Ricardo Treviño Chapa ‘s career has taken him from Mexico’s tax and customs administration to leading an international agenda: how to modernize customs, measure its results, and prepare it for changes already impacting trade . His term as Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) , a position he has held since January 2018 and to which he was re-elected in 2022, will conclude on October 31. His departure will occur before the end of this second five-year term.
Treviño Chapa communicated his decision to the members of the organization in a letter dated September 25 in Brussels. In it, he admits that leaving the WCO early was not an easy decision. He does not explain his reasons nor announce a new professional destination. The text serves primarily as a summary of almost nine years of work and as a statement on the role the Secretariat should play in relation to the customs administrations that comprise the organization.
“What matters most to me is not any particular initiative, but what we have been able to achieve together,” he wrote in his message. This phrase encapsulates the tone of a farewell address in which he attributes the progress to the work of the WCO members and staff. It also allows us to interpret his tenure through a more demanding question than simply listing projects: how much of that agenda has actually been translated from international plans into the daily operations of customs?
Before arriving in Brussels, Treviño Chapa had worked in various areas of the Mexican public administration. He worked at the Institute for the Protection of Bank Savings (IPAB) and later held the positions of Director General of Revenue Collection and Director General of the Institute of Social Security of the State of Mexico and Municipalities (ISSEMyM) . In 2013, he joined the Tax Administration Service (SAT) as General Administrator of Evaluation and Internal Affairs, with responsibilities related to integrity and transparency. Two years later, he assumed the position of Director General of Customs (AGA) , which he headed until 2017.
In that last position, according to his biography published by the WCO, he promoted the digitization of customs procedures, cooperation with other authorities present at the borders , and exchange with the customs of Mexico’s main trading partners.
He also served as the WCO’s regional vice president for the Americas and the Caribbean. His education combines a bachelor’s degree from Tec de Monterrey with a master’s degree in Global Banking and International Finance from the University of Birmingham .
Her arrival at the Deputy Secretary General’s office brought that experience to a different scale. The WCO brings together administrations with very different capabilities, priorities, and pressures: some seek to reduce processing times; others, to improve revenue collection, curb illicit trafficking, or incorporate technology without losing control over their processes. In the letter, Treviño Chapa maintains that she sought to keep the Secretariat’s work anchored in the needs of these members and to strengthen direct consultation so that their perspectives would influence the organization’s priorities.
This vision is reflected in the WCO Strategic Plan 2025-2028 , developed with input from members and the Secretariat. The document identifies digital transformation, supply chain disruptions, sustainability, and geopolitical changes as key factors that should guide the organization’s work. It also proposes focusing resources on activities that provide the greatest value to customs administrations. In his farewell address, Treviño Chapa presented the strategic review and the strengthening of the relationship with members as central to his assessment.
One of the most concrete projects of this phase is the WCO Performance Measurement Mechanism . Its purpose is for customs administrations to evaluate their performance using comparable indicators in four dimensions: trade facilitation and competitiveness, revenue collection, security and social protection, and institutional development. Participation is voluntary and includes a self-assessment; peer review is conducted upon request by the participating administration. The mechanism aims to identify weaknesses, guide reforms, and direct technical assistance toward demonstrable needs.
Treviño Chapa followed its development from the earliest versions. In 2023, he pointed out that it should be built gradually and inclusively to address the need for evidence-based decision-making. In June 2026, he opened a workshop in Brussels to train facilitators capable of supporting customs agencies in diagnosing and reviewing the mechanism. The shift from designing indicators to preparing specialists to apply them illustrates both the project’s progress and its remaining challenge: ensuring that the measurement produces verifiable improvements in each country.
Her work also touched on the relationship between customs and other actors in the logistics chain . In 2023, she participated in the presentation of the first joint guidelines of the WCO and the International Association of Ports on cooperation between customs and port authorities. Coordination in the exchange of information and the movement of goods is an operational issue for ports, where a customs decision can affect the flow of cargo beyond the customs area.
At the same time, Treviño Chapa has insisted that facilitating trade does not eliminate the responsibility to confront threats to security and institutional integrity . In March 2026, he warned about the pressure that criminal organizations exert on customs officials and cited results from WCO surveys in which, in some participating administrations, up to 20% acknowledged having received threats or pressure from organized crime. This figure does not describe all customs agencies worldwide, but it illustrates the scale of a risk that could undermine any modernization program.
In his letter, the Mexican official also highlights a plan to modernize the WCO itself , a new direction for its capacity-building programs, and forward-looking work to anticipate changes. These initiatives, according to his own assessment, aim to make the organization’s response more effective in the face of a changing technological, economic, and geopolitical environment. Their implementation and results will continue to be evaluated after his departure.
Treviño Chapa concluded his message with a thought on the legitimacy of international organizations : it derives from their members, whom the Secretariat must serve. “Your trust has been both an honor and a responsibility,” he told them. When he formally steps down on October 31, he will conclude a nearly nine-year tenure leading the WCO. The most important test for the agenda he helped to advance will then remain: ensuring that the instruments of strategy, cooperation, and measurement translate into more effective customs systems that meet the needs of trade and society.
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