By Manal Abdel Fattah
The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, Economic Sector – Arab Economic Integration Department, will hold the thirteenth meeting of the Technical Committee for Arab Rules of Origin, during the period January 16-18, 2024, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. 18 Arab countries, members of the region, will participate in the meeting’s activities. Great Arab Free Trade.
In view of the expertise and practical experience of some of the Arab countries that are members of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area regarding the “certified source” system, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Morocco will present during the meeting activities their practical experience regarding the certified source from the standpoint of exchanging information and sharing best practical practices. Between Arab countries to maximize the benefit from these experiences and learn closely about the approved source system and the advantages that will accrue to countries if implemented, which will be clearly reflected in facilitating the movement of trade between Arab countries.
The “Approved Exporter” system is a system that grants exporters who have the requirements stipulated in the executive procedures of the approved exporter to replace the issuance of certificates of origin within the framework of preferential trade agreements, or with a commercial invoice or any other commercial document, with an agreed-upon statement proving the origin. Preferential goods and granting this source a number with special codes so that each approved source has its own number, and the commercial document in which the phrase and the number of the approved source are recorded is treated as a document proving its origin.
The review of the general provisions of the Arab rules of origin for Arab goods will also be completed based on the observations and views of the Arab member states of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, which is a permanent item on the agenda of the committee’s meetings until the final review of the provisions is completed, as the review has been completed about 90%. Of the general provisions, the remaining items will be discussed in preparation for submitting them to the Economic and Social Council for consideration of adoption.
