How to export your product to the European Union: A workshop on support and information for Lebanese businesses
The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon organised today the workshop "How to export your product to the European Union" that gathered Lebanese private sector stakeholders and key experts from the European Commission and the European External Action Service. The workshop took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Beirut.
The workshop aimed at informing Lebanese private sector representatives on the procedures and rules to follow when exporting their goods to the European Union, and at engaging them in a dialogue about the various needs and challenges of Lebanese businesses.
In her opening remarks, Ambassador Christina Lassen, Head of the EU Delegation, highlighted that "the EU attaches great importance to further facilitate trade with Lebanon," underlining that "the trade volume between the EU and Lebanon has not yet reached its full potential.” Ambassador Lassen assured: "We stand ready to assist Lebanon in increasing its exports to the EU, particularly through supporting the enhancement of the quality of export products.”
The workshop was also an opportunity to present a key information and resource tool - the “EXPORT HELPDESK” database. The EU is the world's largest single market and the EXPORT HELPDESK is the online portal to access it. In just a few clicks companies can find the EU tariffs, requirements, preferential arrangements, quotas and statistics relating to imports from trade partner countries.
Following the presentation of the EXPORT HELPDESK, the new “Private Sector Development Programme” for Lebanon, which is funded by the EU with €15 million, was introduced (by Virginie Cossoul, Trade and Economic Attaché at the EU Delegation). The programme aims at enhancing the quality of Lebanese products through value chain support. Quality improvement, product development, agricultural practices strengthening, and access to finance and business linkages are among its key activities.
Support to economic development, including to imports substitution and trade development, is at the heart of EU assistance to Lebanon. For the EU, it is important to be in direct dialogue with the Lebanese private sector to understand where the challenges are and to further support the Lebanese economic ecosystem.