Glossary

South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and The Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994.

Its full members are

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

Venezuela is a full member as well but has been suspended since December 1, 2016.

Associate countries are

• Bolivia
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Guyana
• Peru
• Suriname

Observer countries are New Zealand and Mexico. The bloc has reduced tariffs on trade between those countries by up to 90%.

Initial name of the World Organisation for Animal Health, which addresses international standards concerning animal health.

OCTs are administrative units spreading from the Poles to the Tropics, associated with the European Union. All are islands, of which three have no permanent population.

Although small in either size or population, or both, due to their constitutional relationships with Denmark, France and the Netherlands, the OCTs play an important role as outposts of the Union in the areas where they are located, but do not, however, form part neither of the EU territory, nor of the EU single market.

The PEM Convention on rules of origin aims at establishing common rules of origin and cumulation among 25 Contracting Parties (the EU, EFTA, Balkan countries, Southern and Eastern neighbourhood FTA partners) and the EU to facilitate trade and integrate the supply chains within the zone.

The list of the PEM Contracting Parties

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants - Intergovernmental organisation with headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland), established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. It aims to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society.

Trade defence instruments are used to restore fairness and a level playing field when imports of a given product from a third country enter the EU at artificially low prices thereby harming the European manufacturing industry. They allow for additional duties to be added to imports into the EU when unfair trade is taking place.

Trade Defence instruments can only deal with low import prices if such prices are dumped, subsidized or if they trigger a sharp and unforeseen surge of imports.
Trade defence measures affect only around 1 % of the EU’s total import volumes.

The EU’s trade defence legislation, in line with World Trade Organisation rules, comprises instruments for:
• anti-dumping
• anti-subsidy
• safeguards

Intergovernmental organisation that regulates international trade between nations.