External Trade MARKET ACCESS DATABASE Tools for European enterprises Prague, 23 March 2010 Chiara Miglioli European Commission DG Trade – Market Access Unit

External Trade 1. Market Access Database in practice 2. Market Access Strategy in action

External Trade Market Access Database a tool for European exporters

External Trade Two main purposes: Source of information for exporters about opportunities and challenges Business tool to inform the Commission about barriers to trade in third countries

External Trade HOMEPAGE

External Trade

MADB Complaint Register Based on business demands during consultations on Market Access Strategy 2007Based on business demands during consultations on Market Access Strategy 2007 Request for more transparency and feedback from Commission Services on contact persons and progress in tackling barriers brought to their attentionRequest for more transparency and feedback from Commission Services on contact persons and progress in tackling barriers brought to their attention Simple and efficient system to register trade barriers quickly Facilitates the universal recording of substantially all known barriers in one place Standardised on-line input forms to ensure that all relevant data is obtained at first contact

External Trade

You registered your complaint… …what now? Case study: Canada – stuffed labelling regulation

External Trade Issue in brief: Proposed extension of a complex and strict labelling regulation on stuffed products Industry affected: textiles and clothing Scope: potentially serious impact on all textiles imports to Canada’s provinces Double standards: resulting from Canada’s federal system and strong provincial competences

External Trade COM approach Detailed information from the industry: –Legal facts –Economic impact on European exports –Confidentiality as a rule COM activities: –Analysis of the situation with help of EU Delegation – problem scoping –Internal expertise-gathering in a cross-cutting area (regulatory affairs) –Analysis of possible actions on the basis of existing trade relations: WTO TBT Committee in Geneva EU Trade and Investment Sub-Committee Result: Canada withdrew the proposal

External Trade Partnership in action Ongoing feedback to the industry and exchange of information –Discussion, analysis and feedback at the Market Access Working Groups –Or at the Market Access Advisory Committee –Updated information in the Market Access Database Other possible avenues : –Local diplomacy: COM demarches and letters to third country authorities –Bilateral trade and specialised dialogues led by the COM –High political level (summits) –WTO consultation in most serious cases –Business alliance-building to support the case –Member States bilateral contacts

External Trade MAAC MarketAccess Teams Market Access Teams MS EUBusiness EU Business CommissionDelegations EUThird Countries Network Exchange MS Embassies 

External Trade Partnership in action – Ukraine: export declarations July 2009: proposal to introduce compulsory export declarations as from October 2009 for customs valuation purposes. COM line: UA request at odds with EU paperless practices (Export Control System) and not in line with the Kyoto Convention on customs procedures. Action: -DEL involved to understand what was happening on the ground. -Letter sent from DG TAXUD to UA custom authorities and issue raised at EU-Ukraine Subcommittee on Customs and Cross-border Cooperation (October 2009). -The measure was eventually suspended.

External Trade For further information… DG Trade website: Market Access Database: address: European Commission DG Trade - Market Access Unit (G1) Phone:

External Trade Thank you for your attention