“The Seminar of Norwegian Generalized System of Preferences” was organized on 12 October 2016, at Mercure Hotel, Vientiane Capital. It was co-chaired by Mr. Xaythideth Inthasone, Deputy Director General of Department of Import and Export, Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Lao PDR, and Ms. Kari Eken Wollebaek, Deputy Head of Mission of the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam. The seminar was attended by forty participants representing public and private sectors, and it was supported by the Norwegian customs.
The objective of this seminar was to create awareness on the Norwegian Generalized System of Preferences among Lao public and private sector in order to enhance their understanding on rules and conditions to obtain preferential treatment for goods exported to Norway. As a Least Developed Country, Lao PDR is entitled to duty free access for all goods exporting to Norway. These goods must be manufactured in Lao PDR in compliance with the rules of origin and must be exported to Norway directly. The presentation of the Norwegian customs official shows that in 2014 Lao products worth 1.3 million dollars were exported to Norway, which included 46% non-knit men’s suits, 27% non-knit men’s shirts, 4.4% vegetables, 3.9 % non-knit active wear, 2.8 % felt or coated fabric garments, 2.6% knit sweaters.
The seminar provided answers to many of the questions arose from both public and private sector on the Norwegian Generalized Preferences. It also informed that Norway is reforming certificate of origin issuance system by joining the EU’s self-certification pilot project under the Registered Exporter System (REX) replacing the issue of certificate by government authority, and it will be implemented on 1 January 2017.
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