WT/L/936  
 
6 November 2014  
(14-6483)  Page: 1/3  
General Council 
10-11 December 2014 Original: English  
 
 EUROPEAN UNION - APPLICATION OF AUTONOMOUS PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT 
TO THE REPUBLIC  OF MOLDOVA 
REPORT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION UNDER THE DECISION OF 26 NOVEMBER 20131 
The following communication, dated 17 October 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  In 2008, the EU was granted a waiver (WT/L/722; WT/L/903) from its obligations under 
paragraph 1 of Article I of the GATT 1994 to the exte nt necessary to permit the EU to afford duty-
free or preferential treatment to eligible products originating in the Republic of Moldova, without being required to extend the same duty-free or pr eferential treatment to like products of any other 
member. Upon the request of the EU, on 26 Nove mber 2013, the duration of this waiver was 
extended by the WTO for two more years. The waiver applies until 31 December 2015.  
1.2.  Under the terms of this waiver, the EU is required to submit to the General Council an annual 
report on the preferences and duty-free treatmen t afforded to products from the Republic of 
Moldova, including the extent to which such pr eferences and duty-free treatment differ from the 
EU's MFN and GSP concessions, with a view to facilitating the annual review provided for in 
paragraph 4 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement. This report covers the calendar year 2013.  
1.3.  The EU trade regime  vis-à-vis  the Republic of Moldova is currently regulated by the 
Regulation introducing autonomous trade prefer ences for the Republic of Moldova (Council 
Regulation (EC) No. 55/2008). In addition, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area 
(DCFTA), as part of the Association Agreement, is applied on a provisional basis since 
1 September 2014.  
2  AUTONOMOUS TRADE PREFERENCES  2.1.  Before 2008, the EU already had a liberal trade regime towards the Republic of Moldova. 
Indeed, Moldova benefited from the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development 
and good governance under the EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).  
2.2.  On 21 January 2008 the EU Council of Minist ers subjected the Republic Moldova to a special 
preferential trade regime. This regime extended  autonomously the duty-free access to the EU 
market for products originating from the Republic of Moldova even further than under the GSP, by removing all remaining import duties for industri al products and by improving access to the EU 
market for agricultural products (Council Regulation No. 55/2008 amended by Regulation 
No. 1210/2008 of 20 November 2008). The above mentioned Regulation was further amended in 2011 (Regulation (EU) No. 581/2011) with the aim to further liberalise the access to the EU 
market, notably by adjusting the relevant quotas to Moldova’s export potential. The amendment to 
                                               
1 Adopted in accordance with the Decision-Making Procedures under Articles IX and XII of the WTO 
Agreement agreed by the General Council on 15 November 1995 (WT/L/93).   WT/L/936 
 
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  the Regulation introduced in 2013 provided for a fu rther liberalization of trade in wine under the 
Autonomous Trade Preference (Regulation No. 1384/2013). 
2.3.  The main reason for these modifications was that the Republic of Moldova remains the 
poorest country on the European continent and that it was necessary to offer to the Republic of 
Moldova an improved access to the EU's market  to support the development of its economy 
through increased export performance. The general level of imports from the Republic of Moldova in 2013 was a mere 0.01% of all EU imports. In  addition, the EU committed in the 2005 European 
Neighbourhood Action Plan (ENP Action Plan) for the Republic of Moldova to consider granting 
Moldova additional autonomous trade preferences beyond the Generalized System of Preferences, 
provided that Moldova substantially improved its system of controls and certification of origin of goods. In 2006 Moldova reformed its customs legislation and a satisfactory level of implementation 
of the new legislation was reached at the beginning of 2007.  
2.4.  In the framework of the European Neighbourh ood Policy (ENP) and in particular of its Eastern 
Partnership dimension, the Republic of Moldova has made enormous efforts and has adopted an 
ambitious agenda for political association and further economic integration with the EU. These 
efforts were recognised in the conclusion by the EU and the Republic of Moldova of the Association Agreement that includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). The Agreement is 
provisionally applied since 1 September 2014. The WTO was notified about this Agreement and its 
FTA component on 30 June 2014 (WT/REG352/N/1 of 2 July 2014). The autonomous preference regime and the preferences resulting from the DCFTA will co-exist until 31 December 2015. 
3  EU TRADE WITH THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA UNDER THE ATP REGIME IN 2013 
3.1.  The ATP regime has allowed for a gradual increase of EU-Republic of Moldova trade, and in 
particular as regards the increase of Moldovan exports to the EU. In 2013, EU imported from the Republic of Moldova goods to the value of €962 million, or €200 million more than in 2008 when 
the preference was first granted. EU exports to the Republic of Moldova have also increased, 
without any preferential treatment in place, to €2.2  billion or more than €500 million more than in 
2008. Beyond this general trend, the annual pr ogress of trade from 2012 to 2013 has been 
observed as follows. Total trade EU-Republic of Moldova reached €3.2 billion in 2013, or 
€260 million more than in 2012. Year-on-year, the in crease of EU imports from the Republic of 
Moldova in 2013 amounted to 2% (after a shar p growth in 2011 and 2012), whereas exports to 
the Republic of Moldova grew in 2013 by 12.1% year -on-year. The structure of trade, as a whole, 
has not changed over time. In 2013, EU import s from the Republic of Moldova concentrated 
primarily on machinery and transport equipment and other manufactured goods, such as textile 
and clothing as well as on agricultural products. The imports of foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco 
increased by 18.6% year-on-year and of vegetable products by 3.8% It is worth noting that the 
Republic of Moldova intensifies its efforts to be able to export products subject to strict sanitary and phytosanitary requirements in the EU, such as animal products. In this regard, the Republic of 
Moldova obtained an authorization to export eggs  to the European Union, since December 2013. 
The process is ongoing with view to recognizing the Moldovan regime  for other products of animal 
origin (notably aquaculture products). Imports on machinery and transport equipment increased by 23.2% and of miscellaneous manufactured articles by 14.9%. Decline in imports was noted for 
textiles and clothing (by 5.2%) and base metals and articles thereof (by 12.9%).  
3.2.  Statistical annexes are provided to present a detailed description of the EU trade relations 
with the Republic of Moldova for the year 2013.  WT/L/936 
 
