Your one-stop-shop on how to export to the EU
Brussels, 27 May 2013. The European Commission today launched the new version of the Export Helpdesk.
This free online service is the one-stop-shop to inform business in developing countries on how to export to the EU. Just in a few clicks businesses can find the EU requirements, taxes, tariffs, preferential arrangements, rules of origin and statistics applying to their case.
The revised version significantly improves both usability and content. Exporters will navigate more easily among the comprehensive information. Some new features will be:
- “My export” section that provides the key data applying to your case in just one click;
- New pages explaining how the EU trade system is organised;
- Tips and tricks to better understand the EU legislation;
- Detailed explanations on rules and proofs of origin necessary to benefit from a preferential arrangement;
- A 3-minute video to explain how to move around the Export Helpdesk.
The Export Helpdesk, created in 2004, is a concrete example of the EU’s commitment to facilitating trade with developing countries. Available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, the Export Helpdesk aims to support the countries most in need. Besides keeping the website regularly updated, the Export helpdesk team also organises capacity-building training in the field. “We not only inform, but also explain” is their motto.
Why to export to the EU?
- The EU is a large market: its half a billion of inhabitants account for 7% of the world population;
- The EU generates 25.2% of the world’s GDP;
- The EU has a single set of trade rules. Each rule applies to 27 countries;
- EU import tariffs are amongst the lowest in the world;
- Developing countries have excellent market access to the EU with low or zero tariffs and other market distortions are significantly reduced.
- Fuels excluded, the EU imports more from Least Developed Countries than the US, Canada, Japan and China put together;
- Around 70 % of the EU’s agricultural imports originate in developing countries
How can the Export helpdesk help your business?
- How? It provides you with the full list of requirements your product needs to fulfil to enter the EU market;
- How much? It calculates the import tariff applying to your product and informs if a preferential tariff applies in your specific case;
- With whom? It provides you with a list of EU trade contacts;
- Who are my competitors? It assists your market research by providing detailed statistics on EU trade flows product-by-product.
- What are my preferences? It explains the preferential trade agreements applying to your case and how to prove the origin of your product;
Do you know…
- …what should appear on the label?
- …how to certify your product as “organic”?
- …which chemical dyes are banned in the EU?
- …how much duty you should pay to enter the EU market?
- …if your case benefit from a duty preference?
- …how to prove the origin of your product?
- …where to check if the import quota has already been filled?
Check it at the Export Helpdesk! www.exporthelp.europa.eu
PRESS RELEASE