Finland follows EU internal market practices, which define Finland’s trade relations both inside the EU and with non-EU countries. Restrictions apply to certain items, such as products containing alcohol, pharmaceuticals, narcotics, and dangerous drugs, explosives, etc. The import of beef cattle bred on hormones is forbidden. Other restrictions apply to farm products under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). For more details, see the “Agricultural Sector” chapter of this report.
In March 1997, EU commitments required the establishment of a tax border between the autonomously governed Åland Islands and the rest of Finland. As a result, the trade of goods and services between the Åland Islands and the rest of Finland is treated as if it were trade with a non-EU area. The Åland Islands belong to the customs territory of the EU but not to the EU fiscal territory. The tax border separates the Åland Islands from the VAT and excise territory of the EU. VAT and excise are levied on goods imported across the tax border, but no customs duty is levied. In tax border trade, goods can be sold with a tax-free invoice in accordance with the detailed taxation instructions of the Finnish Tax Administration. The Åland Islands tax border creates some opportunity for duty free sales aboard cruise ships and ferries that stop in Åland while transiting between Finland and Sweden.
New or changing technical regulations in different countries can create unnecessary and unjustified technical barriers to trade. The European Commission attempts to prevent the creation of these barriers and help enterprises trade freely with the EU. The Commission manages two notification procedures: the 2015/1535 notification procedure at the EU level and the TBT notification procedure at the WTO level.
The Department of Commerce’s Office of Trade Agreements Negotiations and Compliance (TANC) specializes in working with U.S. businesses to remove unfair foreign government-imposed trade barriers. Businesses can fill out a form found on the TANC website if their business is facing such barriers.
For information on existing trade barriers, please see the USTR’s most recent National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.
For more information and help with trade barriers, please contact:
International Trade Administration
Enforcement and Compliance
+1 (202) 482-0063
ECCommunications@trade.gov
Information on agricultural trade barriers can be found at the following website:
Foreign Agricultural Service