The aforementioned Associations welcome the possibility to have the first exchange of views on the Report of the Wise Persons Group concerning the Reform of the EU Customs Union1 at the last meeting of the Trade Contact Group on 12th July 2022.
We also acknowledged that the Call for evidence/public consultation was opened on 20th July 2022 on the Reform of the Union customs legislation and although the time to provide feedback was limited due to the holiday period, most of our Associations have transmitted their feedback.
In addition to our feedback provided and given the far-reaching consequences of the proposals under development, we would be obliged if more information could be provided on when and how the Members of the Trade Contact Group will be consulted on the concrete legal text of the proposal of the EU Commission.
At this moment in time, we would like to address one of the recommendations in the WPG report, namely recommendation 7, that seeks to remove the customs duty exemption threshold of 150 EUR on imports into the European Union.
We suggest that the European Commission considers the following factors when examining this recommendation:
In conclusion, we recommend that the Commission awaits the outcome of the impact assessment into the WPG’s recommendations and then allows for time for further discussions and negotiations with all stakeholders involved for any subsequent proposals, including those associated with the removal of the Customs duty de minimis.
The Associations linked with this statement are ready to offer their full collaboration to provide the Commission with their subject matter expertise to make the proposals tangible, efficient, implementable across the European Union.
About PostEurop
PostEurop [2] is the association which represents European public postal operators. It is committed to supporting and developing a sustainable and competitive European postal communication market accessible to all customers and ensuring a modern and affordable universal service. Our Members represent 2 million employees across Europe and deliver to 800 million customers daily through over 175,000 counters.
About the European Express Association
The European Express Association (EEA) [3] represents express delivery companies and associations, both large and small, in Europe. By communicating on behalf of the express industry with one single voice, the EEA works to ensure that policy-makers fully understand the challenges we face as an industry and as a result, that policy is implemented in a way which maximises the benefits for all involved.
Links:
[1] https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-03/TAX-20-002-Future%20customs- REPORT_BIS_v5%20%28WEB%29.pdf
[2] https://www.posteurop.org/
[3] https://www.euroexpress.org/
[4] https://www.posteurop.org/Publications