The European Union and China on June 2 signed a customs cooperation agreement covering the years 2018–2020, providing the priorities and objectives for EU-China customs cooperation and reaffirming the countries’ commitment to trade security and facilitation.
The agreement, the Strategic Framework for Customs Cooperation, was signed by European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, and Minister of Customs of China, Mr Yu Guangzhou, during the 19th Summit between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China held in Brussels.
The purpose of the framework is to protect citizens and combat illegal trade through effective customs controls. At the same time, it aims to speed up and reduce administrative burdens on legitimate trade.
The framework supports continued cooperation on supply chain security, the enforcement of intellectual property rights, and the fight against financial and environmental fraud. Cooperation has also now been extended to the field of e-commerce, an emerging part of industry which has seen a steep rise in terms of the value and market share.