The Key Terms of Customs Regulations in Europe
Decode regional and industry-specific terms in Europe customs
If you're interested in importing or exporting goods to or from Europe, customs regulations are going to be an unavoidable hurdle. Along with those regulations comes another hurdle--the unique jargon and key terms associated with international trade.
You also may find yourself dealing with terms specific to e-commerce, which is increasingly common throughout the world. Whether you're trying to navigate through e-commerce or direct customs regulations in Europe, key terms and words can be demystified by the following:
- Consult tables of acronyms and standards you may encounter while dealing with or researching customs regulations in Europe.
- Define general trade terms that may be used by European customs regulations officials.
- Hook up with industry specific terms that may help you navigate the European customs regulations.
Find definitions for acronyms you may need to deal with customs in Europe
When dealing with international trade acronyms, you may find that the letters have been switched around because of differences in how the organization names are constructed in various languages. So if you're trying to find a particular acronym but haven't had any luck locating it, try searching for the same letters in a different combination.
Try:
Gatti & Associates lists a wide variety of acronyms that relate to international trade, including the ISO or IOS. The ISO Standards Glossary provides an index to help you sort through which standards relate to which items, and is worth a visit since you're so likely to encounter ISO standards in many trade goods.
Seek out key terms for European import regulations and export regulations
If you're feeling a little lost in the overflow of customs-specific terms, start with basics like defining customs itself--the government entity that monitors the flow of good, commodities and substances in and out of the country and levies monetary fines and fees in accordance with its regulations. You may also encounter the words "European import duties" or "tariffs", which both mean the same thing: fees or a fee schedule associated with goods being imported or exported from the EU.
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The Europa glossary contains terms relating to the EU's institutions and activities including imports and exports, while SCiNet provides a listing of international trade terms, goods and services in four languages--English, Spanish, French and German--that are useful for trading with the European Union.
Identify industry-specific terms you'll need to understand EU customs regulations
Did you know that "green box policies" don't so much apply to celery as to policies such as food security stocks and disaster payments that aren't subject to reduction commitments under the Agreement on Agriculture, which was established as part of the Uruguay Round agreement?
Try:
AgricultureLaw.com provides a dictionary of agriculture terms that may be useful in the international trade industry. Eyefortransport shares a useful glossary of terms relating to e-commerce.
- Be aware that Spanish, British and French customs regulations--plus those of any number of other countries in the EU--may have additional rules beyond those imposed by the EU as a general entity. So always investigate customs regulations both for the EU and for the specific country of destination.
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