Delegates at the sixth World Customs Organization (WCO) Global Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Conference held constructive discussions on fully utilizing the advantages of AEO programs to foster more trusted trade partnerships and promote inclusive and sustainable global trade.
More than 1,200 delegates from customs, international organizations, AEO enterprises, governments agencies, academic institutions, and industry associations from more than 100 countries and regions have attended the three-day conference, which opened in Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday.
The AEO system, initiated by the WCO, aims to facilitate customs clearance for enterprises through customs agencies' authentication of enterprises with high levels of legal compliance and safety, and a high credit status.
In 2023, Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) accounted for 37.1 percent of China's foreign trade value and 37 percent of the country's total tax payment, according to the latest customs data.
WCO member countries are encouraging emerging enterprises in their respective countries to actively join the AEO system.
"Nowadays, new business starts digital and global. When the business hope to be an AEO operator, they invest in training of the people, perfecting their business models and they have the more potential to grow itself and to support the development of their countries," said Helena Maria Jose Alves Borges, the General Director of the Tax and Customs Authority of Portugal.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China (GAC), from 2008 to the end of March 2024, there are more than 5,860 enterprises with AEO status in China, accounting for 1.19 percent of the total number of import and export companies. These enterprises with AEO status directly contribute approximately 36.31 percent of China's import and export volume and 37.8 percent of the tax revenue.
"China understands that there is a significant interdependency both as a provider of goods and services to the world, but also as a huge market receiving goods and services from the world. What the World Customs Organization does through the AEO program in particular, but also through the other standards and policies and capacity building initiatives driven by the WCO, is to amplify the message that unless we establish partnerships of trust, partnerships of interdependence, then over the long term we will not serve the greater good of society," said Edward Kieswetter, chairperson, WCO Council.
Enterprises with AEO status can enjoy a series of preferential trade measures such as priority processing, reduced frequency of supervision, and optimized services, and also benefit from more than 40 incentive schemes such as "green channel," loan interest discount and simplified procedures provided by multiple departments in WCO countries.
The WCO Global AEO Conference, co-hosted this year by the GAC and the municipal government of Shenzhen, is held every two years. Since 2012, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates have hosted the conference.
Int'l delegates discuss harnessing power of AEO programmes for inclusive, sustainable global trade
