are private parties that have been
accredited by national customs administrations as
compliant with WCO or equivalent supply-chain
security standards. Special requirements have to
be met by AEOs in respect of physical security of
premises, hidden camera surveillance and selective
staffing and recruitment policies. In return, AEOs
are typically rewarded by way of trade-facilitation
benefits, such as faster clearance of goods and fewer
physical inspections. Over the course of recent years,
a number of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs)71
of respective AEOs have been adopted by customs
administrations, usually on a bilateral basis. However,
it is hoped that these will, in due course, form the
basis for multilateral agreements at the subregional
and regional level.72 As of March 2014, 26 AEO
programmes had been established in 53 countries73
and 11 more countries planned to establish them in
the near future.74