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The Philippines and China have signed a mutual recognition agreement on the Authorized Economic Operator program
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The agreement allows both countries’ accredited AEO companies to, among others, benefit from faster cargo clearance
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The MRA was signed by Acting Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz and China’s General Administration of Customs Minister Yu Jianhua on January 4
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Under the MRA, Level 2 Certified AEO members accredited by BOC exporting to China will enjoy trade facilitation benefits
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Exporters to the Philippines accredited as Advanced Certified Enterprises under the measures of the Enterprise Credit Management Programme of China’s General Administration of Customs will be afforded trade facilitation benefits by the BOC
The Philippines and China have signed an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program mutual recognition agreement (MRA), allowing both countries’ accredited AEO companies to, among others, benefit from faster cargo clearance.
The MRA was signed by Bureau of Customs’ Acting Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz and China’s General Administration of Customs Minister Yu Jianhua on January 4 during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to the People’s Republic, BOC said in a statement.
The AEO Program is a partnership pursued globally by customs administrations to secure and facilitate trade by providing incentives to traders working jointly with customs to improve supply chain security.
MRA benefits include a higher level of facilitation during domestic and overseas cargo clearance; the cargo gets priority treatment if selected for inspection, and expedited customs cargo clearance in the event of trade disruption, BOC said.
AEO companies would thus enjoy cost savings due to better predictability of cargo movement, it added.
AEOs may be manufacturers, importers, exporters, brokers, carriers, consolidators, intermediaries, ports, airports, terminal operators, integrated operators, warehouses and distributors.
Implementation of the AEO program in the Philippines became possible in 2016 with the passage of Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
BOC launched the Philippines’ AEO Program in December 2019 in line with its commitment to the World Customs Organization’s “SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade”.
An MRA refers to a formal document between two or more customs administrations outlining the circumstances and conditions for recognizing and accepting the AEO programs of the signing parties.
MRAs serve as a platform for AEO programs to provide additional benefits to their members through international recognition with partner countries.
Under the MRA, Level 2 Certified AEO members accredited by the BOC exporting to China will be afforded trade facilitation benefits.
Similarly, exporters to the Philippines accredited as Advanced Certified Enterprises under the measures of the Enterprise Credit Management Programme of China’s General Administration of Customs will be afforded trade facilitation benefits by the BOC.
Both parties’ customs administrations will develop an implementation plan for the recognition, trade facilitation benefits, and exchange of information before the MRA’s implementation six months from the signing.
Currently, BOC’s AEO Program covers importers and exporters, and has granted AEO Level 1 accreditation to three companies – Toyota Motors Philippines Corp., Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corp., and Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines.
Other stakeholders will also be eligible to apply for an AEO accreditation. BOC will issue a separate order to implement this, it said.
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