News Release

November 18, 2003
No. 70/03

Representatives for the European Commission and the United States in Brussels today initialed a transatlantic agreement that aims to ensure the security of containers from all locations that are imported into, trans-shipped through or transit the EU and the US. The agreement will guarantee the right balance between security and trade facilitation by ensuring that general customs control of legitimate trade takes due account of security concerns and by creating equal levels and standards of controls for US and EU operators. 

Once formally adopted by the EU Council of Ministers, the agreement, signed by US Ambassador to the EU Rockwell Schnabel and European Commission Director General for Customs and Taxation Robert Verrue, will expand the existing EU-US Customs Cooperation Agreement dating from 1997 beyond classic customs cooperation to include the customs-related aspects of securing the logistics chain in international transport.  

European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Frits Bolkestein welcomed the result of the negotiations: "This is an important step forward. The EU and the US will be working hand in hand to secure trade and to ensure equal conditions for the US and the EU."  

The agreement also establishes a working group that will elaborate the necessary technical elements of expanded cooperation and is due to begin its work very shortly.  

The agreement complements US initiatives launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001 to establish international cooperation so as to integrate security checks in normal customs controls before goods leave a country. The Commission fully shares the concerns of the United States about improving security and considers that the most effective means to meet these concerns is though cooperation with the US at the EU level. The agreement thus prevents differential treatment of member states and trade diversion within the EU.  

The agreement will also ensure that legitimate transatlantic trade is not hindered by the increased security arrangements and that control standards are equalized for US and EU operators. An important element of cooperation will be the availability of advance information to perform sophisticated targeting as implemented by the so-called 24 hours-rule of the US and as proposed by the Commission in July.  

For further information please visit:  http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/customs/
information_notes/containers_en.htm.  

ANNEX to the Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on intensifying and broadening the Customs Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters (CMAA) to include co-operation on Container Security and Related Matters  

The Working Group created under Paragraph 5 of the Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on intensifying and broadening the CMAA to include co-operation on Container Security and Related Matters will examine and make recommendations on issues including, but not limited to, the following areas of co-operation between US Customs and Border Protection and Customs authorities in the European Community with a view to ensuring that general customs controls of international trade take due account of security concerns: 

• defining minimum standards, in particular in view of participating in CSI, and recommending methods by which those standards may be met;

• identifying and broadening the application of best practices concerning security controls of international trade, especially those developed under CSI;

• defining and establishing standards to the greatest extent practicable for the information required to identify high-risk shipments imported into, trans-shipped through or transiting the United States and the European Community;
• improving and establishing standards to the greatest extent practicable for targeting and screening such high-risk shipments, to include information exchange, the use of automated targeting systems and the development of minimum standards for inspection technologies and screening methodologies;
• improving and establishing standards to the greatest extent practicable for industry partnership-programs designed to improve supply chain security and facilitate the movement of legitimate trade;
• identifying any regulatory or legislative changes that would be necessary to implement the recommendations of the Working Group; and
• considering the type of documents and measures further implementing the intensified and broadened customs co-operation on the issues set out in this Annex.