Yesterday, the European Commission’s Directorate for Trade relaunched its Export Helpdesk under a new name with a new look.
According to a press release from the European Commission, the new website which can be accessed at tradehelpdesk.europa.eu informs business in and outside the EU on how to export to Europe, and reflects in real time the EU’s import conditions for any type of product, be it machinery, chemicals, textiles, food or wines.
The release stated that the database also includes the applied import duties for all goods listed in the EU tariff schedule (around 15000 entries) and information on import procedures for the EU and for each Member state together with contacts of competent authorities in each Member State. The VAT and excise duty rates in the 28 Member states and trade statistics complement this information. Companies can also send their individual requests.
According to the release, the core part of the database is the product requirements such as sanitary and phyto-sanitary rules, technical standards, labelling rules for the EU market. They are regularly updated according to changes in the EU legislation and can be searched by product code. The Trade Helpdesk Service is publicly accessible via the internet, is free of charge and does not require registration. Businesses, in particular, small and medium enterprises, business organisations, chambers of commerce, export promotion agencies, are urged to utilise the service.
