A territorial import ban is a sanction that prohibits goods because of where they were produced - not the whole country they come from, but a specific territory within it. It is an origin rule used as a restriction: if the goods originate in the banned territory, they may not be imported, whatever they are and whoever is trading them.
A territorial import ban is unusual in three ways:
The EU's territorial measures rarely go as far as a full import ban. Two currently do, both tied to the situation in Ukraine:
Because the ban is defined by origin, the way past it is to prove origin - to show the goods do not come from the banned territory. Two things have to be right.
There is a useful overlap. On many routes the same origin proof that clears a territorial ban is also what claims a tariff preference. One EUR.1 or origin declaration can do both jobs at once - unlock a lower duty and show the goods fall outside the ban. Get the preferential proof wrong and the preference is lost; if customs then doubts the origin, the importer has to show by other evidence that the goods are outside the ban.
Question to Smart Taric AI: "Import honey 0409 00 00 from UA to EU". For natural honey, commodity code 0409 00 00, from Ukraine, Smart Taric AI shows both layers on one screen. On duty, the third-country rate is 17.3 % (Regulation 2204/99), but a preferential tariff quota brings it to 0 % for goods of Ukrainian origin (quota order number 096701, Regulation (EU) 2020/1988). On the sanctions side, two territorial bans apply by origin:
The same origin proof that unlocks the 0 % quota is also what clears these bans. Get it wrong, and the importer can lose the preference, be caught by the ban, or both. Try Smart Taric AI.
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