This is an excerpt from an email that first appeared in the WIIT Communiqué. For the full text, visit the WIIT email archive.

We decided to devote this Communiqué issue to customs matters – given recent legislative, regulatory and enforcement activity in the area. We also wanted to highlight a recent World Customs Organization (WCO) gathering of over 100 women, including WCO Director of Compliance and Facilitation Ana Hinojosa and European Union Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström. WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya welcomed the group and emphasized the interest of the WCO to promote engagement with organizations involved in global trade and also to promote gender equality in all aspects of Customs and Trade. The group has been organizing for about a year exploring the feasibility of becoming a chapter of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT), of which WIIT is the DC chapter. A number of our own WIIT members, including Stefanie Holland, Adeline Hinderer, Leslie Griffin, and myself, have offered information on the merits of becoming part of OWIT. I want our friends to know that we are always available to answer questions about being an OWIT chapter. Remember Brussels, you have friends in DC.

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