ASEAN members ink deal to facilitate trade customs clearance —BOC

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Thursday that the Philippines, along with the other nine members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had signed a deal for the facilitation of predictable and transparent trading in the region.

In a statement, the BOC said the 10 member states of ASEAN signed the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of their respective Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programmes on September 19.

The Customs said the ASEAN AEO MRA (AAMRA) seeks to provide a predictable and transparent trading environment among ASEAN member states.

The BOC said the AAMRA provides assurance that the certification standards that the ASEAN member states' customs administrations apply within their respective AEO programmes are compatible and in accordance with the principles and standards of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade (SAFE Framework). 

Certified member states' AEOs will enjoy faster cargo clearance and priority treatment for cargo inspection for their goods traded within ASEAN. 

The BOC said such benefits are expected to increase savings arising from improved predictability of cargo movement.

Upon finalizing their domestic administrative procedures, the BOC said the six ASEAN member states, namely Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, will start a six-month pilot implementation of the AAMRA by the end of 2023, with the aim of full implementation by the third quarter of 2024. 

The remaining four AMS are expected to commence during the second pilot implementation in 2024, the BOC said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News