HC Deb 10 May 2002 vol 385 cc391-2W
Tony Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what favourable trading terms accrue to Israel through its agreements with the European Union. [54728]

Ms Hewitt

There is reciprocal free trade under the EU/Israel Association Agreement. Subject to the terms of that Agreement, manufactured goods may be traded in each direction free of duties and quotas and there are also preferences on agricultural products.

Tony Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what trading benefits accrue to(a) Israeli settlers in the occupied territories and (b) the Palestinian Authority through agreements with the European Union. [54729]

Ms Hewitt

The trading benefits of the EU/Israel Association Agreement apply to goods originating in the European Union and the State of Israel. The UK, along with the rest of our EU partners and the wider international community, does not consider the Occupied Territories to be covered by the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The EU has insisted in its discussions with the Israeli authorities that the territorial scope of the EU-Israel Association Agreement must be respected. In this respect, the European Commission published in November 2001 a notice to importers in the Official Journal of the European Communities alerting EU importers to the ineligibility of products originating in the Occupied Territories for the preferences provided under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Under the terms of the 1997 Interim Association Agreement between the EU and the Palestine Liberation Organisation for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority, industrial goods from the territory of the Palestinian Authority enter the EU duty and quota free. There are also preferences on agricultural products. Unlike the arrangements with Israel however there is no requirement for the Palestinian Authority to offer reciprocal market access for EU goods.