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Taxation and Customs Union

EU - China customs relations – a foundation for strategic partnership

What is new in the Customs Cooperation with China?

The European Commission and the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China have reaffirmed their commitment to trade security and facilitation by signing the Strategic Framework for Customs Cooperation 2018-2020 during the EU-China summit held in Brussels on June 2nd of 2017. The implementation of the Framework was discussed in detail in the tenth meeting of the EU-China “Joint Customs Cooperation Committee” in Brussels on 26 June 2019, with an emphasis on the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights and the fight against fraud.

This ambitious document reiterates the main objectives of mutual cooperation and assistance between the EU and China.

It provides for an effective communication and cooperation mechanism between the customs authorities in the EU and China. It allows them to assist one another to ensure the proper application of customs legislation and to prevent, investigate and combat any breaches.

The agreement signed in 2017 also introduces an important cooperation on matters concerning e-commerce, an emerging part of industry which has been on the steep rise in terms of the value and market share.

What is the aim of the cooperation?

The Strategic Framework introduces a cooperation framework which enables for the creation of Action Plans by means of Steering Groups established under the Joint Customs Cooperation Committee (JCCC) and overseeing the proper functioning of the agreement.

These Action Plans will contribute to:

  • Strengthening enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) http://www.china-iprhelpdesk.eu/
  • Fighting against fraud – with an emphasis on protecting the environment and the financial interests
  • Developing statistical cooperation
  • Establishing customs cooperation in cross-border e-commerce
  • Horizontal actions such as:
    • Enhancing policy exchanges;
    • Assessing the need and potential for a review of the CCMAA;
    • Develop information technology (IT) cooperation;
    • Cooperation in the multilateral framework.

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