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2. GLOBAL TRENDS AND PRACTICE
This chapter will first present a general overview of AEOs across the globe and focus on three
case studies from different regions (the European Union, Canada and Japan) in order to
withdraw the most important recommendations for a successful AEO program.
2.1 Global Trends
The updated edition of the WCO (2018) identifies 46 operational AEO programs, 17 AEO
programs under development, 57 MRAs in effect concluded and 35 MRAs and 4 plurilateral
MRAs being negotiated. Furthermore, there exist 31 operational CCP and 2 CCPs to be
launched. Figure 2.1 shows the development of AEO programs over the years.
The first country implementing an AEO was Canada in 1995. This program was called
“Partners in Protection (PIP)/Customs Self-Assessment (CSA)” and it includes 1,838 operators
(importers, exporters, carriers {rail, sea, air and highway}, Customs brokers, couriers,
warehouse operators, freight forwarders, shipping agents) as reported in WCO (2018). The
second AEO was the one initiated by the US in 2001 with 11,605 operators as of 2018. Yet,
starting 2011, the number of AEO programs surged: 8 countries in 2011, 5 in 2012 and 6 in
2016 to reach a total of 46 countries having an operational AEO program.
Figure 2.1. Number of AEO Programs (by year)
Source: Constructed by the authors using WCO (2018).
At the geographical level, as it is shown in Figure 2.2, the Americas and Caribbean have the
largest number of countries with an AEO program (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, USA) followed by Asia (Australia, China, Hong Kong-China, Israel,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), Europe
(Azerbaijan, EU (28 countries), Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia),
Middle-East and North Africa (Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Saudi-Arabia) and East and
Southern Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Mauritius).
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