The EU will simplify the rules for the import of EU-approved clothing products

The European Commission will soon simplify the rules of origin for products imported into the EU, such as garments, so that suppliers in North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans can benefit from preferential tariffs.

The new rule will replace nearly 60 bilateral trade agreements currently being implemented in the European Mediterranean region and simplify the calculation of the cumulative added value of processed products in more than one country in the region.

Previously, the degree of processing or manufacturing of goods in the southern Mediterranean and western Balkan countries must meet certain added value standards, and they can enjoy preferential tariffs to enter the EU.

From now on, when it is determined that a certain EU-exported product meets the threshold of tariff preferences, the added value of the goods produced in these countries can be summed up.

The beneficiaries of the agreement include Albania, Algeria, Bosnia, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestinian Autonomous Government, Syria, Tunisia. West Asia and Turkey.

The regulations signed on April 14 are designed to help the economies of the southern Mediterranean and western Balkan countries to grow rapidly, thereby contributing to the stability of the entire region and alleviating the EU’s increasing immigration pressure.