EU launches online portal to support small, medium-sized businesses trade beyond EU borders
The initiative will help firms which are already trading internationally as well as those which are just starting to trade on foreign markets. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The EU has launched an online portal named ‘Access2Markets’ to support small and medium-sized firms trade beyond the EU borders.
The initiative will help firms which are already trading internationally as well as those which are just starting to trade on foreign markets.
The new portal responds to requests from stakeholders to better explain trade agreements and help companies ensure their products are eligible for duty discounts,” says the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.
The website includes information like 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, guides and videos to better explain to users what to do and how to do step by step. The website gives the 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.
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 portal runs in all official EU languages.
Exports from Georgia to the EU increased by 13 per cent in 2019 compared to last year and reached $825.7 million, while imports decreased 7.4 per cent and amounted to $2.32 billion, show preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. The share of exports to EU countries made for 21.9 per cent of total exports, while the share of imports constituted 25.6 per cent of total imports.
Georgia exported 22.8 per cent of total exports to EU countries in January-September 2019, while it exported 52.6 per cent to CIS countries, show the preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).
The export of Georgian agricultural products to the EU countries is on the rise, says the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia. In the first quarter of 2018, Georgia exported agricultural goods worth $37.8 million.
Small and medium-sized businesses in Georgia are now able to receive all information about the possibilities and benefits of free trade with the European Union (EU) through a recently launched online platform.