supply, or the absence of a sound foundation of legislation, effective processes, or a welltrained staff.

Another main point is that technology is available to all, with identity security/fraud a good example in making this point. Identity fraud is a growing problem globally63 and is acting as a facilitator of many other types of fraud. It is a classic example of how technology tends to be adopted by criminals more rapidly and effectively than by law enforcement officials. In all countries, technology has aided fraud. In less technologically advanced countries that rely on birth certificates, criminals are able to build up an identity quite easily by recreating hard copies of identity certificates.

Globally, fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated and is now well associated with transnational organised crime and terrorism. An important angle for addressing the problem is interagency cooperation and a truly integrated border management approach so that information is shared proactively to identify fraud.

4.3.6 Public-private partnerships will be more important

With the growing economic importance and political influence of industry, public-private partnerships have evolved from the original focus on outsourcing and contractual relationships. Indeed, these partnerships will grow in importance in the decades to come. Customs partnerships with industry are often considered only in relation to trade facilitation; however, this misses the important fact that industry shares security concerns, and has an interest in Customs administrations being effective as well as efficient in both dual functions.

As we have argued, the influence of MNCs is likely to become even more substantial in the decades to come, and so public-private partnerships need to better understood. A conservative estimate is that 37 of the world’s 100 largest economies are corporations and five corporations are in the top 5064. About 70% of global trade is intra-company trade, meaning that MNCs wield enormous economic might in the global economy.65 Due to globalised supply chains, industry and MNCs in particular, are major stakeholders in border management and have a direct interest in secure and efficient trade flows. IBM's development of the Integrated Border Management Service Oriented Architecture66 is just one illustration of shared interests and industry’s awareness of the needs and priorities of Customs administrations.

Industry has been involved in Customs work on a contractual basis for many years, doing Customs work but under the authority of the Customs administration, for example in cargo inspection and clearance services. However, MNCs have also been proactive in reaching out to governments and Customs administrations with the aim of improving communication and building partnerships on a more cooperative and broader basis. This is done both individually and increasingly as alliances. The Business Alliance for Secure Commerce (BASC) established in 1996, sends a clear signal of the potential and future importance of public-private partnerships around Customs. BASC focuses primarily on cooperation through the regular exchange of experiences, information and training that permits parties to increase their knowledge and perfect their practices in order to keep companies free of illicit activities while at the same time facilitating their customs procedures.67 The benefits to Customs’ in both protection and facilitation functions are significant.

The information MNCs can provide through advance notification and their own technologies can be used to enhance both security and trade facilitation. Representatives of the international and local Chambers of Commerce and of the International Express Carriers Association are prime candidates for involvement in an ongoing dialogue toward public-private partnerships. At the capacity-building level, MNCs are in a technological position to help countries develop systems to automate their Customs processes, and improve risk analysis and intelligence gathering. Already the experience of business is being drawn upon in Customs modernisation programmes, with Customs learning from business rationale and modern business practices.68

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