Preferential EU rates open up to 25 countries

ALAN PEAT
AFTER A hiccup at the beginning of the year as the SA Revenue Service (Sars) was stymied in adding the 10 new members of the European Union (EU) to its list of free trade agreement (FTA) states by slow-moving legislation, SA exporters now have the full 25 countries of the EU as duty-free partners. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the publication of the customs and excise rules did not take place in December as planned, said Riaan de Lange of South African Tariff & Trade Solutions - and Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia had to wait before being added to the list of EU countries eligible under the duty-free conditions of the FTA. But those champing at the bit about the delay can relax. On January 16, a Government Gazette notice appeared in respect of the retrospective enlargement of the EU to include the additional 10 members. Retrospective And frustrated exporters won’t lose out too much on the price cut offered by duty-free conditions with all 25 EU states. “The amendment was with retrospective effect to May 1, 2004,” said De Lange, “enabling SA businesses to apply for duty refunds back to that date.” Thus SA businesses can now trade at preferential rates of duty with 25 EU countries. And there’s even better news in the pipeline, according to De Lange. Negotiations are under way between the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries – Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland – on these four states becoming new members of the union. That, said De Lange, would expand the number of FTA countries in Europe to 29 – “a significant number in anyone’s trade calculations,” he told FTW. And, he added, from the latest announcements it seems likely that this will take effect before year-end.