International Standards

Developing countries are becoming increasingly important trading partners for Finland. In recent years, imports from developing countries have outstripped the growth of imports from developed countries by a significant margin. A growing demand for new products and services opens up opportunities for both small and large exporters from developing countries. At the same time, Finnish consumers are concerned about product safety, environmental sustainability, and decent working conditions, and require that producers and service providers adhere to a high quality and ethical standards. 

Finland is a Member State of the European Union and a relatively small country, which can be a good stepping-stone for aspiring exporters to the wider European markets. Regulations and practices in Finland and the European Union are to a large extent harmonized.

Product Safety

There are also plenty of technical standards on product requirements. Each EU Member State has national standards bodies, but since all national standards have the same origin, the standard text obtained in Finland is valid in other EU countries and vice versa. If the production includes chemicals, it is ne-cessary to study the EU regulation on chemicals and their safe use. The Directive (EC 1907/2006) is called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances) and its aim is to improve the protection of human health and the environment. Manufacturers and importers will have greater responsibility to manage the risks from chemicals and to register required information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, Finland. Manufacturers, importers and distributors must cooperate to provide consumers with the necessary information on product safety either by labelling the product or giving clear usage instructions. Importers and distributors need to monitor the safety of the products they are selling, and take the necessary measures to avoid threats. This can mean withdrawing the product from the market, informing consumers, recalling products that have already been supplied to consumers, etc.  The national market surveillance authorities in the EU have established a European network RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for all dangerous products except for food, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The EU Commission publishes a weekly overview on RAPEX notifications.

Food Safety

As food safety is a very important issue in Europe, food products are governed by an extensive set of regulations. The latest general framework, which has been implemented in all EU Member States and has led to a complete harmonisation, is the Food Law Regulation EC178/20027. The food law aims at ensuring a high level of protection of human life and health with due regard for animal health and welfare, plant health and the environment. This integrated "from-farm-tofork" approach is considered a general principle for the EU food safety policy. The legislation concerning food will be continuously developed. Product requirements cover such areas as contaminants, maximum residue levels, hygiene (EU Food Hygiene Regulations EC852, 853 and 854/2004 and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems), irradiation, labelling and much more, depending on the product. For example, food products of animal origin must come from an establishment approved by the EC, special health certificates are required, and the products are inspected and tested upon arrival and need to be approved before being released.

Foodstuffs sold as ”organic” must comply with the EU regulations (EEC2092/91) and be certified by an independent body and labelled accordingly. The special requirements to exports of organic products from developing countries are laid down in Council Regulation EC1788/20018.

Packaging And Labeling

The main aim of packaging is to ensure that the original quality and hygiene of the product will last until it reaches the consumer. There are also a number of legal requirements for packaging and labelling different goods depending on whether they are destined for industrial or consumer use. Again, the purpose is to protect consumer health and safety and provide them with relevant information about the products. A group of EU Directives (framework regulation EC 1935/2004)9 specify, which materials, types of plastic and cardboard can be used in packaging in direct contact with foodstuffs. Packaging Directive10, contains provisions on the prevention of packaging waste, on the re-use of packaging and on the recovery and recycling of packaging waste – the importer is responsible for implementing this directive. There is also a Directive on Textile Names11 laying down rules for the compulsory labelling of textiles as well as numerous directives on food labelling, countryof-origin labelling etc.

Rules Of Origin

To benefit from preferential treatment, the export product must originate from a country covered by a free trade arrangement or a preferential arrangement. A product is generally considered as originating from a beneficiary country, if it is wholly obtained or sufficiently processed in that country. If it contains elements from other countries or is processed partially elsewhere, the rules of origin define the origin of the product. Countries belonging to certain groups: ASEAN (South East Asia), SAARC (South Asia) and the Andean Community (in South America) have the right to use material from other countries in their group without losing the country of origin status. In some cases, exports from LDCs, EPA countries or OCTs to the EU can be granted relaxation of the rules of origin. To prove that the rules of origin are fulfilled, the exporter has to provide the necessary documentation: for the GSP treatment Form A certificate of origin or an invoice declaration for smaller consignments, and for other preferential treatment regimes mainly EUR.1 certificate or an invoice declaration. The EU Commission is expected to renew the Rules of Origin when deciding on the GSP for 2009-2012. This may lead to some changes to what has been explained above. The EU export helpdesk also provides information on the rules of origin.

CONTACTS

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Development Policy Information Unit

Street address: Kanavakatu 4 a, 00160 Helsinki

Postal address: Box 176, 00161 Helsinki

Telephone: + 358 9 1605 6370

Telefax: + 358 9 1605 6375

Exchange: + 358 9 16005

E-mail: keoinfo@formin.fi  

Internet: http://formin.finland.fi