WT/REG280/2  
 
16 April 2018 
(18-2279) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English  
 
COOPERATION AND CUST OMS UNION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN  UNION 
AND THE REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO  
(GOODS)  
QUESTIONS AND REPLIE S 
 The following communication, dated 10 April 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union  and the  Mission of San Marino to the European Union . 
 
_______________  
 
 
Question s from the delegation of China  
 
1.1.  Paragraph 4.5: "The Agreement is silent on the possibility of the Parties to take 
measures generally contained in provisions on security exceptions."  
a. Could the Parties kindly clarify whether it means the scope of the measures 
taken under the security exceptions of the Agreement is more extensive than 
the one under GATT 1994?  
Joint response from the Parties  
 
 The EU law applied within its Me mber States and the international agreements of the EU, 
including the ones establishing customs unions, are in conformity with the rules of GATT 1994, 
including its security exceptions.  
 
 Article 7 of the Agreement states that S an Marino applies, inter ali a, the common 
commercial policy of the Union (Community) in respect of countries not members of the European 
Union (European Community at the time of the Agreement) as well as laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions applicable to customs matters in  the Community and necessary for the 
proper functioning of the customs union. This means that the trade rules and laws applied by 
San Marino in this context are the same as the ones applied within the EU Members states.  
 
b. China would be interested to know whether the Parties have taken any 
measures in accordance with the security exceptions of the Agreement so far. 
Joint response from the Parties  
 
No measure has been taken  between the Parties . 
 
1.2.  Could the Parties kindly explain  whether  the Agreement will still be in force 
between the United Kingdom and San Marino after BREXIT? If it will still be in force, 
how to identify it? For example, does the United Kingdom and San Marino need to 
perform official procedures to continue to apply thi s Agreement? If it will not be in 
force, then w hat are the obvious  differences between the  possible  UK's new tariff 
schedule on goods offered to San Marino  and the EU' s tariff schedule in the Agreement ? 
China is wondering  that whether the possible  UK's new  tariff schedule on goods offered 
to San Marino will  cause substantial impairment of the interests  that San Marino derive s 
under the Agreement?  WT/REG280/2  
 
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  Joint response from the Parties  
 
 The UK, after withdrawal from the EU, will not benefit from the EU 's international 
agreements such as the Customs Union agreement between the EU and San Marino. As far as the 
EU is concerned, it will continue to implement its agreements and honour all of its commitments.  
 
 Given that the customs union is a construct whic h requires a common comm ercial policy 
including harmoniz ed external tariffs and rules of origin, any agreement negotiated by the 
EU's customs union partners with a third country needs to be in line with those provisions of the 
EU trade agreement with that third country. In the case of San Marino, preferential trade 
agreements negotiated by the EU with a given third country are usually extended to the trade in 
goods between that third country and San Marino, by way of respective joint declarations to the 
EU-third country agreement.  
 
Questions from the delegation of Japan  
 
General Provisions of the Agreement  
Relationship with other agreements concluded by the Parties  
 
1.3.  Paragraph 4.11: Besides Mexico, which countries with whom the EU has 
preferential agreements  engaged themselves in such negotiations?  
Joint response from the Parties  
 As stated in the paragraph 4.11, with the exception of the EU -Mexico FTA of 2000, the 
recognition of San  Marino has been successfully negotiated in all recent FTAs concluded by the EU. 
It is also to be noted that the inclusion of Sammarinese goods in the EU -Mexico agreement of 
2000 was renegotiated in 2017 and should come into force in the coming months.  
 Could the EU provide the reason why it faces diff iculty in concluding the 
negotiation with Mexico?  
 
Response from the delegation of the European Union  
 
 The exclusion of Sammarinese goods in the scope of the EU -Mexico agreement of 2000 was 
exceptional and was renegotiated successfully in 2017 as indicate d above.  
 
1.4.  Once a negotiation on behalf  of San Marino is successfully concluded, does the EU 
publish relevant information?  
Joint response from the Parties  
 
 Yes, the EU will publish the relevant information on the eur -lex page, once adopted. The 
decision of the EU -Mexico Joint Committee to amend the annexes by extending the concept 
originating products for Andorra and San Marino has not been yet formally adopt ed. For the time 
being, Japan could refer to the Council decision on the position to be adopted on behalf of the 
European Union within the EU -Mexico Joint Committee that is available on eur -lex:  
 
http://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -content/EN/TXT/?qid=1521472338594&uri=CELEX:32017D0561  
 
1.5.  Can the EU confirm that all Customs Union agreement s to which the EU is a party 
include same provisions which refer to the Dec laration on negotiation on behalf of the 
other party? Could the EU indicate which Customs Union agreements are under the 
scope? Does the EU intend to include that kind of provision in future agreements?  
Joint response from the Parties  
 
