these great quantities of goods requires a sophisticated system to have everything go smoothly. Not all goods can be inspected. So we are constantly looking for the right balance between checking what really must be checked and not unnecessarily interfering with the flow of all other goods. A balance between enforcement and facilitation.
This sophisticated system we use is the result of multiple centuries of work. Dutch Customs came into existence on 14 June 1597, making it one of the oldest customs organisations in the world. Being 425 years of age, we are a customs service boasting a lot of history. While our task has remained the same for well over four centuries, in practical terms, the work has changed tremendously.
This is partly due to geopolitical developments, like Brexit and, in this year, the war in Ukraine. For we are an organisation whose work is immediately impacted by what’s going on in the world. But it is also due to digitisation in the supply chain and to the growth of e-commerce. I will delve slightly deeper into these latter two points.
E-commerce has been called the greatest change in logistics since the introduction of the container about a hundred years ago. We will have to find solutions allowing us to both inspect the flow of goods and have it run smoothly. This is the balance between enforcement and inspection I mentioned earlier. Technology and data help us to find it. The theme of this conference is, therefore, a very fitting one.
It is where the future of customs work has to be found, and this is why Dutch Customs participates in European research into the use of AI. The use of artificial intelligence allows for quicker and more effective inspections. Some examples will also be shown at the conference.
It is important for us, as customs organisations, to collaborate with the developers of intelligent technologies and with the business sector.
New equipment, automation, AI, and data are of paramount importance in our ability to perform our work efficiently and effectively. For my organisation, the greater reliance on equipment and data means that we have to permanently change our working methods. It is important in this connection to keep bearing the customs official in mind. For customs work is and continues to be work done by humans. Such human interaction exists directly, during individual checks, but also when working together with various customs organisations.
Close cooperation exists both within and outside of Europe. We learn from each other, make each other’s work easier, and together we make sure that the flow of goods runs more smoothly wherever possible.
Let us, in the next few days here in Maastricht, confer with each other to learn from each other and arrive at new insights. Let us work together to create a flexible and future-proof customs organisation. All around the world.
I am very happy to give the floor to today’s guest of honour: State Secretary Aukje de Vries, whose portfolio includes Customs. I am very glad that she will share her ideas for a future-proof and flexible customs organisation with you today.