Israel Tax Authority head Moshe Asher and China's Customs Minister Sun Yibiao signed on May 26, 2015, in Beijing, an MOU for a road map to apply bilateral recognition of AEO status.

The Authorized Economic Operator program is a voluntary program for global supply chain security and trade facilitation. The program is based on the SAFE framework of standard of the World Customs Organization adopted by Israel Customs Directorate in 2005.

As part of the program, unified standards for the security, compliance and financial viability of the global supply chain were introduced. The program is operated by the customs and it is based on voluntary participation. That is, companies that are willing to adopt the framework of standards, contribute to the security of the supply chain and trade facilitation.

These companies will benefit the facilitation in Israel's foreign trade and in other countries that Israel will sign a mutual agreement with. The AEO allows governments to appoint specific “trusted” companies and agents that are vetted for their ability to adhere to all international labeling and shipping measures. The benefit for participants: a fast-track customs policy between the participating countries, which allows exporters to get their products to market in the partner country without customs checks or delays.

According to the World Customs Organization, the objective is to get all national programs mutually recognized, meaning that AEO accreditations would have the same value everywhere. As a result secure supply chains can be established, as all parts of the chain from origin (place of stuffing the container) to destination (place of un-stuffing the container) are deemed to be safe, albeit under different AEO programs. This would greatly facilitate global trade.