Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., November 03, 2009 Cheshvan 16, 5770 | | Israel Time: 13:22 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Israeli goods await export to Gaza in 2009. Limor Edrey
Share |
Last update - 10:44 01/11/2009
EU court: No customs breaks for Israeli goods from settlements
By Ora Coren
Tags: israel news, european union 

Israeli goods produced in West Bank settlements are not eligible for customs benefits in the European Union, stated an advocate general of the European Court of Justice last week.

Israel and the EU have a free-trade agreement that gives Israeli exports substantial customs breaks.

The advocate general's non-binding opinion, if followed, could mean that goods produced in the territories may be saddled with full customs duties.
Advertisement

The opinion, submitted in a case in Germany brought by water purification firm Brita in 2002, could serve as a precedent in the EU. The company was ordered to pay 19,155 euros in customs for equipment it imported from the Israeli firm Soda Club, whose factory is in the West Bank.

German customs authorities asked Israeli authorities whether the goods were produced in the territories, and when no answer was received, Brita was ordered to pay customs duties.

Brita then appealed the decision to the German court system, and the Finance Court in Hamburg requested advice on the matter from European Union legal authorities.

In the past, EU authorities have ruled that the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem are also part of the "occupied territories," but in this case, the advocate general said his opinion referred only to the West Bank and Gaza.

Currently, for goods from the territories to receive customs breaks, they must bear a certificate issued by the Palestinian Authority.

The disagreement with the EU over Israeli exports from the territories has been going on for a long time. At one point, the EU threatened sanctions against all Israeli exports if an agreement was not reached. However, Israel refused to label or otherwise differentiate products from the settlements.

Five years ago, Israel and the EU agreed that all exports would be labeled with the place of manufacture, or the factory's zip code, and the EU customs authorities would then decide whether to levy customs.

Israeli exports to the EU totalled $17.8 million in 2008, of which only a tiny fraction were from the territories. However, Der Spiegel recently reported that a third of Israeli exports to Europe are made in part or in full in the territories.

Related articles:
  • Belgium to stop exporting 'arms that bolster the IDF' to Israel
  • Norway university to vote next month on boycott of Israel
  • European official: Economic boycott of Israel is 'not justified'
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Obama? No thanks
    Why, despite high percentages of support for peace, do most Israelis dislike Obama?
    Oshrenko killer found
    Man killed three generations of Rishon Lezion family after they fired him from their restaurant
      1.   observation 04:49  |  potobac 01/11/09
      2.   Tainted Goods! 04:59  |  Raphael 01/11/09
      3.   the last paragraph here suggests israel is cheating 05:06  |  eric 01/11/09
      4.   This is a good way to deal with Israel 07:01  |  Don Boston 01/11/09
      5.   eric #3 `the last paragraph...` 07:12  |  Colin Wright 01/11/09
      6.   West Bank 07:35  |  Freddy 01/11/09
      7.   stupid action -- look who gets hurt 08:07  |  rehovot 01/11/09
      8.   The goods on the settlements are: it`s land piracy. Boycott now! 09:01  |  Ivar 01/11/09
      9.   message 09:04  |  Michael 01/11/09
      10.   Anti-Semitic boycott 09:20  |  nadav 01/11/09
      11.   EU Hypocrisy 09:30  |  Makevet 01/11/09
      12.   Makevet and Rehovot 11:14  |  sylvie 01/11/09
      13.   Steling and lying 12:48  |  Jo 01/11/09
      14.   a strange matter as the eu is part of the un 13:22  |  vhardman 01/11/09
      15.   nadav 10 13:40  |  potobac 01/11/09
      16.   #14: On which planet do you live? 13:57  |  Ruth 01/11/09
      17.   Total Israeli exports $17.8 million is of course, very wrong! 15:26  |  S 01/11/09
      18.   to Potobac 18:03  |  nadav 01/11/09
      19.   # 6 freddy 18:58  |  Axel 01/11/09
      20.   # 10 nadav 19:00  |  Axel 01/11/09
      21.   The writing on the Wall 19:20  |  Arieh Zimmerman 01/11/09
      22.   # 11 makevet 19:23  |  Axel 01/11/09
      23.   #17 one third is very much possible, "S" 22:08  |  eric 01/11/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Date Local Jewish Singles
    Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    More Headlines
    13:04 MI chief: Hamas missiles can strike Tel Aviv
    12:46 U.K., France want Israel, PA to probe Goldstone war crimes claims
    12:51 Abbas tells Obama envoy he's adamant on settlement freeze
    11:47 Despite shady past, alleged killer of Rishon family allowed to make aliyah
    13:18 ANALYSIS / PA fury over U.S. policy on settlements paid off
    12:33 Petah Tikva man arrested for alleged rape of 10 children
    12:44 Memo to Jewish haters of Liberals: The Middle Ages are over
    13:04 Shin Bet suspects Jewish terrorist behind more murders
    10:04 TV ROUND-UP: Grisly murder of Rishon family solved; Ex-spy gunned down in Moscow
    06:58 Clinton says nuclear proposal to Iran `will not change`
    13:02 Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei lambasts U.S. as 'really arrogant power'
    11:03 IDF executes largest-ever terror attack simulation
    06:46 Why do Israelis dislike Barack Obama?
    04:26 Flying from Tel Aviv to London just got cheaper
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved