Israel agrees to label Israeli goods made in occupied territories

Israel has agreed to put labels of origin on their products made in the occupied territories of West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem.

Israel had originally rejected the idea of doing so out of fear that tariffs would be placed on those products.

The EU had not said they will place tariffs on items produced in those regions but they will not be eligible for the preferential treatments, like no import duties in some cases, that other 'Made in Israel' products get.

www.eubusiness.com...
Israel's Trade Minister Ehud Olmert lauded the accord, saying it would ward off "a major threat to the continued export of Israeli products to the 25 countries of the European Union," according to a statement released by the ministry.

Israeli authorities had resisted compliance with rules on country-of-origin tags fearing tariffs on products made in the settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem, all of which are considered occupied territories by the international community.

Under the terms of an existing trade agreement with the EU, goods labelled "made in Israel" get preferential treatment from EU customs authorities, with many escaping import duties altogether.

The EU has argued that only products which originate from within the internationally recognised borders of Israel are entitled to such a tax break.

Israel's exports to the EU total some 17.5 billion dollars, while those from the settlements total about 100,000 dollars.

[edit on 5-8-2004 by AceOfBase]

[edit on 5-8-2004 by AceOfBase]

And why does Israel not have to pay import duties? Other third world countries with greater need find import duties totally prohibitive to them entering the market. In other third world country they have to pay people below living wages in order to be competitive.

Originally posted by Mynaeris
And why does Israel not have to pay import duties? Other third world countries with greater need find import duties totally prohibitive to them entering the market. In other third world country they have to pay people below living wages in order to be competitive.

I guess Israel just has better lobbyists than those other countries.

BTW, I think this only affects trade with the EU.

As you can see in another thread on this board, it's unlikely that this will ever be required in the US:

Question "Is any of this stuff made in Israel?" Answer Fine of 6000 $
"A Missouri company has been fined $6,000 for answering a customer's question and not reporting to the federal government that the question was asked. The question that's punished by law is: Are any of these products made in Israel, or made of Israeli materials?