About the Trade Policy and International Agreements Division.

International Activity

Am I exempt from customs tax in the country I’m exporting to? Is the public procurement field open for procurement from Israel? Is a quota imposed on a certain product in the country it’s imported to? Under what conditions can a country take actions against import?  Answers to these questions – and to many others – are available at the Foreign Trade Administration’s Trade Policy and International Agreements Division. The Division handles all matters concerning Israel’s foreign trade policy: initiating new trade agreements, negotiating them and following up on their implementation, collecting information and analyzing regulation in the main trade countries while assisting exporters with any barriers, handling regulation and trade-facilitation issues, participating in international organizations, notably the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), activity pertaining to trade in services, standardization, etc.  

The Division also maintains contact with local governments and utilizes the trade offices operated worldwide by the Foreign Trade Administration.

Export and Trade Agreements

Israel’s trade agreements influence its trade much more than most would think. About 65% of Israel’s foreign trade is to countries or trade blocs with which Israel has trade agreements, creating favorable conditions for Israeli export in some of the most important markets. Israel has free-trade-area agreements with the United States (1985), Canada (1997, upgraded in 2015 and is currently being ratified), Mexico (1999), the European Union (1975, 1995), EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein; 1992), Turkey (1997), the Mercosur Bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay; 2007) and Colombia (2013, currently being ratified by Colombia), and negotiations with the Republic of Panama were concluded in late 2015 (yet unsigned). All these agreements implement a full exemption from customs and quotas (or will implement gradually in the future) for most industrial products, except for food and agricultural products which enjoy more limited benefits. 

These agreements create additional infrastructure for increasing trade, such as cooperation in regulations that prevent trade barriers, rules of fair trade, and transparency. In addition, trade agreements often lead to cooperation in strategic programs, such as Israel’s participation in the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

A number of departments manage the activity according to fields: departments for bilateral agreements , WTO Department, OECD and Corporate Responsibility Department and Trade Links and Service Trade Department.
 
The Division’s main activities in recent years include:

• Upgrading the free trade area (FTA) agreement with Canada.
• Concluding negotiations with Panama.
• Participating in the TiSA negotiations – a multilateral agreement for trade in services.
• Participating in and concluding negotiations for the ITA communications-equipment liberalization agreement.
• Two mutual recognition of communications equipment coming into effect – with the USA and with Canada.
• Negotiating a free trade area agreement with Ukraine.
• Negotiating the upgrade of our agricultural agreement with EFTA.
• Conducting joint preparations for possible negotiations with China, Korea, Vietnam and Russia’s Eurasian Customs Union (EACU).