Finance:Customs territory
A customs territory is a geographic territory with uniform customs regulations and there are no internal customs or similar taxes within the territory. Customs territories may fall into several types:
- A sovereign state, including a federation
- A trade bloc that has a customs union
- An autonomous or dependent territory that is granted by the sovereign government some degree of independence in foreign trade and customs policy.[citation needed]
There are also some unregulated lands (usually uninhabited) not part of any customs territory.
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. 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, the European Free Trade Association).
A customs territory usually has inspection stations at its borders. There can also be border checks between two parts of the same customs territory. For example, there are border checks between the Schengen Area portions of the EU customs territory and those portions in the Common Travel Area formed by the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies, and Ireland[citation needed]. Another example is the border checks between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, which are in a customs union. The European Union example is particularly complicated, since it also has different boundaries for EU VAT area, the EU excise duty area, the area where EU law applies, and the area considered by the EU statistics agency[citation needed].
List of customs territories
Countries which are members of a customs union, which in some cases may be considered a single customs territory:[1]
- Andean Community of Nations (CAN)
Bolivia
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Antigua and Barbuda
Barbados
Belize
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Montserrat
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago- Other CARICOM member states, The Bahamas and Haiti are not a part of the customs union arrangement although Haiti is in the process of acceding.
- East African Community (EAC)
Burundi
Kenya
Rwanda
Tanzania
Uganda
- Eurasian Customs Union
Armenia
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Russia- Russia unilaterally negotiated a free trade agreement (excluding sugar, alcohol, and tobacco) with
Abkhazia and 
South Ossetia.[2] These areas are claimed by 
Georgia, which is not a member of the customs union.
- European Union Customs Union (internal border checks) - includes the territory of
European Union member countries, excepting many areas outside of continental Europe, and some exclaves and border areas.[3] (See Special member state territories and the European Union for a detailed list.) Various treaties extend the EU customs area to include the non-EU states of:
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Andorra (excluding agricultural produce)
Monaco
San Marino
Turkey (excluding agricultural produce)
Israel — Template:Country data Palestinian Authority customs union (internal border checks)- Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR)
Argentina
Brazil
Paraguay
Uruguay
Venezuela- Bolivia (pending as of May 2014)
- Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
Botswana
Eswatini
Lesotho
Namibia
South Africa
Switzerland — 
Liechtenstein — Büsingen am Hochrhein customs union (no external border checks)
The customs territory of the 
United States includes the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and 
Puerto Rico.[4] The following dependent United States territories are outside the customs territory and most administer customs separately:[5]
American Samoa - Government of American Samoa
Guam - Government of Guam
Northern Mariana Islands - Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands- United States Minor Outlying Islands
- Wake Island - Department of the Air Force General Counsel
- Midway Islands - Department of the Navy
- Johnston Atoll - none
- (Other islands are uninhabited, although Palmyra Atoll, administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, is permanently staffed and has several private land parcels. It has no customs administration or duties.)
US Virgin Islands - Federal rules as modified by the Virgin Islands legislature, but implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The following customs territories are outside the customs territory of the 
People's Republic of China:
- Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hong Kong, autonomous territory of PR China
Macau, autonomous territory of PR China
Republic of China (Taiwan) (officially titled as Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu or Chinese Taipei in the WTO)[6]
- United Kingdom–Crown Dependencies Customs Union
Isle of Man
Guernsey
Jersey- United Kingdom
See also
- List of free economic zones
- Customs area
- Economic integration
- Special member state territories and the European Union - multiple separate customs territories
- Member states of the World Customs Organization
References
- ↑ see the list of customs unions for references
- ↑ "New Separatist Recruits for Russia's Customs Union". https://eurasianet.org/new-separatist-recruits-for-russias-customs-union.
- ↑ 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. "Annex 1: Overview of European Union countries". http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/customs/procedural_aspects/general/sad/guide/1619-08annexi_en.pdf. Retrieved 21 Apr 2014.
- ↑ 19 C.F.R. 101.1
- ↑ 19 C.F.R. 7.2
- ↑ Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei), World Trade Organization, http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/chinese_taipei_e.htm, retrieved 2014-09-10, "Chinese Taipei has been a member of WTO since 1 January 2002."
External links
- "List of non-EU countries". http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs/customs_duties/rules_origin/introduction/article_403_en.htm. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
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