II Conference of the World Customs Organization on the AEO

 

• The AEOs already intervene in more than 50% of the EU's foreign trade under a scheme of mutual trust with the Administration that facilitates trade and customs control
• In June, the EU will sign an AEO recognition agreement with China that will benefit the Spanish export sector and will be added to those signed with the US and Japan.

April 28, 2014.- The Director General of the Tax Agency, Santiago Menéndez, today inaugurated in Madrid the II Global Conference of the World Customs Organization (WCO) on the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) organized by the WCO, jointly with the Customs Service of South Korea and the Tax Agency. Over three days, more than 800 representatives from the public and private sectors from 75 countries will discuss the new scenario that is opening up for the promotion of this figure of trusted operator following the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) approved by the World Trade Organization last December in Bali. Of particular importance at the conference will be the role that SMEs' access to AEO status, or the equivalent status agreed in Bali, can play in boosting foreign trade.

Article 7 of the AFC provides for the figure of the “authorized operator”, which will identify companies with a good record of compliance with their customs obligations. The introduction of this scheme when the AFC comes into force will not create distortions within the European Union, which has had its own equivalent programme, the OAS, since 2008. Instead, the extension of trusted operators thanks to the Bali agreement will facilitate trade exchanges between EU member states and TFA signatory countries.

In the case of Spain, the foreign sector has been crucial in recent years in getting the economy back on the path to recovery. Last year was the first since 1998 in which the national economy accumulated financing capacity (15.653 billion euros, equivalent to 1.5% of GDP). This evolution is due to the improvement in the balance of foreign trade in goods and services with the rest of the world; that is, to the strength of the trade balance.

In this context, the promotion of the Authorised Economic Operator figure takes on special relevance when it comes to creating an environment of cooperation and mutual understanding that favours international trade. Obtaining the AEO certificate offers multiple advantages in terms of streamlining customs procedures, as well as greater legal security throughout the customs territory of the Union and in commercial exchanges with those territories that have signed a mutual recognition agreement with the EU. of their OAS.

 

EU-China Agreement

To date, the European Union has signed mutual recognition agreements with five countries (the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Norway and Andorra), which represent more than a quarter of the value of exports from Spain to a non-EU country.

Next June, the EU plans to sign an equivalent agreement with China, which will be an important boost for the Spanish export sector, given that the Asian country is the fifth destination for Spanish sales outside of community territory. Currently, more than 12,900 Spanish operators export to China and only 116 of them have the AEO certificate.

 

Evolution of the Authorized Economic Operator

There are currently 13,076 AEO certificates in force in the European Union, of which 579 correspond to Spanish operators. These figures are expected to increase significantly from 2016 with the entry into force of the new European Union Customs Code, which requires operators to have an AEO certificate for a wide range of customs authorisations and simplifications. Operators with AEO certification already intervene in around 50-60% of the EU's international trade.

From an export perspective, in 2013 Spanish AEO operators submitted 89% of customs declarations, for an amount equivalent to 61% of the total declared in commercial exports from Spain to non-EU countries. As regards imports, AEO operators accounted for more than 71% of the declarations of goods and services entering Spain and 60% of the declared value.

The main import and export activity in which AEOs participate in Spain is retail trade (more than 58% of the new economic activities registered by these operators), followed by wholesale trade (over 12%).

 

What is the OAS?

Authorized Economic Operators may be natural and legal persons who carry out professional activities regulated by customs regulations, are established in the European Union and meet a series of requirements regarding customs regulations, administrative management, financial solvency and, where applicable, security and protection.

After obtaining AEO status, these operators are considered safe and reliable operators for the rest of the members of the merchandise logistics chain (manufacturers, exporters, shippers, transporters, customs representatives, warehousers and importers) throughout the EU. and in the territories that have the mutual recognition mechanism of the respective OAS.

The advantages offered to operators by being an AEO include the reduction of physical and documentary controls at Customs and the simplification of customs declarations and procedures, as well as various indirect benefits that result in an improvement in the operator's competitiveness.