 The EU is part of t hree Customs Unions Agreements that differ from each other. In the case 
of Andorra, the EU also negotiates agreements on its behalf but there is not such a declaration as 
for San Marino, while in the case of the EU -Turkey Customs Union, Turkey is obliged t o align to the 
EU`s trade policy including by negotiating free trade agreements with the EU`s FTA partners.   
 WT/REG280/2  
 
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  1.6.  What are the criteria of the scale of trade flows when the EU deems that it so 
warrants?  
Ref: DECLARATION BY THE COMMUNITY  
 
1.7.  Where the scale of trade flows so warrants, the Community is prepared to 
negotiate on behalf of, and for,  the Republic of San Marino with countries with which it 
has concluded preferential agreements for an  appropriate form of recognition of 
equivalent tre atment for products originating in San Marino and  products originating in 
the Community.  
Joint response from the Parties  
 
 The declaration by the Community indicates its preparedness to negotiate on behalf of 
San Marino "where the scale of trade flows so w arrants" but in practice the EU has negotiated on 
behalf of San Marino in all cases.  
 
Question s from the delegation of Turkey  
 
1.8.  Under the heading 3.4.5 customs related issues, it is mentioned that:  
 Paragraph 3.29: San Marino authorizes EU customs offices to act on behalf of, and 
for, San  Marino to carry out customs clearance formalities over a period of five years 
from the entry into force of the Agreement. At the end of this period, the Republic of San 
Marino may exercise its right to carry out customs cl earance formalities, following 
agreement of the Contracting Parties (Article 8).  
 
 The Cooperation Committee decides on the list of the customs offices competent to 
clear goods as well as on the arrangements for assigning to the San Marino Exchequer 
the relevant amounts collected with respect to trade (Art. 8, paragraph 3).  
 
 Could you please provide information on the current situation regarding :  
 
a. certification  procedures (certificates used, authorities of approval and issuance 
etc.) for preferential trade between San Marino and the EU.  
b. San Marino's other FTA partners and the related certification procedures.  
Joint response from the Parties  
 
 In accordance with  Article 2 of the 2002 Agreement on Cooperation and Customs Union 
between the European Economic Community and the Republic of San -Marino (OJ L 84, 28.3.2002, 
p. 43), the customs union covers almost all goods (except coal and steel but there is apparently n o 
trade of such goods between the EU and San Marino) as illustrated in the Factual Presentation.  
 
 There is no "preferential trade " in the EU -San Marino customs union and the principle is the 
same as in the EU -Turkey customs union; it is based on the princ iple of free circulation. Goods are 
in free circulation in the customs union between the EU and S. Marino. In trade between the EU 
and San -Marino, proof that the goods are in free circulation in the customs union is based on the 
use of the internal Union t ransit procedure. The procedures of the internal Union transit 
procedures are publicly available on the web -page of DG TAXUD at the following address 
(pages  229-232):  
 
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/transit_manual_en.pdf  
 San Marino has no FTA. When the EU concludes FTAs with third countries, there is a joint 
declaration at the end of the Origin Protocol providing that products origin ating in the Republic of 
San Marino shall be accepted by the third country concerned as originating in the Community/EU 
within the meaning of the Agreement (or a similar wording).  
 
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  1.9.  Do the EU customs offices still act on behalf of San Marino to carry out customs 
clearance formalities?  
Joint response from the Parties  
 
Article 8 of the 2002 Agreement provides that over a period of five years from the entry into 
force of the Agreement and even beyond if there is n o decision to the contrary, San Marino 
author izes the EU acting on behalf of San Marino to carry out customs clearance formalities. As  
there was no decision from San Marino to carry out itself those formalities, they are carried out by 
the EU. In practice, the import and export formalities are carrie d out by Italian customs offices 
(Article 6 of 'Omnibus ' Decision No 1/2010 of the EU -San Marino Cooperation Committee of 
29 March 2010 establishing various implementing measures for the Agreement on Cooperation and 
Customs Union between the European Econo mic Community and the Republic of San Marino - OJ L 
156, 23.6.2010, p. 13). The list of the Italian customs offices authorised to carry out the import 
formalities is laid down in Annex II of the same 'Omnibus ' Decision No 1/2010 of the 
EU-San Marino Cooper ation Committee. A mechanism was also set up for making available to San 
Marino the amount of customs duties collected by Italian c ustoms offices on behalf of San Marino 
(Annex  III to the "Omnibus " Decision of 2010).  
 
1.10.   Are there any arrangements related to trade between San Marino and Andorra?  
Response from San Marino  
 
There are no trade arrangements between Andorra and S an Marino.  
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