Le Ky Anh, Trade and Economic Officer Delegation of European Union to Vietnam The Export Helpdesk for access to Europe's market

Overview What is the Export Helpdesk for access to the EU market? What do exporters need to know? Types of data and updates Set of EU legal requirements (non-tariff measures) User statistics and requests for information Example of live-data search 2

What is the Export Helpdesk? Website for businesses on how to export to the EU Free online service, accessible worldwide Database for trade in goods (not services) Available in four languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese Three main sections: 1.EU import requirements (general and specific) 2.EU tariffs and VAT rates 3.Preferential arrangements (all trade agreements with their conditions for products) Additional information: statistics, related news, contacts in MS 3

1.Requirements General requirements = the import procedures to respect (import licenses, customs declarations, commercial invoice, freight insurance, registration as an economic operator, etc) Specific requirements on what the product, its label and its packaging needs to fulfill for EU market access (protection of human health and safety, technical standards, labelling & packaging, food safety, product-specific marketing standards, etc) Harmonised for all 28 Member States What do exporters need to know? (1) 5

How to search? Leather shoes Bangladesh Germany

2. Taxes and excise duties Not harmonised in the EU Basic legislation at EU level VAT rates (minimum, reduced, super- reduced) Goods subject to VAT Special territories exempted from VAT Excise duties (alcoholic beverages, tobacco, mineral oil, etc) VAT ranging from 15% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary (March 2014) What do exporters need to know? (2) 7

8 Example: requirements for grapes from Egypt to France requirements VAT & excise

3. Import tariffs Duty applicable to a product for third countries in general (ERGA OMNES) Preferential duty applicable to a particular country – depending on the trade agreement or scheme in place A temporary anti-dumping duty – according to recent decisions 9 What do exporters need to know (3)

Example: tariff for olive oil from Tunisia 10 3 rd countries FTA partner

What do exporters need to know? (4) 4. Trade agreements Preferential arrangements, concluded between the EU and a third country/region (trade agreements with Euromed partner countries, economic partnership agreements, FTAs etc) Certificate of origin Which proofs of the origin are necessary? 11

(4) Example: rules of origin for peeled tomatoes (CN code: ) under FTA EU-Tunisia 12 Rules of origin

Statistics about trade flows Info on product classification Contact details for MS authorities, business organisations, etc. Statistics, contacts & help 13

Increasing number of users : visits* on average/month 2013: visits* on average/ month *) Daily unique visitors: recurring visits/day from same URL only counted once

Origin of users 15

Use of the database by region: 16 Figures for 2012

Requests for information in subjects 17

608 requests for information in

Types of data Requirements (general, product-specific) Customs tariffs and trade regimes/ agreements Preferential tariffs, quota Antidumping duties, safeguard measures Rules of origin & proofs of origin VAT rates & excise duty rates Trade statistics 19

Types of data - requirements General requirements (docs related to the import procedure) -Commercial invoice -Freight documents -Freight insurance -Packing list -Customs Import Declaration (SAD) -Customs Value Declaration Specific requirements – depending on the product -Health and consumer protection, marketing standards, technical standards, ecodesign, food from organic production, chemicals 20

Requirements: chemical products Control of trade in dangerous chemicals Marketing requirements for detergents Marketing requirements for fertilisers Marketing requirements for dangerous chemicals, pesticides and biocides Marketing standards for petrol, diesel fuels, gas oil and heavy fuel oil Control of persistent organic pollutants Restriction on the use of certain chemical substances in toys Restriction on the use of certain chemical substances in textile and leather products Restriction on the use of certain chemical substances in jewellery products 21

Requirements: health/ consumer protection Traceability, compliance and responsibility in food and feed Health control of products of animal origin for human consumption Health control of products of animal origin not intended for human consumption Health control of feedingstuffs of non-animal origin Health control of fishery products for human consumption Health control of fishery products not intended for human consumption Control of contaminants in foodstuffs Health control of live animals Health control of foodstuffs of non-animal origin Control of pesticide residues in plant and animal products intended for human consumption Plant health control Health control of articles in contact with food products Health control of semen, ova and embryos Health and labelling control of tobacco products Control of residues of veterinary medicines in animals and animal products for human consumption General Safety Product 22

Requirements: packaging & labelling Labelling for fish Labelling for foodstuffs Labelling for footwear Labelling for household appliances Packaging Labelling for textiles Presentation and labelling for wine and wine products 23

Requirements: certain types of products Marketing requirements for batteries and accumulators Health and marketing conditions for cosmetic products Import restrictions for rough diamonds (Kimberley Scheme) Control of drugs precursors Marketing of products containing fluorinated greenhouse gases Control on illegal fishing Control on illegal timber and timber products Import requirements for medicinal products for human use Import requirements for medicinal products for veterinary use Products from organic production Radioactive products Marketing requirements for electrical and electronic equipments Certificate and analysis report for wine, grape juice and must 24

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Requirements: example 26

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Data and their updates Requirements & taxes: external contractor Monitoring of EU legislation on import procedures and product-specific legislation, VAT rates and excise duty rates, MS contacts, new information for new Member States 4 updates / year Tariffs: data imported from EU tariff database (DG Taxation and Customs Union), daily updates Statistics: Comext database (Eurostat), annual updates Website – updated in-house, ad-hoc 32

Thank you for your attention! 33