Competitiveness of the customs administration in the international trade frame

Customs clearance is a required act for international traders. However, customs clearance can be a daunting process to enter new markets. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance that customs administrations act as facilitators of commercial process and a security provider to ensure timely delivery and cost reduction of international trade, which leads to optimization of international logistics and competitive advantage of firms and nations in the global value chain (Shujie & Zhao, 2009). This study evaluates, through Principal Component Analysis, customs competitiveness at the international trade framework considering the most important variables that affect customs competitiveness and economic performance with respect to these variables. The objects of study are twenty-nine countries. The results shown in the customs competitiveness index point out that the most competitive countries in customs according to the variables assessed are -in a descending order- Panama, followed by China, India, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Singapore, Turkey, Thailand and Chile.