Information about which incentives or rules apply when exporting to or importing from a country can be found on the new portal Access2Markets (A2M) created by the European Commission.
EU exporters and importers can quickly find important information about the countries they are interested in:
- tariffs;
- taxes and additional duties;
- customs procedures and formalities;
- requirements imposed on products;
- trade barriers;
- detailed guidelines on rules of origin;
- statistics of trade flows;
Enterprises without prior foreign trade experience seeking foreign markets and export opportunities for their products or services can find comprehensive information on the portal, including detailed instructions for the import and export of goods and services. The information provided will also help you assess whether your company is ready to enter foreign markets and help you understand the basics of importing/exporting goods or services.
The portal has a separate block – Helpdesk for Smaller Businesses. Here is gathered all the helpful information that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may need during their activities related to foreign trade: contacts of support networks (3,000 experts from 600 member organisations in more than 60 countries), SME user support and EU-funded business support projects, which provide EU businesses with support services such as export market information, market access assistance, advice on regulatory issues, and guidance on intellectual property rights.
Having trouble importing or exporting? For this purpose, a separate section on trade barriers has been created on the portal. This section lists all notified barriers affecting EU exports to third countries. At the moment there are nearly 500 of them. Barriers are categorised by country, type of measure, and sectors they affect. Where possible, barriers are listed with the corresponding Harmonised System (HS) product codes. It should be noted that if someone comes across a barrier in a specific market that is not found in this list, they can report it to the Commission directly through the portal by filling out the market access complaint form.
Problems can also be reported via e-mail: [email protected]
The portal is in constant development and new information is added on an ongoing basis, including news related to foreign trade. We recommend keeping an eye out for practical live trainings about A2M organised by the European Commission or their contractual partners, which can be found in the Events section.
Last updated: 28.08.2023
