Libéria

Sections 1220 to 1223 of the Modernized Customs Code of 2018 as well as the Nairobi Convention, provide the legal framework for data exchange between Customs administration's with regards to the import/export/transit of goods. Collaborations exist among Customs authorities within the Mano River Union (MRU) region and these are supported by MOUs and other agreements, including the ECOWAS Customs Code and the Sigma Corridor Transit initiative. In addition, there are partial data-sharing arrangements between Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone that are being utilised on a very limited scale. Language barriers, a lack of overall awareness of the data exchange arrangements in place, and alignment with international best practices are some of the associated gaps.

Liberia has designated and notified its Customs Cooperation contact point to the WTO.

While the legal framework for customs cooperation has largely been established, the operational utilization of existing arrangements remains limited. Challenges include language barriers, limited awareness of available information-exchange mechanisms, insufficient operational procedures, and the need for stronger alignment with international best practices for customs cooperation and data exchange.

To strengthen implementation of Article 12, technical assistance and capacity-building support are required to: improve the current framework by developing an overarching policy and governance framework for effective data exchange and to draft related SOP's. Support is also required to conduct an assessment to identify data exchange opportunities that are not being fully utilized. This should include engagements with all neighbouring Customs authorities to ensure that arrangements are reciprocal and that security measures are in place to ensure that information exchanged is managed in an appropriate and confidential manner.