Assembly resolves to ratify reviewed Protocol 1 on the Rules of Origin |30 March 2020

The leader of government business Charles de Commarmond, through a motion, resolved the National Assembly to ratify the reviewed Protocol 1 on the Rules of Origin of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement.

In his presentation Mr de Commarmond said the protocol forms part of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement that Seychelles signed with the European Union for preferential trade and it has been amended to reflect developments that have taken place since the ratification of the agreement.

He noted that because the amendments cover several aspects, Parties to the agreement have found it necessary to include the changes in the Protocol and ratify it as a new Protocol 1.

“The decision will benefit the private sector and other actors as they will have only one document to refer to when they are verifying the regulations under this trade agreement between Seychelles and the European Union,” Mr de Commarmond remarked.

He went on to note that Seychelles and three other parties from eastern and southern Africa namely Mauritius, Madagascar and Zimbabwe signed an economic partnership agreement with the EU in 2009, an agreement which Seychelles is implementing since January 2013.

He pointed out that the Comoros island only became a party to the agreement when it was ratified in February last year.

Mr de Commarmond reminded National Assembly members that the agreement which focuses mainly on trade of commodities also include regulations related to the origins of products and commodities.

He pointed out that every now and then the Protocol is amended so that it is updated to reflect and meet the demands and requirements in the development of world trade as identified by both the EU and Seychelles to facilitate and ease trade. The two parties have been discussing the amendments since 2017 before being agreed on in April last year and officially adopted by the implementation committee in a meeting held here in January this year.

Mr de Commarmond noted that the amendments will benefit Seychelles as among them some are related to the harmonisation of the classification and coding system of goods and products, classification of fishing vessels to better determine the origin of fish caught and exported.

Marie-Anne Lepathy