seetao.com learned from the General Administration of Customs that on May 27, 2021, during the Fifth World Customs Organization’s Global AEO Conference, China Customs and Uganda Customs signed the "China-Uganda Customs Regarding the "Authorized Operator" (AEO) Mutual Agreement. This is the first AEO mutual recognition arrangement signed by China Customs in Africa.

China-Africa Trade Development

"Authorized Operator" is Authorized Economic Operator, or AEO for short. The AEO system is initiated by the World Customs Organization and aims to pass the customs certification to enterprises with a high level of law-abiding, credit status and safety, and to facilitate customs clearance. Customs of different countries can pass AEO mutual recognition to provide relevant convenience to qualified enterprises of each other.

After China and Uzbekistan signed the mutual recognition of customs AEO, the convenient measures provided by the two countries to each other’s AEO companies include: applying a lower inspection rate, giving priority to the inspection of goods that require physical inspection, appointing customs liaison officers to communicate and resolve customs clearance issues, and internationally Priority for customs clearance etc. after trade is interrupted and resumed. The above benefits will help AEO companies in the two countries to greatly reduce the time for customs clearance of goods, minimize trade costs such as corporate ports, insurance, and logistics, and effectively enhance international competitiveness.

According to the Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization, Micheal Kunio, 97 countries (regions) worldwide have implemented the AEO system, and 91 mutual recognition agreements have been signed.

It is understood that China Customs is actively advancing AEO mutual recognition consultations with Russia and other important nodes of the Belt and Road and important trading countries, continuously expanding the scope of AEO mutual recognition countries, and helping AEO enterprises to enjoy customs clearance convenience in more countries and regions. Customs statistics show that China Customs has achieved AEO mutual recognition with 46 countries (regions) in 20 economies, and the number of mutually recognized countries (regions) ranks first in the world. Editor/Tian Zengpeng