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Following the completion of the respective approval procedures, the EU-Norway agreement on additional trade preferences for agricultural products has been formally concluded and will enter into force on 1 January 2012.
This agreement results from the EEA Agreement which provides for regular reviews of conditions of trade in agricultural products in view of progressive liberalisation. It will allow EU exporters to reinforce their position on the Norwegian market. The additional liberalisation represents roughly 20% of the current value of EU exports to Norway. When taking into account already existing bilateral preferences, around 60% of EU exports to Norway will be completely liberalised (in terms of trade value).
The main features of the agreement are as follows:
Concessions granted by Norway to the EU: Additional full liberalisation representing roughly 20% of the EU exports to Norway, or €250 million; New tariff quotas, in the meat sector (600 tonnes for swine meat, 800 t for poultry and 900 t for bovine meat)); Additional tariff quotas concerning cheese (2700 t), cereals (durum wheat 5000 t, maize 10 000 t, rye 1000 t), fruit & vegetables (strawberries 300 t, potatoes 3000 t, lettuce 400 t), meat products (sausages 200 t, ham 200 t, bacon crisp 100 t, meatballs 50 t) and juices (apple 1000 t, bilberry 200 t, blackcurrant 150 t). The trade value is estimated at around €50 million.
Thursday November 17, 2011/ European Commission/ European Union. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do
