As part of its continued collaboration with the State Customs Service of Ukraine, CLDP conducted the second of a series of workshops on specific issues and procedures in customs valuation on October 31-November 4, 2011 in Kyiv.

Led by two advisors from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the workshop featured comprehensive trainings on a number of customs valuation topics, such as the assessment of customs value of specific products, informed compliance programs, ATA carnets, operation and strategic targeting, impact of the Incoterms upon the customs value of products, and rules and procedures in determining the transaction value of products. The program also featured a number of sessions consisting of short exercises and in-depth case studies which included breaking out into smaller groups and active discussions. Participants included 23 Ukrainian central and regional customs officials as well as trainers from the Center for Advanced Training and Retraining of Personnel and for Canine Enforcement Training of the State Customs Service (Khmelnytskiy).

CLDP and CBP plan to hold a third workshop on post-clearance audit and additional valuation and classification topics in the spring of 2012.

The aim of the series of programs is a) to ensure that the State Customs Service of Ukraine’s customs valuation process is fair, harmonized, and transparent and meets the requirements of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement and b) to thoroughly train a cadre of officials from the State Customs Service of Ukraine on all aspects of customs valuation, who will, in turn, conduct trainings in their respective offices. Ensuring a fair, transparent, and harmonized customs valuation and classification process in Ukraine will contribute to creating a business environment conducive to increased foreign direct investment.