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Europe Direct

Europe Direct

Get all the answers to your questions on the EU, in your own European language from the Europe Direct call centre.

Questions about Trade?

This page provides you with the contact points for your questions on European trade matters. Please select one of the tabs below according to your interest.

For enquiries on general European policies, you may want to contact Europe Direct.

General

The Directorate-General for Trade conducts the EU's common policy on trade with countries beyond the EU borders.

This covers, among other things, Trade negotiations with countries outside the EU, improving market access for exporters and importers, ensuring that fair practices are applied to international trade and assessing the environmental and social impacts of trade.

Find the list of meetings of the Director-General.

We often receive enquiries that fall outside the scope of our work, such as questions about trade between EU countries, export/import promotion, import duties and taxation, consumer protection or recruitment in the European Commission.

Therefore we invite you to check on the "Other sources" tab to see whether your question can be better handled by another service of the European Commission.

For general questions on Trade:
Online enquiry form

Send your enquiry on matters related to EU common policy on external trade using our online enquiry form or by postal mail.

Press enquiries

EU Trade Spokesperson

Postal mail :

Information, Communication and Civil Society unit - Trade A3
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

Trade defence

Trade defence includes the defence of European production against international trade distortions such as unfair subsidisation or dumping.

Processing of personal data in investigation-related documents

Documents or details processed during investigations are stored in document management systems named Sherlock and TRON.

The privacy statement pertaining to these applications can be consulted online.

TRON, the platform for electronic communication between interested parties in Trade Defence proceedings and the European Commission. is available here: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI

Visiting address

European Commission
Directorate-General for Trade, Directorate H
Rue de la Loi 170,
B - 1000 Brussels
Belgium

Information Contact Point
Office of Complaints
Helpdesk - Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Mailing address

European Commission
Directorate-General for Trade, Directorate H
(Office CHAR 04/039)
B - 1049 Brussels
Belgium

Support office - Trade actions against EU exporters
Office of Refunds
Hearing officer

The EU Commission uses an independent mediator (Hearing Officer) to guarantee due process and the right of defence in trade proceedings.

Find out more about the role of the Hearing Officer

Enquiries:
Mailing address:

European Commission
Hearing Officer
(Office CHAR 03/133)
B - 1049 Brussels
Belgium

Export information

Whether you're looking to export out of the EU or into it, you'll find useful links and tools on this page.

Exporting from the EU to a country outside the EU

Do you work for, or run, a company in the EU? Are you thinking about exporting to a specific country or region outside the EU? If so then you can get help from

  • the EU's Market Access Database
  • your country's national export promotion agency

Market Access Database

The EU's Market Access Database gives you the information you need to export from the EU to specific countries outside the EU – from the tariffs you'll have to pay at customs to the paperwork you'll need to fill in.

National Export Promotion Agencies

Austria Wirtschaftskammern Österreich (WKÖ)
Belgium Agence wallonne à l'Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers (AWEX), Bruxelles Invest & Export, Flanders Trade
Bulgaria българската агенция за насърчаване малките и средните предприятия
Croatia Izvozni portal
Cyprus Υπηρεσία Εμπορίου    
Czech Republic CzechTrade - Česká agentura na podporu obchodu
Denmark Udenrigsministeriet Eksportrådet
Estonia Ettevõtluse Arendamise Sihtasutus (EAS)
Finland Finpro
France Business France
Germany Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI)
Greece ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ ΕΠΕΝΔΥΣΕΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΞΩΤΕΡΙΚΟΥ ΕΜΠΟΡΙΟΥ
Hungary Hungarian National Trading House, Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency
Ireland Enterprise Ireland
Italy ICE - Agenzia per la promozione all'estero e l'internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane
Latvia Latvijas Investīciju un attīstības aģentūra
Lithuania Versli Lietuva
Luxembourg Luxembourg for Business
Malta Malta Enterprise
Netherlands Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland
Poland Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu
Portugal aicep Portugal Global - Trade & Investment Agency
Romania Centrul Roman pentru Promovarea Comertului si Investitiilor Straine (CRPCIS)
Slovakia Slovenská agentúra pre rozvoj investícií a obchodu
Slovenia SPIRIT Slovenija
Spain ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones
Sweden Business Sweden – The Swedish Trade & Invest Council

Exporting from a developing country into the EU

Based in a developing country? Want to export your product or service to the EU?

Then visit the Trade Helpdesk for exporting to the EU. It's specially designed for businesses like yours.

You'll find all you need to know about the mechanics of exporting to the EU, including:

  • the health, safety and technical standards you need to meet
  • rules of origin – these determine where products are made
  • forms to send with your shipments.
Waste shipments into or out of the EU

For enquiries, submissions or requests concerning waste shipments, please contact:

European Commission
Directorate-General for Trade, Unit D.1
Charlemagne building
Rue de la Loi, 170
B-1049 Bruxelles
Belgium

Customs, quotas, taxation, tariffs, duties and ceilings

For more information on these topics, please visit the European Commission's Taxation and Customs Union website

Other sources

If you are unable to find particular services or information on this website, it could be outside of the Directorate General for Trade's scope of activity. Here are some other commonly requested resources:

Customs, quotas, taxation, tariffs, duties and ceilings
Chambers of Commerce
Internal market
Careers and internships
Promoting trade
Free movement of goods within the EU
Consumer rights within the EU
Access to documents

Citizens and residents of the European Union have the right to access documents from the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission (Article 15 of the Treaty on the functioning of the EU)

In order to facilitate access to documents, an online register has been put in place with reference to Commission documents produced since January 2001 (legislative documents, agendas and minutes of Commission meetings)

To request a copy of an internal (unpublished) document or a document that does not appear in the register, please fill in the document request form.

Scope of the access to documents regulation, limitations and deadlines for handling the requests are all detailed in the guide for the citizens.