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How to read the sheet

What each part says, and what it does not

The sheet has eleven blocks, always in the same order. Each one opens with the answer in one or two sentences, then the detail, and at the end the source with its link and the state of the figure. If you only read one thing, read block 0.

The colours

Green

Settled. There is nothing to prepare on that point.

Amber

There is something to comply with or prepare, and it depends on the case. A formality, a date.

Red

Not possible today, or something stands in the way. The quota used up, the line excluded.

Grey

No data. It does not mean all is well.

Grey is the one that matters. It does not make the overall colour of the sheet worse, but it does not say there is no problem either. The link in the block leads to where the answer is.

The blocks

  1. Block 0, Verdict

    One sentence with the duty paid today and what to do about it. Its colour is the worst of blocks 2 to 7.

  2. Block 1, Classification

    The product in the three nomenclatures (the Mercosur NCM, the EU Combined Nomenclature and the Harmonized System). The sheet is built on the EU line, which is the one the importer declares.

  3. Block 2, Duty and schedule

    The duty paid today on entry, the duty on each 1 January to come, what that means in euros on a given shipment, and the export duty Argentina charges, which the agreement also regulates.

  4. Block 3, Quota

    If there is a tariff-rate quota, how much is left, when the next period opens and the order number used to claim it.

  5. Block 4, Origin

    The Annex 3-B rule for the heading, in plain words, a short questionnaire on the materials used, and the three years in which the traditional certificate of origin is still accepted.

  6. Block 5, Requirements

    Whether the product may enter, with which documents and under which name. Border control, the phytosanitary certificate and what it must declare, EU product requirements, labelling rules and protected names.

  7. Block 6, Authorisations

    For products of animal origin, whether Argentina is on the list of countries authorised for that category, and what the exporting establishment still needs. If the product is not of animal origin, the block says so in one line and does not count towards the overall colour.

  8. Block 7, Cross-cutting

    The rules that can stop a shipment for reasons that have nothing to do with the duty (deforestation, the carbon border mechanism and safeguards).

  9. Block 8, Destination

    The little that changes by country, which is the labelling language, VAT and local formalities. The duty, the quota and the rule of origin are the same in all twenty-seven.

  10. Block 9, EU market

    How much the Union imports of the line from outside the Union, how much it buys from Argentina, at what average price, from which countries and which Member States import it. It comes from Eurostat and is context only, so it does not change the overall colour.

  11. Block 10, What to do, in order

    The steps, put together from what the blocks above say. If the health certificate appears, it is because the line is on the list.

Where each figure comes from

At the foot of each block, in each row and in the table at the end, every figure carries one of three states.

  • Confirmed. It comes from an official source. The label names it and, when there is one, the date (for example, «Source: Annex 3-B to the agreement»).
  • Check. It depends on the case. It may be a category to choose, a questionnaire to answer or a requirement that has to be met.
  • No data. It is not on the sheet. The link leads to where to find it.

Try it with a product

Or read what the agreement is first.