The FINANCIAL — The EU has launched the Access2Markets online portal to help small and medium-sized firms trade beyond the EU’s borders and reap the benefits of EU trade deals. The new portal responds to requests from stakeholders to better explain trade agreements and help companies ensure their products are eligible for duty discounts. It will serve both companies that already trade internationally and those that are only starting to explore opportunities in foreign markets.
Access2Markets provides businesses with tailored information for their product. In just a few clicks, they can look up tariffs, taxes, rules of origin, product requirements, customs procedures, trade barriers and trade flow statistics. The portal also provides practical information on EU trade agreements, step-by-step guides, tutorials, video testimonials, and much more.
“I am happy to announce the EU Access2Market portal, which provides clear and comprehensive information about EU market access rules. I hope Georgian companies will find this a helpful tool in order to take better advantage of their privileged access to the EU single market of over 450 million consumers, through the EU-Georgia free trade agreement – the DCFTA.” stated EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell.
The new Access2Markets portal includes explanations and FAQs to help new as well as experienced traders analyse the benefits of trade with each of the EU’s trading partners. It provides an overview of EU laws on products and services, as well as contact details for customs and other public authorities in EU member states and in the EU’s trading partners.
The rules of origin self-assessment tool, ROSA, filters and explains the rules and offers a tailored check-list to help companies apply them and ensure that they do not miss out on tariff rebates under EU trade deals. Businesses can also use the portal to report trade barriers they encounter.
The portal runs in all official EU languages. For now, the page is not available in Georgian.
