Taiwan and New Zealand last month signed an agreement to mutually recognize their authorized economic operators (AEO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
The deal is expected to enhance customs cooperation and supply chain safety between the two countries, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director General Larry Tseng (曾瑞利) said.
“Through the arrangement, exporters awarded AEO status in Taiwan and New Zealand can enjoy trade facilitation for their goods in each other’s territory,” Tseng said.
The agreement was signed on Dec. 14 and Dec. 18 by the heads of the representative offices of both countries, and becomes the eighth such document signed between Taiwan and another nation, Tseng said.
Other countries with which Taiwan has signed similar agreements are Australia, India, Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the US, he said.
An AEO is defined by the World Customs Organization as a party involved in the international movement of goods that has been approved by a national customs agency as complying with international supply chain security standards.
Separately, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement that trade volume between Taiwan and New Zealand was US$1.3 billion in 2019.
The Customs Administration implemented its AEO program in December 2009 and has to date certified 789 of them, the ministry said.
Those include 377 general and 412 security and safety AEOs, with countries accounting for 48 percent of Taiwan’s trade, it said.
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