The German Customs Administration has provided information on trade in goods with Tunisia against the background of the revised rules of origin within the framework of the Regional Convention on Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Preferential Rules of Origin (PEM Convention). Accordingly, Protocol No. 4 has been replaced and an Annex B (textile products) has been introduced for quotas under the ‘first come, first served’ procedure for a period of five years.
In the ‘first come, first served’ procedure, applications are processed in the order in which they are received until the available quota is exhausted. Protocol No. 4 in the context of trade in goods with Tunisia refers to the rules of origin of the Association Agreement between the EU and Tunisia. It regulates the criteria according to which goods are deemed to be authorised to originate and can therefore be traded between the two economic areas duty-free or at reduced rates of duty.
Protocol No. 4 has been replaced by a new protocol that contains a so-called dynamic reference to the Regional PEM Convention, so that reference is always made to the latest applicable version of the Convention. The ‘dynamic reference’ in the context of the PEM Convention means that the Contracting Parties automatically adopt the latest amendments and updates to the Convention without having to ratify each amendment individually. The transitional rules contained in Annex A, which are also contained in the new Protocol No. 4, can no longer be applied from 1 January 2025.
The current matrix shows when the revised agreement with Tunisia can be applied.
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