Legal Framework for Commercial Exchange

At present there is no Bilateral agreement between Japan and Venezuela in the area of Trade, Economics or Investments Promotion and Protection.

Commercial preferences with Venezuela:

Generalized System of Tariff preferences (GSP) Japan

The GSP is an independent commercial policy instrument  towards development. Its goal is to offer developing countries preferential custom tariffs, making market access easier for their products.

The main feature of this kind of system is that tariff preferences are unilateral. This means that the grantor country does not receive the same preferential tariff treatment for its own exports. Moreover, according to the unilaterality concept, criterias determining its adjudication or remotion are determined by the grantor country as well.

Other grantor countries are: Australia, Austria, Canada, United States, Finland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Bulgaria, France, Poland, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Greece, Slovakia, Germany, Portugal, Republic of Bulgaria, Belarus, Russian Federation and New Zealand.

The Framework for GSP Japan started on August 1th 1971, authorized by the Law of Temporary Tariff Measures in order to grant preferences for an initial period of 10 years. The authorization to grant GSP has been renewed three times already: In 1981 for 10 years, in  1991 with validity until March 31, 2001 and again until March 31 2011. This framework grants special entry with tariff exemption for 226 agricultural and fishing products  (with 9 digits in the Harmonized System) and all manufactured products, except 105 numbered items, which are not granted with any preference (petroleum, some textiles, some varieties of wood, some leather and shoes), from 149 developing countries and 15 territories designates as beneficiaries.   Therein Japan grants unilateral preferential access to its market to those products from countries that request preferential treatment. Forty two (42) countries, considered as less advanced (LAC) have rights  for preferential tariffs. These countries are chosen by the Japanese Government among those LAC designated by the United Nations (This preference has been in effect since April 1st 1980). Items covered by this program are selected with consideration to the effect of the GSP over national industries as well as budgetary reasons. As for Termporary Tariff Mesurements, The Government (Finance Ministry, among others) is fully authorized to designate, retire, suspend or limit which countries and products are under the benefits of GSP treatment.