Hong Kong and Japan have signed an agreement to mutually recognize their respective Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs.
Roy Tang, Hong Kong’s Commissioner of Customs & Excise, and Mikio Kajikawa, Director General of Customs & Tariff Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Finance, signed the mutual recognition agreement (MRA) in Hong Kong recently.
Under the pact, the two economies’ recognized Authorized Economic Operators can enjoy reciprocal trade facilitation benefits, such as reduced examination or expedited clearance for goods imported from or exported to each other.
Following the signing ceremony, both Customs administrations will execute the relevant arrangements and work out a monitoring plan to ensure that the MRA is fully implemented.
This is the seventh arrangement that Hong Kong has concluded with other customs agencies after China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The arrangement not only enables accredited traders to benefit from developing overseas markets, but also demonstrates the two Customs administrations’ efforts to enhance cargo security and support the prosperity of both economies, according to a Hong Kong Customs official written statement.
Hong Kong Customs is discussing similar arrangements with its counterparts in Australia and the European Union.
An AEO is defined as “a party involved in the international movement of goods in whatever function that has been approved by or on behalf of a national Customs administration as complying with the World Customs Organization or equivalent supply chain security standards.”
The AEO concept is one of the main building blocks within the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards (SAFE). SAFE is part of the future international Customs model set out to support secure trade.
