Officers of the Main Customs Administration on Air Transport of State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan prevented an attempt to smuggle large quantities of drugs and psychotropic substances into the country.

A National Workshop on Post Clearance Audit was held virtually from 18 to 22 January 2021 for Moldova Customs as a part of the WCO capacity building delivery plan. The five-day event was made possible through technical support by the Regional Office for Capacity Building for the World Customs Organization Europe Region.

EETS is the EU's harmonised electronic toll service throughout Europe – and now Switzerland has joined as well. This service simplifies and accelerates the movement of goods at the border. Joining the EETS network is a milestone in the DaziT digitalisation and transformation programme.

An automated system of online services for processing international cargo transportation is implemented in Turkmenistan on railways. With the help of a new digital system on the trl.gov.tm website, a shipper can obtain and register a railway code, which will provide access to a personal account.

Global services trade in the third quarter of 2020 fell 24% compared to the same period in 2019, according to statistics released by the WTO on 26 January. This represents only a small uptick from the 30% year-on-year decline registered in the second quarter, in marked contrast to the much stronger rebound in goods trade.

In 2020, entry and exit of 3.4 million commercial vehicles took place at Turkey's land border. The Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan said: "The border point through which the most number of commercial vehicles crossed is Habur Customs Gate with Iraq totaling 1 million 90 thousand vehicles, while Kapıkule with 704 thousand vehicles and Sarp Customs Gate with 315 thousand vehicles followed”.

Today is celebrated by more than 800,000 customs officers around the world. International Customs Day is not only a manifestation of international customs solidarity, but also draws public attention to the economic and social development of society, as well as the important role of customs authorities.

On January 14, chairman of the State Customs Committee, Vice-Chair of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Europe region Safar Mehdiyev and WCO Deputy Secretary General Ricardo Treviño Chapa held a videoconference.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a tremendous risk to the health and safety of people throughout the world and seriously jeopardizes future economic prospects on an international scale.

On 7 January 2021, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published the latest list of businesses handed fines for breaching strict regulations aimed at preventing criminals from laundering illicit cash.

In trend, in November 2020, exports continued their recovery that began in June. They thus rose to 92% of their average level for 2019 (+4 points compared to September). Imports remain stable at 91%.

Turkey and the United Kingdom extended their free-trade deal on 29 December 2020, days before Britain formally leaves the European Union, to keep up the existing flow of goods.