European Trade and Import Principles Which
Affect China’s Exports
If you have a business in China
that wishes to export products to Europe, it is crucial that
you know the import and trade limitations set by the EU. Below
are the main criteria which affect all foreign businesses
attempting to export products to EU states.
Customs duties
The European customs union was
one of the earliest milestones of the EU. It abolished customs
duties within the European Union. All internal border controls
within the EU subsequently disappeared, except for occasional
checks for drugs and illegal immigrants.
Subsequently the European Union
gained a single trade area with free circulation of goods,
whether made within the EU or imported from outside. At the
same time a uniform system for taxing imports was installed,
ensuring that all products exported to the EU are submitted to
a customs duty.
General customs tariffs on import
The taxing imports are an
instrument to make sure that all products, whether European or
imported trade products, can compete with one another on an
equal footing.
Member States of the European
Union charge a common customs tariff on goods from outside the
EU. TARIC is the acronym for the Integrated Tariff of the
European Communities.
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The import tariffs depend on
the nature and on the origin of the goods.
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The customs policy is not
static: the EU is constantly evaluating the working of the
policy and the import tariffs.
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Customs officers detect fraud
in value-added tax declarations and payments, or the evasion
of excise duties.
After this taxation at the
external border of the EU, the goods can circulate freely
within the rest of the EU without any further customs duties
moving from one Member State to another.
Tariff quota and suspension
There are some exceptions to the
general rules of the Common Customs Tariff. The tariff
suspension and the tariff quota are measures that allow a
total or partial waiver of the normal duties applicable to
imported goods.
Only firms producing in the
European Union can benefit from these measures. In addition,
these quotas and suspensions can only be granted temporarily
and for specific economic reasons. The following is an
overview of the products that may benefit from a tariff quota
or suspension:
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Raw materials, semi-finished
goods or components that are not available within the
European Union
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Finished products - provided
that they are used as components in the final product and
provided that the added value of the assembly is
sufficiently high
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Materials to be used in the
production process – provided that they are necessary for
the manufacture of a product
Customs relief
Another exception to the general
tariffs is the customs relief: this measure enables goods to
be exempted from import duties to which they would normally be
liable. In general the relief is applied to products that are
not directly intended for sale or production. These are
examples of some of the goods that are eligible for relief
from import duties:
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Capital goods and other
equipment belonging to a firm definitively ending its
activities in a third country and moving to the EU
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Small consignments of a
non-commercial nature sent by private persons in third
countries to private persons in the EU
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Goods imported for trade
promotion, examination, analysis or testing in the EU
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Reference substances for
controlling the quality of medicines
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Educational, scientific and
cultural materials, provided they are not imported for
commercial purposes
Preferential rates for China
The European Union uses a
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for different trade
partners. The GSP benefits developing countries like China ,by
enabling them import of qualified products at reduced or zero
rates of duty. With a share of more than 30% of all
preferential trade imports, China is one of the main
beneficiaries of this GSP scheme.
The European Union introduced a
graduation mechanism to remove products from the GSP list.
Recently some products from China were graduated from the GSP
list. Exporters to Europe of Chinese textile products can no
longer enjoy these preferential rates. Other graduated
products include meat products, plastics and rubber, paper,
optical products, clocks and electro-mechanical goods.
Last but not least, there is a
system of bonus tariffs. These tariffs are created to
encourage countries that benefit from the GSP to respect
certain European standards, such as the environmental
standards.
General trade agreements with China
The EU has negotiated a customs
cooperation agreement with the Government of the People's
Republic of China. This agreement undertakes to combat
commercial fraud and counterfeiting.
The agreement will facilitate
the fight against the growth in the illegal market for
counterfeit designer goods – items with a fake brand name or
trademark, as well as pirated goods – made without payment of
intellectual property rights.
Import limitations
All imported goods can be
investigated by the European Union. The aim of these
investigations is to determine whether the products in
question are causing serious injury to the EU producers of
competing goods. The following aspects are checked through out
the investigation:
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The volume of the imported
products
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The price of the imported
products
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The consequent impact on
producers within the EU
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Other factors possibly causing
injury to the producers concerned
If the investigation indicates
that the products in question are a threat to the European
market, safeguard measures can be installed. By consequence
the EU can establish quota for certain products.
The duration of these measures
may in principle not exceed four years. This period can be
extended however, under the same conditions as the initial
measures were adopted.
Emergency controls
Some products jeopardize the
environment. Endangered species and endangered materials are
therefore severely controlled. The European Union has, for
example, imposed emergency controls on the export of wooden
packing material made from Chinese trees.
Other imported goods can be a
direct threat to the society. Imports are very regularly
submitted to controls in the search for illicit alcohol,
narcotics or drugs.
All businesses conducting trade
with Europe, whether China or any other nation, should abide
by the import and export guidelines above.
EU Country Data
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