Danet, former WCO secretary general, dies

Danet, former WCO secretary general, dies

Danet

      Michel Danet, former secretary general of the Brussels-based World Customs Organization, passed away.
      Cause of death was unknown at the time of filing this news report.
      In a brief statement released Thursday, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, expressed 'his sincere condolences to Mr. Danet's family on behalf of the international customs community and the staff of the WCO secretariat.' Danet headed the WCO from 1999 to 2008.
      While the United States exercised considerable influence within the WCO, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Danet's leadership helped temper other customs administrations' anxieties and promoted an atmosphere of that adoption of supply chain security measures based on risk management principles would be a positive step toward customs modernization.
      The hallmark became evident in the WCO's membership's unanimous approval of the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade and the development of the Authorized Economic Operator programs.
      Also during his tenure at the WCO, Danet helped transform customs administrations' attitudes to one that is more open to working with industry, and similarly for developing industry's relationship and understanding of customs matters.
      In addition, Danet, the son of impoverished Algerian parents and who rose through the ranks at French Customs during his career, was a champion of developing countries, whose customs administration often struggle to gain any national support for modernization.
      'For many developing countries the priority today is not about fighting against terrorism but against poverty,' Danet told American Shipper in one of many interviews as WCO secretary general. 'But if customs administrations are corrupt and not efficient or fail to adopt to the new environment, these economies are going to be marginalized.'
      Many developing countries, which represent nearly two-thirds of the WCO's 172 members, are still nowhere near the level of efficiency of their industrialized country counterparts, and the urgency to modernize continues to intensify since 9/11.
      Before his departure from the WCO late last year, Danet had told American Shipper that he looked forward to enjoying his retirement. ' Chris Gillis