Armenia`s Ministry of Economy to allocate AMD 15bln to compensate for  customs duties paid by processing enterprises for exports EU  countries, UK

ArmInfo. The of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Such benefits will be in effect until the end of 2026. According to Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, the program will show an annual growth of 15-20%.

The beneficiaries of the latter can be all processors, except for  those operating in the production of cigarettes, oil products and  jewelry. Compensation from the state will be equal to the amount of  customs duties paid in the direction of the EU and the United  Kingdom. The program was launched, according to the minister, in order to  level out the difficulties that companies that previously used the  GSP+ trade preference system had to face when exporting to these  destinations.

He emphasized that this program is not about developing one market at  the expense of another, but about strengthening the position of  Armenian producers in the European market and ensuring a stable  presence.

According to the RA Statistical Committee, the volume of trade  between Armenia and the EU countries decreased by 11.7% in  January-December 2024, amounting to $2.3 billion. At the same time,  export volumes for the year decreased by 13.8% to $611.6 million,  against the background of an 11% decline in imports to $1.7 billion.  In total, the EU countries account for 7.7% of Armenia's total  foreign trade.

According to the results of 2021, when Armenian exporters were still  using the GSP+ trade preference system, the share of EU countries in  the overall structure of trade turnover accounted for 18.9%.  Armenia's trade turnover with the United Kingdom in January-December  2024 amounted to $98.9 million, with an annual decrease of 12.6%. At  the same time, exports decreased by 58.2% to $2.4 million, against  the background of a 10% decrease in imports to $96.5 million.