Customs Facilitation: MEF Leads “Made in Haiti” Protocol with the Private Sector

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) signed a memorandum of understanding on January 16 at the Montana Hotel with the Association of Haitian Industries (ADIH) and the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIH), aimed at facilitating customs procedures. The agreement seeks to modernize customs clearance processes, reduce logistics costs, and strengthen the competitiveness of local businesses.

Through this protocol, the MEF intends to improve the flow of trade, enhance administrative transparency, and ensure the sustainable securing of public revenue. The Ministry will oversee the steering, coordination, and monitoring of the mechanism, ensuring coherence among the reforms being implemented within the General Administration of Customs (AGD).

According to Maulik Radia, President of ADIH, customs facilitation is a key lever for improving industrial productivity and promoting the “Made in Haiti” label. Reducing clearance times and costs will enable domestic companies, he said, to better withstand international competition.

For its part, the CCIH will support economic operators in adopting the new measures, while the AGD will be responsible for their effective implementation, in line with a broader strategy of modernization, strengthened controls, and revenue security.

AGD Director General Gérald Remplais recalled that border controls will be intensified to combat drug trafficking, arms smuggling, counterfeit medicines, and illicit goods, in accordance with the 2026 guidelines of the World Customs Organization.

On the financial front, Haitian Customs recorded more than 35 billion gourdes in revenue between October and December 2025 — including 11.24 billion in October, 10.58 billion in November, and 13.26 billion in December — a level described as a record by the General Directorate despite the ongoing security crisis.

For the MEF, these results confirm the need to accelerate customs modernization in order to consolidate public finances while supporting national production and improving the business climate.

Dodeley Orelus