For many developing countries, trade with the European Union and the United States remains of particular importance. Hence, certain relevant developments in the field of maritime and supply-chain security are also reported here
As regards the European Union, previous editions of the Review of Maritime Transport have provided information on the Security Amendment to the Community Customs Code (Regulation (EC) 648/2005 and its implementing provisions), which
aims to ensure an equivalent level of protection through customs controls for all goods brought into or out of the European Union’s customs territory.
Part of these changes was the development of common rules for customs risk management, including setting out
common criteria for pre-arrival/pre-departure security risk analysis based on electronically submitted cargo information. Since 1 January 2011, this advance electronic declaration of relevant security data has been an obligation for traders and is no longer optional; relevant security data have had to be sent before the arrival of the goods on the European Union customs territory. If such data is not sent in advance, then the goods need to be declared immediately on arrival at
the border, which may delay the customs clearance of consignments at the border pending the results
of risk analysis for safety and security purposes