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The EU Customs Union turns 40 on 1st
July 2008
2008
Edition of the Common Customs Tariff of the European
Union
Frequently Asked
Questions
Q: As an exporter,
where do I find the appropriate classification for
my product?
A: Visit the
European Commission's
Export Helpdesk and click on the "Import
Tariffs"section at the bottom of the screen. Enter
an appropriate product description and click on
"search".
Q: What tariff is
applied to my product?
A: Visit the
European Commission's
Export Helpdesk and click on the "Import
Tariffs" section at the bottom of the screen. Select
"South Africa" as the country of origin and click on
"View".
Q:
Where can one obtain
information on EU and Member States' specific import
requirements for each particular product?
A:
Visit the European Commission's
Export Helpdesk
and click on the "Import Tariffs" section at the
bottom of the screen. Select a product code or type
in a product description. Select "South Africa" as
the country of origin and select an EU Member State
as the destination country for the product in
question. Click on "View".
Q: How can information on the
internal taxes applying in each Member State for
each particular product be accessed?
A:
Visit the European Commission's
Export Helpdesk
and click on the "Import Tariffs"
section at the bottom of the screen. Select a
product code or type in a product description.
Select "South Africa" as the country of origin and
select an EU Member State as the destination country
for the product in question. Click on "View".
Q: As an exporter, what documents do
I need to produce in order to qualify for
preferential duty treatment?
A:
Visit the European Commission's
Export Helpdesk
and click on the "Customs
Documents" section at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down the page and click on the “FTA with
South Africa” hyperlink.
Q: Where can I find customs
information for the EU and each of its individual
member states?
A:
Visit the European Commission's
Export Helpdesk
and click on the "Customs
Documents" section at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down the page and click on the “FTA with
South Africa” hyperlink.
Q: How can I obtain EU trade import
and export statistics by product to help me, for
example, establish whether or not a particular EU
market is worth targetting?
A:
Visit the European Commission's
Export Helpdesk
and click on the "Trade Statistics" section at the
bottom of the screen. Select a product code or type
in a product description. Select the reporting
country or region, as well as the partner country,
for example, “South Africa”. Select the relevant
indicator(s), for example, “Exports Value” and click
on "View" to show the relevant results.
Alternatively access the European Commission’s
Market Access Database,
which provides more historical yearly trade flow
data for specific products. The database also
enables one to view a specific product with regards
to more than one country for a specific year. Please
note that prior to starting the search first obtain
the relevant product code by clicking on the “Browse
Product Code” option. Once the code has been
selected to launch the search click on the “Search
HS code” button. The trade per EU member state for a
specific product and trade partner country, for
example, South Africa can be viewed via the database
by selecting that country.
Q: How can I find trading partners
and contacts within the EU?
A:
Visit the European Commission's
Export Helpdesk
and click on the "Links" hyperlink at the bottom of
the screen. Select “Links to customs websites” and
then choose the region or country you are interested
in investigating.
Q: Where do I get
more information on non-tariff issues?
A:
As these issues are generally of a technical and
specific nature, the best local sources of
information are the SA Department of Trade and
Industry or the SA Customs Office.
Furthermore, depending on the nature of the
non-tariff issue, much useful information can be
found on the European Commission's website through
various Directorates General, for example:
DG Trade - Market Access Strategy
DG Trade -
Technical Barriers to Trade
DG Enterprise -
Guide to the Implementation of Directives based on
the New Approach and the Global Approach
DG Health and Consumer Protection -
Food safety - from the farm to the fork
DG Agriculture -
The future of agriculture and food in Europe
For more information:
European Commission
External Trade
Marta Moya Diaz
Market Access
Tel +32.2.299.21.25
Export Helpdesk:
export-help@cec.eu.int
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Trade and Economic Co-operation