China, Switzerland to implement AEO agreement in September

The China-Switzerland agreement on mutual authorized economic operator (AEO) status will go into effect on September 1 to provide easier customs clearance for exporters, the General Administration of Customs said Thursday.

Under the agreement, companies that obtain AEO status in the two countries will enjoy simplified customs procedures, such as reduced examination or prioritized clearance, when they export products to the other country.

After the agreement becomes operational, the customs clearance time for companies on both sides is expected to be cut by 30 to 50 percent, which will reduce logistics costs and further boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

China and Switzerland enjoy a close trade relationship. The two sides launched AEO negotiations at the start of 2015, and reached the agreement in January this year.

In the first half of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Switzerland rose 18.9 percent year on year to 18.22 billion U.S. dollars.

China has also reached mutual AEO agreements with Singapore, the Republic of Korea, the European Union and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the country is working on AEO agreements with other trade partners such as the United States, Japan and Russia to further improve connectivity and trade facilitation.