Questions on the GCC free trade agreement

Until now, we had to obtain a certified and legalized certificate of origin for the import of goods into the Gulf states. Is this no longer required?

No, unfortunately not. The individual countries continue to require (in addition to the movement certificate) certified and legalized certificates of origin as well as commercial invoices (as of February 2016).

Which movement certificate should be used? 

Under this agreement as well, the EUR.1 movement certificate can be used.

Can I, as an authorized exporter, issue an origin declaration on the invoice?

 No. This agreement currently does not provide for the possibility of an origin declaration on the invoice — neither for authorized exporters nor for other exporters.

What does the tariff dismantling under the free trade agreement with the Gulf states look like?

For most industrial products, nearly all tariffs on the Gulf states' side will be fully eliminated upon entry into force of the agreement. There is an exclusion list containing a few product groups whose tariffs will not be reduced or will only be reduced five years after the agreement enters into force. Conversely (for imports into Switzerland), all tariffs on industrial products will be fully eliminated upon entry into force of the agreement. All currently available information (tariff dismantling, list rules, etc.) can be found on the EFTA website: EFTA - GCC. The tariff dismantling on food exports, originally scheduled for 01.07.2019 and then postponed to 01.07.2020, has been postponed indefinitely. As a result, the MFN rate (most-favored-nation tariff rate) continues to apply to food imports into the GCC states.