The Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) is once again calling on exporters to register to the European Union-Registered Exporter System (EU-REX) before the deadline on 31 December 2020. The original deadline, 31 June 2020, was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU-REX is a system of self-certification of origin by exporters, with the statement on origin replacing the Certificate of Origin Form A. After the deadline, exporters not registered to the EU-REX will not be able to avail of the tariff privileges under the EU-Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU-GSP+).
In a previous statement, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez assured exporters after the EU Parliament issued a statement about temporarily withdrawing the said privileges: “So far, we are able to explain objectively the Philippines side on issues that are raised and we don’t see any reason why our GSP+ privilege will be withdrawn,” he said.
To apply for the EU-REX, exporters must fill out the application form available at: https://customs.ec.europa.eu/rex-pa-ui/#/create-preapplication/. Once the application has been filled out and submitted electronically, the exporter shall print and submit the application form to the concerned Bureau of Customs (BOC) Export Division/Unit.
The submission to the BOC must include the Unique Reference Number (URN) for Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) locators, Client Profile Registration System (CPRS) for non-PEZA locators, or other equivalent documents, and the Product Evaluation Report, if applicable.
The DTI-EMB, which offers EU-REX registration assistance to exporters, has assisted 328 exporters since August 2020. To get registration assistance, exporters can e-mail DTI-EMB Market Officer for Europe Maria Jaena Go-Aco at MariaJaenaGoaco@dti.gov.ph.
Since the Philippines was granted the EU-GSP+ in 2014, exports to the EU increased from €5.3 billion in 2014 (under the regular GSP) to €7.6 billion in 2019.
For 2019, the Philippines had a 72 percent utilization of the GSP+, with €1.95 billion worth of products granted the privilege, out of the €2.7 billion worth of eligible products.
The top GSP+ exports of the Philippines for 2019 included crude coconut oil, vacuum cleaners, prepared or preserved tunas, spectacle lenses, new pneumatic tires, bicycles, electro-thermic hairdressing apparatus, prepared or preserved pineapples, relays, and activated carbon.
