The accumulation of origin means that a product can be processed from a partner country or can be added to a product from another partner country, but can nevertheless be considered a “product of origin” of that second partner country for the purpose of a specific trade agreement. The Article on Public Procurement (Article 14) contains a revision clause for further liberalisation of public procurement in partner countries. The agreement covers trade in all fish and other seafood (Article 2 and Appendix II). THE EFTA states and Israel grant duty-free access to virtually all imports of fish products. With regard to competition (Article 17), the agreement contains provisions relating to cooperation and the exchange of information with a view to ensuring and facilitating the application of the respective competition laws of the parties. In recent years, the State of Israel has signed a series of trade agreements. The importer of goods from a country with which Israel has signed a trade agreement must verify what are the “rules of origin” that determine whether the product manufactured in that country can benefit from the benefits covered in the specific trade agreement and what documents are needed to obtain the benefit provided by the agreement, which controls a joint committee composed of the STATES of EFTA and Israel , oversees the implementation of the free trade agreement (Articles 26 and 27). THE EFTA states signed a free trade agreement with Israel on 17 September 1992 in Geneva, Switzerland. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1993.
Bilateral agricultural agreements were modernized and extended in Geneva on 22 November 2018. These new agreements will enter into force and replace existing agreements after ratification by the respective EFTA states and Israel. For more information on the new agreements, visit the page below. Israel-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) In April 1985, Israel and the United States reached an agreement on the creation of a free trade area. As part of the agreement, import tariffs between the two countries were phased out. Import duties were completely abolished on 1 January 1995 (the insurance charges – BITHA – are applied to food and agricultural products imported from the United States). Only U.S. products that are imported directly from the United States and have a FORM A certificate of origin are eligible for tariff rebates.
Israel-EFTA Free Trade AgreementOn January 1, 1993, a free trade agreement was signed between Israel and EFTA countries, whose import duties on industrial products were immediately abolished. Only products originating in EFTA countries that are imported directly to Israel from EFTA countries and have a EUR1 certificate of origin or an exporter`s declaration certificate are eligible for a customs rebate. The countries covered by the agreement are listed below: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.