HONG KONG: The Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Excise (Excise and Strategic Support), Mr Jimmy Tam, signed the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) Action Plans with the Head of the Israel Customs Directorate, Israel Tax Authority, Mr Avraham Ben Ardete, and the Group Manager of Policy, Legal and Governance of the New Zealand Customs Service, Mr Michael Papesch, on December 14 (Brussels time) during the 131st Council Session of the World Customs Organization which was held in Brussels, Belgium, on December 14 and 15. The signing of the Action Plans with the two customs administrations marks the commencement of the formal discussion of MRAs to mutually recognise the respective AEO Programmes.
Under an MRA, AEOs of the two signatory economies enjoy mutual customs clearance benefits. Currently, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) of Hong Kong has concluded MRAs with customs administrations of eight economies, namely Mainland, India, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Australia.
Both Israel and New Zealand are important trading partners of Hong Kong under the Belt and Road Initiative. The signing of MRAs with them will boost the economic and trade co-operation between Hong Kong and the two economies.
The C&ED will continue to explore the possibility of developing MRAs with other Belt and Road economies so that Hong Kong AEOs can become more competitive and better explore the markets in the region.
