Customs territory

A customs territory is a territory with individual customs regulations.

The most common type of customs territory is the sovereign state and the others are the Trade bloc that has a customs union;^[1][2] and the autonomous or dependent territory that has independence (or is subject to specific regulations by the central government) in foreign trade and customs policy.

The governing organs (government or other responsible administrative entity for the states and territories, secretariat or similar international organization body for the trade blocs) of the customs territories negotiate and sign trade agreements between themselves. In some cases the negotiations are conducted by a trade bloc secretariat, but the actual agreement is signed by the member states of the trade bloc. It is also possible for a group of customs territories, that do not form a customs union (regardless if they cooperate as a different type of trade bloc), to negotiate trade agreements together and to sign the resulting agreement individually (for example EFTA).

List of customs territories

Listed below are territories having independent customs policy.^[3]

• List of sovereign states
  • List of United Nations member states without the member states of the European Union
  • List of states with limited recognition
  • Holy See/Vatican City State
  • Cook Islands
  • Niue
• European Union^[2]
  • Büsingen am Hochrhein^[4]
  • Heligoland^[4]
  • Livigno^[4]
  • Campione d'Italia^[4]
• American Samoa (US territory)
• Anguilla (British Overseas Territory)
• Antarctica (territory covered by the Antarctic Treaty System)
• Aruba (Netherlands territory)
• Bermuda (British Overseas Territory)
• Bouvet Island (Norway territory)
• British Indian Ocean Territory (British Overseas Territory)
• Cayman Islands (British Overseas Territory)
• Ceuta (Spanish territory)
• Christmas Island (Australian territory)
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australian territory)
• Falkland Islands (British Overseas Territory)
• Faroe Islands (Danish territory)
• French Polynesia (French territory)
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French territory)
• Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory)
• Greenland (Danish territory)
• Guam (US territory)
• Heard and McDonald Islands (Australian territory)
• Hong Kong, autonomous territory of PR China
• Macau, autonomous territory of PR China
• Mayotte (French territory)
• Melilla (Spanish territory)
• Montserrat (British Overseas Territory)
• Netherlands Antilles (Netherland territories)
• New Caledonia (French territory)
• Norfolk Island (Australian territory)
• Northern Mariana Islands (US territory)
• Occupied Palestinian Territories (Palestinian National Authority and Israel customs)
• Pitcairn Islands (British Overseas Territory)
• Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (British Overseas Territory)
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French territory)
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (British Overseas Territory)
• Taiwan, Republic of China (officially titled as Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu‎ or Chinese Taipei in the WTO)
• Tokelau (New Zealand territory)
• Turks and Caicos Islands (British Overseas Territory)
• United States Minor Outlying Islands (US territory)
• British Virgin Islands (British Overseas Territory)
• US Virgin Islands (US territory)
• Wallis and Futuna (French territory)

See also

• Economic integration
• Special Member State territories and the European Union - multiple separate customs territories
• List of World Customs Organization member states

References

1. ^ As of 2010 most customs unions rarely operate as a single entity and are represented in relations with other customs territories either jointly by their member states governments and the union institutions; or by the member states only. Thus, in practice, they rarely appear as a single customs territory and instead they operate as a multiple separate customs territories that have the same or similar customs tariff.
2. ^ ^{a b} The European union is the only trade bloc, where the union institutions have exclusive competence over the common external tariff and thus sign and ratify agreements with foreign states without direct participation of the EU member states. Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part. The EU is also the only trade bloc member of the World Trade Organization, albeit the EU member states are continuing their own separate memberships, as not all of the WTO issues fall within the scope of exclusive EU competences.
3. ^ EU list of customs territories
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Some of the special EU member state territories are covered by EU law (Art.52 TEU and Art.355 TFEU), but nevertheless remain outside the EU customs territory. The customs and fiscal territories of the European Community

External links

• EU list of customs territories