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ESA countries and last negotiations round
In the report of the last virtual meeting held in March 2023 by ESA countries (Zimbabwe, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles) and the EU it is stated that: About the technical barriers to trade (TBT): “…Both Parties had a constructive exchange on the outstanding issues, i.e. conformity assessment procedures, technical regulations and technical assistance…” Rules of Origin: “… The Parties continued discussions on the product specific rules (PSR) and agreed on most of the PSR for textiles and clothing and industrial products. Both sides continued discussions on outstanding provisions of Protocol 1 related to wholly obtained goods, cumulation of product origin, accounting, segregation and transitional provisions and managed to clean the…
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Japan European Union free trade agreement and new geografical indications: food, wine and spirits
The European Commission decision n. 2023/1313 of 22 June 2023 “ approving, on behalf of the European Union, the amendments to Annex 14-B of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership…” entitles the Joint Committee (for the free trade agreement EU-Japan) to: Modify the annex 14-B of the Economic Parthership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and the Japan; Add under the protection of the intellectual property rights the following European geografical indications (GI): Korčulansko maslinovo ulje, Époisses, Mont d’Or, Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, raclette de Savoie, Lakonia, Cotechino Modena, Finocchiona, Limone di Siracusa, Ajo Morado de Las Pedroñeras, Arzúa-Ulloa, Melocotón de Calanda, Queso de Valdeón,…
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EU Customs reform, AEO and trusted operators scheme
The Commission working document “ Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013…” finds out the need to implement the scheme of the AEO (trusted and checked operators) by following the following areas: ‒ AEO traders can operate under a trust and check approach if they have their electronic system interacting with the customs’ systems on a constant basis and thereby allowing customs to have access to all relevant data directly from the operators’ systems. They can self-monitor the compliance of their goods and calculate and…
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The next Union Customs code and the customs action plan
The new Union Customs Code is the answer to CAP (Customs Action Plan) by which the EU reacts to this problem: the current customs system is burdensome for legitimate trade. And customs authorities struggle in their mission to protect the EU, its financial interests, citizens, enterprises, the Single Market, and the environment. In particular, there are the points highlighted: Customs authorities struggle in their mission to protect the EU; Compliance with customs formalities is burdensome for legitimate trade; The customs model is not fit for e-commerce; Limited data quality, access, and analysis; Member States diverge significantly in the application of the customs rules. In particular, the working document reports that:…
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The context of the new Union Customs Code: the next challenges of the customs
The Commission staff working document impact assesment report “Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013” has been published on 22.05.2023 and defines the context where the new Union Customs Code will be placed. This context is the Custom Union founded in 1968 which manages the external border of the EU by enforcing the rules governing the cross-border movement of goods, including by imposing a common tariff on goods imported from third countries. Customs traditionally collect customs duties and other taxes on imports and are…
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Indicazioni geografiche, EUIPO e tutela in dogana
Agrifood di qualità, tutela in dogana e AEO hanno qualcosa in comune? Certamente: la tutela delle indicazioni geografiche rappresenta l’elemento in comune tra AEO, agrifood e compliance delle operazioni doganali. La tutela delle indicazioni geografiche è di competenza delle autorità doganali nazionali; mentre il rilascio delle indicazioni geografiche nazionali viene effettuato dalle autorità nazionali dopo il coinvolgimento degli uffici della Commissione europea e dell’EUIPO ( Agenzia europea per la tutela dei diritti di proprietà intellectual intellectual property rights). Le indicazioni geografiche sono il DOP, DOC, DOCG,IGP (etc) e devono includere il regime delle specialità tradizionali garantite (STG), le quali mettono in risalto gli aspetti tradizionali dei prodotti senza un legame…