Working Group

Trade Facilitation and Sustainability

The Problem

In the current context, trade needs to move faster than ever. However, not only are businesses required to achieve good commercial results, but also to prove that their activities are carried out with regard for their impact on the environment and communities. Thus, different commercial players struggle to achieve the following:

  1. to timely detect those impacts;
  2. to design effective strategies that could promote business development while caring for those objectives;
  3. to enhance the use of technologies to reduce costs and get better results; and
  4. to effectively communicate with authorities in a way that they could also value the effort is being made in that regard.

Trade facilitation is a concept frequently associated with the simplification of customs procedures. However, at COPE° we are focused on understanding the concept from a more wider perspective, as to involve any kind of actions or strategies that tend to help business grow in a more efficient and sustainable manner.

Sustainability is now at the core of the industrial process. However, many business players within the field of maritime and logistics do not know how to deal with new environmental concerns and/or requirements in particular. Thus, at COPE° we are being creative as to design products that could help our business allies to better understand the problematics of doing their activities in the current environmental scenario.

The Main Objectives

  • To assist our business allies in identifying best practices and/or strategies that could be implemented to address concerns around efficiency, particularly in the ambit of logistics and transportation.
  • To assist our business allies in identifying the main areas in which opportunities to improve operations in terms of sustainable development lie.
  • To assist our business allies in addressing their operative efficiency problems by enhancing technological solutions that enable them to achieve their business development goals in a sustainable and socially conscious way.
  • To assist our business allies in implementing creative legal strategies to ensure that their clients and other related stakeholders will behave in a manner consistent with their objectives in terms of efficiency and sustainability.

Mission

To aid our business allies in the improvement of their industries and to interact with relevant stakeholders and authorities to support them in achieving better economic results while considering and working to mitigate the impacts of those activities in communities and the environment.

Participants

Javier Franco

Chairperson

Javier Franco

Javier Franco is a former president of the Colombian Maritime Law Association (ACOLDEMAR). He is currently a Titulary Member of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) and is also a BIMCO trainer. He is the author of the book “Legal aspects of logistics and logistics contracts” (2014) and editor of the book “Perspectives of Maritime Law and Logistics” (2024). Javier is an arbitrator of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce in the fields of commerce and transportation. He also serves as the Director of the Observatory of Logistics and Supply Chain of Universidad Externado de Colombia and is a partner at Franco & Abogados Asociados.

Javier completed his education to become an attorney-at-law at the Externado University, where he also completed a postgraduate course in Maritime Law. He also obtained his LL.M. (master) in International Commercial and Maritime Law from the University of Wales Swansea, UK (distinction). Javier has more than 20 years of experience as a consultant and litigator in the fields of Transportation Law, marine insurance and Shipping Law.

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Eric R. Dawicki

Co-Chairperson

Eric R. Dawicki

Eric R. Dawicki is an internationally respected maritime expert who has demonstrated leadership and industry-wide successes in the areas of maritime transportation, safety, security, and regulatory affairs, while also leading global advancements in maritime policy, education and training, and economic development.

A Master of Public Administration recipient with Concentrations in Public Affairs from American University in Washington, D.C., President Dawicki has led a distinguished career. With more than 33 years of experience in the maritime industry, his background combines policy and practical expertise with both theoretical policy development and real-world experience. This includes serving in the United States Coast Guard Reserve and the United States Merchant Marine, holding various shipboard positions, ship management specializing in LNG tanker operations, and providing consultancy to private shipping companies, port facilities and governments around the world on domestic and international regulatory instrument compliance.

Presently serving as President of Northeast Maritime Institute (NMI), Dawicki has developed it into the first private maritime college in the history of the United States, offering Maritime Science degrees and continuing education and comprehensive digital learning programs. This includes the development of innovative online learning simulators, training and certification platforms for mariners on a global scale. NMI also serves as a direct support to entities worldwide through the Center for Ocean Policy and Economics (COPE). In addition, Mr. Dawicki concurrently serves as Co-Founder, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Registry, which has an international network of 28 regional offices and close to 400 vessels, many of which operate across the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Asian and Black Sea.

President Dawicki’s additional accomplishments include membership to the United States National Maritime Security Advisory Committee during the Obama and Bush Administrations and has served as the Lead Delegate to the United Nations' International Maritime Organization representing both the United States and the Commonwealth of Dominica and was both on the Board of Governors and Executive Governor to the UN’s World Maritime University, chairing it’s thirty-year sustainability plan, which is now successfully operating.

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Lisbeth Laurie

Co-Chairperson

Lisbeth Laurie

Lisbeth Laurie is Program Manager and expert in the design of initiatives aiming to improve maritime and port security, including promoting, designing, and implementing key capacity-building programs for north, central and south American countries; developing training content, best practices, and tabletop exercises related to port security; and implementing efforts related to supply-chain security.

In her role as a Program Manager of the Maritime and Port Security Program of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the Organization of American States (OAS), a multilateral organization covering the Americas, Ms. Laurie has led important initiatives: (1) the development of National Maritime Security Strategies for Guatemala, as well as for each of seven Eastern Caribbean countries and also creation of an Eastern Caribbean Regional Maritime Security Strategy; (2) an operational assessment of a key maritime port for the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; (3) publication of Maritime Cybersecurity in the Western Hemisphere Guidelines, and a Verification and Compliance Manual for Port Security Officials.

Ms. Laurie played a leading role in the substantive execution of a number capacity-building initiatives on supply chain security focused on Authorized Economic Operator Program in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Paraguay and Mexico, as well as in maritime and port security. This has included a number of comprehensive assessments of security-related capabilities at both the national and port levels in Belize, Costa Rica and Mexico; leading national level workshops on maritime security drills and exercises in Colombia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama and Uruguay (the latter in conjunction with the International Maritime Organization); and helping to facilitate a regional workshop and roundtable discussion among senior leadership responsible for maritime security in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, Ms. Laurie conducted public outreach and have represented the OAS at numerous national and regional maritime security-related training courses, conferences and meetings of senior decision-makers with a view towards acting as a liaise with donors and prospective donors, and building partnerships with government bodies, stakeholders and other organizations.

At the General Secretariat of the OAS, Mrs. Laurie held a variety of managerial positions, primarily focused on promoting efficiency within the Organization by optimizing processes, resources and ensuring compliance with budgetary and financial rules and regulations of the General Secretariat, its subsidiary bodies, donors and other related entities. In 2010, Ms. Laurie was appointed by the OAS General Secretary as a board member of the OAS Medical Trust Fund.

Ms. Laurie holds degree as a Public Accountant (CPA) and a certification in Forensic Accounting from Georgetown University. As well as various graduated studies related to maritime security; including, Incident Command System; and Maritime and Port Security Official from the Navy University from Mexico; Dynamics of Maritime, River and Port Drug Trafficking from Navy School “Almirante Padilla” Colombia; and Development of National Security Strategies and Maritime Transport of Goods: Key elements, contracts and insurance from the International Maritime Business School from Spain. She is fluent in Spanish and English and has over twenty years of experience working for international organizations.

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Joining the Group

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