On October 2, 2020, CLDP, in cooperation with the USAID-funded Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hosted a Webinar with the Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs).

The FBR has advanced an amendment to the 1969 Customs Act to create a system of AEOs, and has drafted rules for the system under this authority. The FBR hopes to soon pilot the AEO program, and this webinar facilitated an expert exchange where the U.S. Branch Chief for the Office of Field Operations Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) provided guidance to the FBR and presented lessons learned in the establishment of the U.S. CBP Trusted Trader program.  The FBR’s efforts to develop a system of AEOs fulfills an important commitment under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation, and has the potential to streamline customs clearances for the Government of Pakistan, and to reduce costs for U.S. companies exporting to Pakistan.