Customs AEO Mutual Recognition Helps Domestic Enterprises Go Global

11/27/2015

On October 15, China-EU AEO Mutual Recognition Arrangement & China-US C-TPAT Joint Validation Conference was held by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing. The attendees totaled more than 400 persons including customs experts from China, EU, the USA; customs Attaché from their embassies to China; representatives from American Chamber of Commerce, EU Chamber of Commerce and over 270 domestic import-export enterprises. Reportedly, China-EU AEO Mutual Recognition will be formally put into force on November 1 this year. Then China’s AEO firms can enjoy the same preferential policies as other EU-certificated enterprises for export/import clearance at any of 28 EU Member Customs.

Advocated by Word Customs Organization, AEO, short for Authorized Economic Operator, is intended to secure and facilitate global trade supply-chain through Customs-enterprise cooperative partnership.

In recent years, China Customs has made great efforts in the reformation of enterprise credit management. While strengthening such daily management for full control, the Customs takes differential control measures for credible and law-abiding enterprises so as to achieve “convenience for the credible and law-abiding, punishment on the discreditable and law-breaking”. AEO system means that the Customs certifies those enterprises that are creditable, law-abiding and better in security measures. An AEO enterprise can enjoy the following preferential treatment from the customs credit control: better treatment in clearance at shorter time and lower cost, which will help enterprises enhance their competitiveness in international trade. When AEO enterprises export to AEO mutual-recognition countries, they can enjoy easier customs clearance.

The conference primarily publicized China-EU AEO Mutual Recognition system and implementation as well as China Customs credit management system. Meanwhile, China-U.S. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) joint validation was also promoted to facilitate export trade to the USA. This conference was another nice try to build a communication platform with business community, getting more enterprises to know the benefits that AEO certification can provide, and appealing to more credible and law-abiding ones, thus expanding the beneficiaries.

At present, 64 of 180 member Customs of the WCO have carried out AEO system and 31 members have mutually signed the agreement of AEO Mutual Recognition. Up to September this year, China Customs has respectively signed AEO Mutual Recognition with Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR and the EU, among which China has formally implemented the system with Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong SAR; and Chinese export volume to the four countries and regions has accounted for nearly 40% of China’s total export.

In recent years, AEO system has played a significant role in trade security and facilitation, customs modernization, economic growth as well as enterprise competitiveness. AEO mutual recognition has become an essential part of international customs cooperation.