The Korea Customs Service has stepped up efforts to seek partnerships with other countries in order to improve the efficiency of customs administration and increase trade volume.

The customs office has designated “Authorized Economic Operators” among qualified importers, exporters and others involved in the process of international trade.

The AEOs can receive benefits such as quicker customs clearance made possible through mutual agreements between Korea and other countries.

As of March, Korea had signed the “Mutual Recognition Arrangement” with eight countries, including the United States, China, Canada, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Mexico. 

Korea has the most partners among the countries participating in the program, followed by seven for the United States, six for Japan and five for the European Union. Currently, trade with MRA countries makes up 55 percent of Korea’s total annual exports.

The deal with China, Korea’s largest trade partner since 2007, came in June 2013. In 2012, the trade volume between the two countries accounted for 25 percent of exports and 16 percent of imports for Korea.

A local think tank predicted that the economic impact of the MRA deal with the all-important Chinese market could amount to an annual 2.7 trillion won ($2.5 billion).

Another major MRA deal over the past year was the one with Mexico, Korea’s second-largest trade partner in Central America, with which the government is also seeking a free trade agreement in the coming years.

According to government data, Korean AEOs make up 67 percent of the total exports to Mexico, which are worth $9.7 billion. Both countries expect their trade competitiveness to be bolstered through the MRA deal, which takes effect from July.

Hong Kong will become the latest region to join the MRA program with Korea in August. In 2013, some 13,000 Korean firms exported their products to the special administrative region. In trade volume, Hong Kong was the fourth-largest export destination for Korea.

The Korean customs office said it will continue to make efforts to ink MRA deals with other key markets, such as India and Turkey, where Korean companies have experienced business difficulties due to high trade barriers.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)