Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, today announced that the Ambassador of Canada to the European Union (EU), David Plunkett, Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Ambassador Rory Montgomery, and Director General of DG Taxation and Customs Union in the European Commission, Heinz Zourek, signed a Canada-EU agreement on customs cooperation related to matters of supply chain security. The agreement was signed in Brussels, Belgium.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) works with its partners, including the European Union’s Taxation and Customs Union Directorate General (TAXUD), to protect Canada’s security and economic interests. The agreement will expand customs cooperation between the CBSA and TAXUD allowing the two organizations to work together to harmonize advance commercial information requirements, share best practices and collaborate in the development of risk management practices.
The EU is Canada’s second largest trading partner with two-way trade in goods and services reaching more than $116 billion in 2011. The Canada-EU Agreement on customs cooperation is supportive of this two-way trade as it provides the platform to further standardize customs processes and enhances the security of our respective borders.