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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
MY COLOUR

Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/2/3/2/13

31 May 2013

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 419/2013

European Union (EU)* : Amendment to Annex I to Council Regulation Applying a Scheme of Generalised Tariff Preferences

Further to Commercial Information Circulars Nos. 640/2009 of 21 December 2009 and 314/2011 of 31 May 2011, the European Commission has published an implementing regulation on 30 May 2013 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No. 732/2008 of 22 July 2008 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences (GSP) from 1 January 2009. The implementing regulation can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:143:0011:0019:EN:PDF.

DETAILS

2.In relation to various developments concerning, inter alia, South Sudan, the Netherlands Antilles (now dissolved), Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No. 732/2008, which lists out the beneficiary economies and territories of the current GSP scheme, is now amended and replaced by the Annex to the implementing regulation of 30 May 2013.

3.The implementing regulation, which enters into force on 31 May 2013, applies from 1 January 2013.

BACKGROUND

4. All along, the EU accords tariff preferences under the GSP scheme to a range of agricultural and industrial products originating from a number of developing economies to, inter alia, provide them with better market access to the EU. The current GSP scheme is applied under Council Regulation (EC) No. 732/2008 and extended until 31 December 2013 by Regulation (EU) No 512/2011. For details, please refer to Commercial Information Circulars Nos. 414/2008 of 11 August 2008 and 314/2011 of 31 May 2011.

5. On 31 October 2012, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU published Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 to apply a new GSP scheme for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2023 and to repeal the current scheme with effective from 1 January 2014. For details and subsequent developments, please refer to Commercial Information Circulars Nos. 900/2012 of 5 November 2012, 1076/2012 of 19 December 2012 and 154/2013 of 21 February 2013.

ENQUIRIES

6. For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,
 

(Miss Stella CHAN)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Note 1: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.
Note 2: The biweekly newsletter "Business Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. The newsletter is available for free e-subscription and can be accessed through
http://www.tdctrade.com/alert/eualert.htm.