Canada signs another mutual customs information sharing agreement

Seventh border with the Netherlands

OTTAWA - Canada and the Netherlands have concluded a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement. The document was initialed by the President of the Canada Border Services Agency, Alain Jolicoeur, and Ambassador Karel P.M. de Beer of the Netherlands.

According to Canada’s security minister Stockwell Day his country is committed to a safe and efficient border, saying it is working closely with international partners to facilitate the smooth flow of legitimate trade and travel. Under the agreement, the countries will share customs information and intelligence which will allow law-enforcement agencies to tackle border crime, and counter customs fraud and offences.

Ambassador de Beer sees the agreement as yet another step towards closer cooperation between both countries. Both are global trading nations and smooth customs cooperation in this day and age is indispensable, he remarked.

The Agreement emphasizes the importance of working with international partners to exchange certain customs information and intelligence to prevent, investigate and combat customs offences and allow for cooperation on critical global issues such as security.

The agreement is the seventh of its kind that Canada has signed since 1984.