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  ANNEX: MOLDOVA 
Population in Mio 3.56  
Area in 1000skm (2013)  33,8  
Gross Domestic Product in BN € (2013) 5.98  
GDP Per Capita in euro (2013)  1,678  
EU 28 TRADE WITH MOLDOVA 
Year IMPORTS 
Rank 2013: 75 EXPORTS 
Rank 2013: 63 TRADE 
BALANCE 
Value  
(Mio €) Share of 
total EU 
imports Value  
(Mio €) Share of 
total EU 
exports Balance of 
trade 
Value (Mio €) 
2005 439 0.04 1,082 0.10 642 
2006 520 0.04 1,185 0.10 665 
2007 732 0.05 1,496 0.12 764 
2008 754 0.05 1,715 0.13 961 
2009 519 0.04 1,246 0.11 727 
2010 585 0.04 1,563 0.12 977 
2011 847 0.05 1,862 0.12 1,015 
2012 944 0.05 2,038 0.12 1,094 
2013 962 0.06 2,284 0.13 1,322 
MAIN PRODUCTS 2013 
EU 28 Imports EU 28 Exports 
SITC Rev.3 
Product 
Groups Value 
(Mio €) Share by 
products 
(%) Share 
of 
totals 
(%) SITC Rev.3 
Product 
Groups Value 
(Mio €) Share by 
products 
(%) Share 
of 
totals 
(%) Balance 
TOTAL  962.3 100.0 0.1 TOTAL  2,284.4 100.0 0.1 1,322.1 
Primary 
products   320.5  33.3 0.0 Primary 
products   629.6  27.6 0.2 309.2  
Agricultural 
products  285.9 29.7 0.2 Agricultural 
products  243.1 10.6 0.2 -42.9 
Fuels and 
Mining Products  34.5 3.6 0.0 Fuels and  
Mining  
Products  386.5 16.9 0.2 352.0 
Manufactures   638.6  66.4 0.1 Manufactures   1,638.6  71.7 0.1 1000.0  
Iron and steel  44.4 4.6 0.2 Iron and steel  30.3 1.3 0.1 -14.1 
Chemicals  5.2 0.5 0.0 Chemicals  275.3 12.1 0.1 270.1 
Other semi-
manufactures  29.3 3.0 0.0 Other semi-
manufactures  225.4 9.9 0.2 196.0 
Machinery and  
transport  equipment  197.1 20.5 0.0 Machinery and  
transport  equipment  788.1 34.5 0.1 591.0 
Textiles  46.9 4.9 0.2 Textiles  130.9 5.7 0.8 83.9 
Clothing  159.1 16.5 0.2 Clothing  33.1 1.4 0.1 -126.0 
Other  
manufactures  156.4 16.3 0.1 Other  
manufactures  155.5 6.8 0.1 -0.9 
Other products  1.5 0.2 0.0 Other products  11.0 0.5 0.0 9.4 
World excluding Intra-EU trade and European Union: 28 members.  
Source: Eurostat (C omext), World Bank. 
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