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EU GSP scheme and sustainable development
The European Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) is a framework of customs rules for which, the duties on some goods are removed if imported from vulnerable developping countries. This benefit requires that: To be eligible, the goods must comply with some additional rules: direct trasport, accounting segregation, rules of origin, statement of origin with the mention of rex (registered exporter) in the invoice or other document; It is based on the regulation 978/2012. It is interesting to add that in November 2023 the application of this GSP regulation was extended until December 2027, pending the approval of a reviewed GSP regulation by the European Parliament and the Council of the…
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2024 a New Year of customs challenges
The 2023 has been an year very rich in customs news which will impat on the custom operations and compliance. We would list the following topics already published in our website: CBAM carbon border adjustments mechanism for which it is required to: 1) take into account HS codes;2) supply chain management; 3) special regimes; 4) made in/non-preferential origin; 5) customs value; The European regulantion on f-gases import; The due diligence on some goods (cattle,cocoa,palm oil, rubber, soya, wood,coffee) with specific focus on “deforestation and forest degradation”; The ecodesign, recycle and second life for batteries manufactured and imported into the EU; The free trade agreement with the New Zealand; The free…
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EAC, Kenya and EU: Economic Partnership Agreement with a specific focus on sustainable development
On 8 December 2023, Eu Commission published the draft of the “Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Republic of Kenya, Member of the East African Community, of the other part” by means of the interinstitutional Files 2023/0337 (NLE) and 2023/0338 (NLE). This agreement will cover the following topics: (a) general provisions; (b) trade in goods; (c) fisheries; (d) agriculture; (e) economic and development cooperation; (f) institutional provisions; (g) dispute avoidance and settlement; (h) general exceptions; (i) general and final provisions; and (j) Annexes, Protocols and Joint Statements. Before going deeper with the short check of the available documents, it is useful to recall…
- accise e imposte di consumo, circular economy, compliance e AEO, energie rinnovabili, free trade agreement
EU-Chile modernized free trade agreement
On 4 December 2023, the European Council adopted: Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) about: health, the environment, climate change, ocean governance, energy, tax, education and culture, labour, employment and social affairs, science and technology and transport; interim Trade Agreement (iTA) on raw materials and clean fuel such as lithium, copper and hydrogen, which are crucial for the transition to the green economy. Both the agreements with Chile constitute an updated version of the EU-Chile Association Agreement currently in place. Nadia Calviño declared: “…The EU-Chile Trade Agreement will reinforce the EU’s open strategic autonomy and economic security, strengthening the resilience of supply chains and diversifying imports of key inputs for the green…
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EU, New Zealand, Trade and climate change
EU and New Zealand recognise, in their free trade agreement which has to enter into force, the importance of taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, and the role of trade in pursuing this objective, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change done at New York on 9 May 1992 “UNFCCC”), the purpose and goals of the Paris Agreement, and with other MEAs and multilateral instruments in the area of climate change (called also climate crisis). From a practical point o view the EU and New Zealand are committed to: promote the mutual supportiveness of trade and climate policies and measures,; facilitate the removal…
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New GSP framework, sustainable development and good governance: a check of the principles.
The ProposalCOM(2021)579 will set up a new framework of the European generalized system of preference which is: part of EU common commercial policy (unilateral preferential origin treatment for goods originating from the eligibile countries): sustainable development and good goverance; consistent with with the analysis and perspective of the Commission Communication Trade Policy Review: An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy of 18 February 2021; consistent with EU green agenda and UN suistainable goals; The key stone of GSP is the “conditionality”: a country should not benefit from preferential trade arrangements if it is acting in a way that is contrary to international standards and principles and thereby also to its…
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Due diligence, import deforestation free goods and blockchain
The EU Regulation 2023/1115 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010” has the following goals: minimising the Union’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, and thereby contributing to a reduction in global deforestation; reducing the Union’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global biodiversity loss The due diligence statement requires companies to collect information, identify risks and mitigate them, organise and keep the information and evidence relating to each relevant product for a period of five years from the date of placing, making available or…
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Customs classification, relevant goods and trade compliance
The EU Regulation 2023/1115 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010” has the following goals: minimising the Union’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, and thereby contributing to a reduction in global deforestation; reducing the Union’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global biodiversity loss Relevant commodities and relevant products will not be placed or made available on the market or exported, unless all the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) they are deforestation-free; (b) they have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of…
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New EU regulation on deforestation and forest degradation products free: a short introduction
On 9 June 2023 the EU regulation 2023/1115 “on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010” has been published in the EU official journal. Some of the key-concepts of this legal source are: according to FAO (food and agricolture organization) the deforestation and forest degradation are taking place at an alarming rate; Deforestation and forest degradation contribute to the global climate crisis in multiple ways; Climate breakdown induces the loss of biodiversity globally and biodiversity loss aggravates climate change; Biodiversity is essential for the resilience of ecosystems…
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Il 2023 sarà l’anno dell’ accordo di libero scambio UE-Australia
E’ dal 2018 che vi sono negoziazioni tra l’UE e l’Australia per un accordo di libero scambio che possa promuovere il commercio attraverso l’abbattimento dei dazi doganali. Per le PMI (small medium enterprises SME) e, in genere, per gli operatori economici in UE e in Australia l’accordo di libero scambio, se conosciuto e applicato, sarà un impulso al proprio business. Food, meccanica, high tech, tessile e moda, mobili, alcolici, vino sono alcuni dei settori coinvolti da queste negoziazioni. A dicembre 2022, Don Farrell (ministro degli esteri australiano per il commercio internazionale e il turismo) ha dichiarato di voler concludere l’accordo entro la prima metà del 2023. Si tratta di un…