G7 Initiative

Standardizing and simplifying customs procedures

In 1996, the G7 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) agreed to simplify their customs procedures by harmonizing the data that traders need to conduct business between G7 countries.

They developed data sets and standardized data electronic messages for electronic data interchange (EDI) so that traders could re-use much of the information they submitted to satisfy the exporting requirements of one G7 country to meet the importing requirements of another G7 country.

The World Customs Organization is taking steps to simplify and harmonize data requirements and to introduce an international standard based on the G7 initiative.

To measure the effectiveness of these harmonized data sets, each G7 country has agreed to implement and evaluate import and export data sets as well as standardized messages. To fulfil its international commitment, Canada has introduced the following options:

• G7 Import One Step Release on Full Documentation (RFD)
• G7 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Export Reporting

For more information, email any questions you may have.

Other international initiatives

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) also participates in other international efforts to influence the direction foreign customs administrations take regarding the customs requirements and procedures applied to Canadian exports. These projects include:

• The World Customs Organization (WCO) Data Model Working Group
• The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP)

Like the G7 initiative, these projects focus on simplifying and harmonizing international customs data requirements and customs procedures to reduce costs for traders and thereby facilitate trade. Traders often see customs requirements as being costly impediments to doing business. The projects try to eliminate these impediments by developing less intrusive ways for traders to meet customs requirements and by reducing, as much as possible, the amount of data required. By participating in the projects, the CBSA can promote and share Canada's best practices with other customs administrations.