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3.46. The EU maintains legislation for the autonomous suspension of customs duties or autonomous tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products that are either not available or insufficiently produced in the EU to meet the demand in the EU. (...) Moreover, with a view to promoting integrated battery production in the EU, and in accordance with the communication from the Commission entitled "Europe on the Move — Sustainable Mobility for Europe: safe, connected, and clean", the suspensions for 20 additional products listed were withdrawn. (...)

3.57. The EU continues to harmonize three main categories of excise products — alcohol, energy and electricity, and tobacco - which are subject to minimum rates of excise duty, in order to provide a more level playing field in the internal market (Table 3.6). (...)

3.63. Previously, the EU had introduced a regulation on invasive alien species (IAS), i.e. plants, insects and animals, in 2014 , but its implementation was dependent upon a list of applicable species being identified. A first list was set out in a regulation in 2016, and a second list in 2017. As at July 2019, a third list was under consideration and was open to public comment. Thus, the listed IASs (49 species listed thus far) cannot be brought into the territory of the EU; be kept in, bred in, or transit through the EU; nor be sold, possessed, or released into the environment. However, there are some exceptions, and controlled imports may be authorized for scientific research and conservation activities for example.

3.64. In 2017, the EU also put in place new import prohibitions on the import of mercury and certain mercury compounds or products. This new regulation replaces a previous one that only restricted exports (Section 3.2.3). Thus, pursuant to the EU's Seventh Environment Action Programme and the Minamata Convention on Mercury of 2013, the EU prohibited the export, import and manufacturing of mercury, mercury compounds, and a range of mercury-added products. However, there are certain phased-in restrictions pertaining to a number of products, in particular for dental amalgams, until 2021.

3.66. At the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2016, certain amendments were made to the Appendices to the Convention. These amendments are reflected in a Commission Regulation of 20 January 2017 amending the EU "CITES Regulation" , by replacing its Annexes. These Annexes generally correspond to the CITES Appendices. [100] Further small changes to a related Commission Regulation were made in 2019 , by laying down detailed rules for the import or re-export of live rhinoceroses or live elephants, specifying that horn or ivory from those animals or from their progeny may not enter commercial trade or commercial activities within the EU. At the same time, the list of standard nomenclature references was also amended.

[100] The EU has, in some cases, adopted stricter measures than what is required by CITES, by including non-CITES-listed species or setting stricter import conditions for listed species.

3.67. Another development during the review period was the negotiation and signing of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), and the establishment of a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community , which is part of the FLEGT Action Plan. [104] The Plan sets out the EU response to combatting illegal harvesting of timber and associated trade, by improving forest governance, strengthening law enforcement and promoting trade in legally-harvested timber and timber products. Under the VPA, partner countries develop systems to verify the legality of their timber exports to the EU and a licensing system to provide assurance that timber imported into the EU has been harvested in compliance with the legal requirements of the partner country, as set out in the relevant FLEGT VPA. To date, the EU has signed VPAs with Ghana, the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Indonesia, the Central African Republic, Liberia, and Viet Nam. [105] As of September 2019, Indonesia was the only VPA country with an operational FLEGT licensing scheme. [106] The EU concluded negotiations and initialled VPAs with Honduras [107] and Guyana. [108] It is in the process of conducting negotiations with a further six countries.[109] Each VPA generally contains provisions on a list of products covered by the HS code, rules for the licensing scheme, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting and communication provisions.

[104] Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) - Proposal for an EU Action Plan. Viewed at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/SL/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52003DC0251.
[105] European Commission, FLEGT Regulation – FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs). Viewed at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm.
[106] EUR-Lex, Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Indonesia on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products into the European Union. Viewed at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2014.150.01.0252.01.ENG.
[107] The EU and Honduras concluded negotiations and initialled the VPA on 15 June 2018.
[108] The EU and Guyana concluded negotiations and initialled the VPA on 23 November 2018.
[109] European Commission, FLEGT Regulation – FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs). Viewed at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm.

3.68. The regulation on the export and import of hazardous chemicals was amended twice during the review period, to amend the annexes containing the chemicals covered. Basically, chemicals were added to the lists of those subject to requirements or restrictions on export, due to changes in EU law or in the underlying conventions, i.e. the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

3.72. Furthermore, the EU introduced a proposal for a single-use plastics directive in 2018. This Directive was adopted on 5 June 2019. Member States must transpose the Directive into law by 3 July 2021. The Directive would restrict certain plastic products, e.g. plates, cutlery, beverage containers, from being placed on the EU market, and impose an extended producer responsibility for the cost of clean-up activities on a list of similar plastic products used mainly in the food and beverage sector, as well as tobacco products, fishing gear, and balloons. [117]

[117] European Commission, Annex to the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. Viewed at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/single-use_plastics_proposal_annex.pdf.

3.73. Another regulation that entered into force in July concerns the prohibition of certain persistent organic pollutants. The EU put in place these measures pursuant to its participation in the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The annex to the regulation currently identifies about 26 chemicals where the manufacture, placing on the market, and use is prohibited; it also has certain waste management provisions, i.e. recovery and disposal. It should be noted that this regulation is a recast of an earlier regulation adopted in 2004 (Regulation (EC) No. 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants).

Table 3.7 Prohibitions or restrictions on imports, 2019
Product: Substances that deplete the ozone layer
Measure: Prohibition/restriction
Rationale: Montreal Protocol
Legislation: Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2009