During the second day of the 5th World Customs Organization Global AEO Conference, experts from international organizations, customs agencies and business entities argued that the concept of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) would improve agricultural security in food trade and the implementation of this figure would be key to the recovery of a resilient and sustainable supply chain.
“Plants make up 80 percent of our food, so if we guarantee good phytosanitary standards we can ensure the right to food for all. We must consider that the introduction of a pest directly affects both international food security and economic prosperity,” said the minister. representative of the International Plant Protection Convention of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Artur Shamilov.
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) specialist warned that it is much more complicated to fight these pests than viruses that cause health emergencies. Most of these species travel via agricultural and forestry products, which are traded in containers.
“These cargo units can transmit contamination. Therefore, we need to ensure clean movement of containers.” The application of international phytosanitary standards is the cornerstone of the IPPC to ensure safe trade, which “is contained in the WCO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS),” Artur Shamilov explained.
The specialist also stated that the AEO Program, which has its origins in the regulatory framework of the World Customs Organization, is a real potential for improvement in ensuring the safety of containers. “Although the AEO program refers to customs requirements, phytosanitary organizations could participate to establish criteria or national customs agencies could have mutual recognition agreements regarding their phytosanitary criteria; then the AEO would contribute to ensuring that the current phytosanitary conditions are met through trade (containers).”
Similarly, Director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office, John Sagle, shared Artur Shamilov's view on the vectors that carry pests and commented that the United States Customs has an agricultural biosecurity division.
“Beyond the biosecurity departments in customs, the AEOs are a key piece in guaranteeing food safety by contributing with a holistic approach to national and international security and collection,” he clarified.
“AEOs have the particularity of mitigating risks before any shipment. We must focus on general international transport tools such as pellets or containers to guarantee cybersecurity and cargo security,” stressed the representative of the United States Customs and Border Protection Office at the meeting.
In that line, Fermín Cuza, President of the International Trade Alliance (BASC) He said: “Agriculture is a major industry in many countries around the world, including the United States, so we cannot afford to have it destroyed by a pollutant that emerges at a port or border crossing.”
During the meeting, the head of the business alliance, which promotes safe trade in cooperation with governments and international organizations, stressed the importance and listed reasons for adopting AEO programs in agricultural safety:
- Supports pillar three of the SAFE Framework regarding coordination of customs with other border institutions.
- It offers benefits for AEO trade facilitation by ensuring the prevention of cargo shipments.
- Provides greater trust between government agencies and businesses.
- Improves compliance with international requirements for wooden packaging.
- Promotes greater attention to agricultural safety.
“We believe that the implementation of AEO programs would improve agricultural security in international trade,” concluded the President of BASC.
The Conference under the theme “OAS 2.0: Moving towards new horizons for sustainable and secure trade”will continue on May 27. More information can be found at the event site.
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