The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers authorized this past Tuesday the signing of the Agreement between Spain and the Republic of Korea on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters.
In March 2011, the Customs and Excise Department of the State Tax Administration Agency proposed, on the occasion of the visit of the Director General of Customs of South Korea to Madrid, the negotiation of an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters between the two countries, with the aim of intensifying relations between their administrations.
This new agreement will contribute to improving mutual assistance and cooperation between the customs authorities of the two countries in the legal traffic of goods, the application of customs legislation and the prevention, investigation and repression of customs offenses.
It will also incorporate matters not included in the customs agreement between South Korea and the EU, such as cooperation in the fight against the smuggling of drugs and other illicit goods, the carrying out of controlled deliveries or the exchange of officials. Collaboration between Seoul and Brussels is provided for in the 1997 Agreement between South Korea and the European Community on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters and the 2010 Protocol on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters to the South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement.
