Official Journal L 304 , 30/09/2004 P. 0034 - 0037 

 

Dates:

of document:   28/04/2004; DATSIG

of effect:   28/04/2004; Entry into force Date of signing See

Art 7

of signature:   28/04/2004; Brussels

end of validity:   99/99/9999

 

Author:

European Community ; United States of America

 

Subject matter: External relations ; Cooperation ; Commercial policy

Directory code: 11404000 ; 02700000

EUROVOC descriptor: EC cooperation agreement ; United States ;

customs cooperation ; container ; transport safety

 

Legal basis:

102E133................... Adoption

102E300-P2FR1............. Adoption

Subsequent related instruments:

Adopted by.... 304D0634..........

 

 

 

 

Agreement between the European Community and the United States of

America on intensifying and broadening the Agreement on customs

cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters to include

cooperation on container security and related matters

 

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Having regard to the provisions of the Agreement between the

European Community and the United States of America on customs

cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters, which was

signed 28 May 1997 , hereafter called ėthe CMAA» ,

Whereas:

(1) Acknowledging that US Customs and Border Protection is, as of 1

March 2003 , the successor to the United States Customs Service

under the CMAA.

 

(2) Recalling that the Contracting Parties may by mutual consent

decide to expand areas of cooperation under the CMAA pursuant to

Article 3.

 

(3) Recalling that, under Article 22 of the CMAA, the JCCC consists

of representatives of the Customs Authorities of the Contracting

Parties, which in the European Community are the competent services

of the Commission of the European Communities assisted by the

customs authorities of the Member States of the European Community

and in the United States of America is the US Customs and Border

Protection, Department of Homeland Security.

 

(4) Recognising that the Joint Customs Cooperation Committee (JCCC)

was established under Article 22 of the CMAA.

 

(5) Acknowledging the long-standing, close and productive relations

between the Customs Authorities of the United States of America and

of the European Community.

 

(6) Being convinced that this cooperation can be further improved

by, among other things, intensifying the exchange of relevant

information and best practices among the US Customs and Border

Protection, the European Commission and the customs authorities of

Member States of the European Community in order to ensure that

general customs controls of international trade take due account of

security concerns.

 

(7) Acknowledging the importance of extending this cooperation to

all modes of international transport and all kinds of goods,

initially putting priority on sea-container transport.

 

(8) Recognising the high volume of two-way sea-container and other

modes of trade between the European Community and the United States

of America, and the important role of both the European Community

and the United States of America as transport hubs for containers

coming from many countries.

 

(9) Recognising that global sea containers are imported into,

transhipped through, or transiting the United States of America and

the European Community.

 

(10) Being convinced that there is a need to deter, prevent, and

interdict any terrorist attempts to disrupt global trade by

concealing terrorist weapons in global sea-container trade or other

shipments, or by using such shipments as weapons.

 

(11) Being convinced of the need to increase security for the

European Community and the United States of America and at the same

time facilitate legitimate trade.

 

(12) Noting the importance of developing, to the extent practicable,

reciprocal systems for securing and facilitating legitimate trade

with due regard to threat assessments.

 

(13) Recognising that substantially greater security of legitimate

trade can be achieved through a system where the customs authority

of the importing country works collaboratively with customs

authorities involved in earlier parts of the supply chain to use

timely information and inspection technology to target and screen

high-risk containers before they are shipped from their ports or

places of loading or transhipment.

 

(14) Supporting the objectives of the Container Security Initiative

(CSI), which is designed to safeguard global maritime trade by

enhancing cooperation at seaports world wide in order to identify

and examine high-risk containers and ensure their in-transit

integrity.

 

(15) Recalling Article 5 of the CMAA that determines the

relationship between that Agreement and any bilateral agreement on

cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters that have been

or may be concluded between individual Member States of the European

Community and the United States of America.

 

(16) Recognising that expansion of CSI should occur as quickly as

possible for all ports within the European Community where the

exchange of sea-container traffic with the United States of America

is more than de minimis and where certain minimum requirements are

met and where adequate inspection technology exists,

 

HAVE AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING:

Article 1

To intensify and broaden customs cooperation under the CMAA to

improve the security of sea-container and other shipments from all

locations that are imported into, transhipped through, or transiting

the European Community and the United States of America.

Article 2

To take due account of Article 5 of the CMAA, which determines the

relations between the CMAA and any bilateral agreement on

cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters between Member

States of the European Community and the United States of America,

and any CSI declarations of principles that complement such

bilateral agreements

Article 3

That the objectives of the intensified and broadened cooperation

include, but are not limited to:

1. supporting the prompt and successful expansion of the CSI to all

ports in the European Community that meet relevant requirements, and

promoting comparable standards in the relevant US ports;

2. working together to reinforce the customs related aspects for

securing the logistics chain of international trade and, in

particular, as a first priority to enhance the identification and

security screening of all high-risk sea-container shipments;

3. establishing minimum standards, to the greatest extent

practicable, for risk-management techniques and related requirements

and programs; and

4. coordinating positions, to the greatest extent practicable, in

any multilateral fora where issues related to container security may

be appropriately raised and discussed.

 

Article 4

To consider in the JCCC the appropriate form and content of

documents and/or measures further implementing the intensified and

broadened customs cooperation under this Agreement.

Article 5

To form a Working Group, comprised of representatives of US Customs

and Border Protection and of the European Commission assisted by

interested Member States in order to examine and make

recommendations to the JCCC on issues including, but not limited to

those identified in the Annex.

Article 6

That the Working Group is to report on a regular basis to the

Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection and the

Director-General of the Taxation and Customs Union Directorate

General of the European Commission and annually to the JCCC on the

progress of its work.

Article 7

This Agreement shall enter into force upon signature by the Parties

which shall have the effect of expressing their consent to be bound.

If the Agreement is not signed the same day on behalf of both

Parties, the Agreement shall enter into force on the day on which

the second signature is affixed.

Hecho en Bruselas, el veintiocho de abril de dos mil cuatro.

Udfördiget i Bruxelles den otteogtyvende april to tusind og fire.

Geschehen zu BrŽssel am achtundzwanzigsten April zweitausendundvier.

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Done at Brussels on the twenty-eighth day of April in the year two

thousand and four.

Fait š Bruxelles, le vingt-huit avril deux mille quatre.

Fatto a Bruxelles, addü ventotto aprile duemilaquattro.

Gedaan te Brussel, de achtentwintigste april tweeduizendvier.

Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e oito de Abril de dois mil e quatro.

Tehty Brysselissō kahdentenakymmenentenōkahdeksantena pōivōnō

huhtikuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljō.

Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugoõttonde april tjugohundrafyra.

FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

 

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FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

>REFERENCE TO A GRAPHIC>

 

ANNEX

Annex to the Agreement between the European Community and the United

States of America on intensifying and broadening the CMAA to include

cooperation 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 cooperation on

Container Security and related matters shall examine and make

recommendations on issues including, but not limited to, the

following areas of cooperation 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:

(a) defining minimum standards, in particular in view of

participating in CSI, and recommending methods by which those

standards may be met;

(b) identifying and broadening the application of best practices

concerning security controls of international trade, especially

those developed under CSI;

(c) defining and establishing standards to the greatest extent

practicable for the information required to identify high-risk

shipments imported into, transhipped through, or transiting the

United States of America and the European Community;

(d) 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;

(e) 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;

(f) identifying any regulatory or legislative changes that would be

necessary to implement the recommendations of the Working Group; and

(g) considering the type of documents and measures further

implementing the intensified and broadened customs cooperation on

the issues set out in this Annex.