The European Union has established temporary trade-liberalisation measures applicable to certain products originating in the Republic of Armenia from 10 October 2026 for a period of two years through Regulation (EU) 2026/2269 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The aim of this measure is to facilitate the diversification of Armenian exports and strengthen the country’s economic resilience within the framework of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.
What does the Regulation liberalise?
The new regime temporarily suspends or reduces EU import duties on Armenian products covered by the Regulation and, according to the Council, liberalises around 80% of Armenia’s exports to the Union.
The liberalisation measures are divided between two annexes:
- Annex I, providing an exemption from ad valorem duties without a quantitative limit; and
- Annex II, providing an exemption from ad valorem duties within tariff quotas.
Article 1 of the Regulation exempts only “ad valorem import duties” and does not refer to specific duties; the exemption therefore does not apply to the latter.
The list in Annex I is extensive, but it can be summarised in the following groups. For a specific product, the CN code should always be checked against the relevant Annex and the EU TARIC database.
Annex I: exemption from ad valorem duties without a quota
Agri-food products (main groups)
- Live animals and meat: live equidae (horses, asses and mules), rabbits and pigeons. Horse meat and offal. Frozen poultry livers. Other meat and offal, except subheading 0208 40 20.
- Dairy products, eggs and honey: flavoured yoghurt and fermented milk, or products containing fruit or cocoa. Dairy spreads. Eggs of birds other than poultry. Natural honey.
- Fish and crustaceans (Chapter 3), live plants and flowers (Chapter 6), and coffee, tea and spices (Chapter 9): entire chapters.
- Vegetables: most of Chapter 7 (potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbages, lettuces, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, courgettes, etc.).
- Fruit and nuts: nearly all of Chapter 8 (nuts, dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, melons and watermelons, apples, berries, kiwifruit, persimmons, etc.), as well as frozen and provisionally preserved products. Citrus fruit (ex 0805) is subject to seasonal windows.
- Fats and oils: nearly all of Chapter 15, including vegetable oils, animal fats and margarine.
- Prepared products: preserved meat and fish (1601 to 1605, in part), confectionery, cocoa (Chapter 18), preparations of cereals and pastry products (Chapter 19), and a large part of Chapters 20 and 21.
- Beverages (ex Chapter 22): included, with exceptions. Subheadings 2204 10 11 to 2204 30 10, heading 2207 and subheading 2208 40 are excluded.
- Other products: quinoa, potato flour, inulin, tobacco and tobacco substitutes (Chapter 24), animal feed and dog and cat food (2309).
Industrial products
- Chemicals: most of Chapters 28 and 29, fertilisers, cosmetics and perfumery (Chapter 33), soaps (Chapter 34), plastics (Chapter 39), rubber (Chapter 40), and ex Chapters 38 and 32.
- Leather, wood and textiles: hides and skins, leather articles (Chapter 42), fur skins, wood and cork (Chapters 44 and 45), silk, cotton and most of Chapters 50 to 63 (ex 51). Footwear and headgear (Chapters 64 and 65).
- Metals and other products: glass, ceramics, jewellery (Chapters 68 to 71), ferro-alloys (7202), ex Chapter 73 (iron and steel), copper, ex aluminium, lead, ex zinc, ex Chapter 81 and certain nickel products.
- Machinery and manufactured goods: Chapters 82 to 92 (tools, machinery, electrical equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, instruments, watches and clocks, musical instruments), furniture (Chapter 94), toys and sports equipment (Chapter 95), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (Chapter 96).
- Mineral fuels: the whole of Chapter 27.
Annex II: exemption within a tariff quota (tonnes per calendar year)
The first quota period runs from the date of entry into force until 31 December 2026. The Commission manages the quotas in accordance with Articles 49 to 54 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.
Once the volume has been exhausted, the normal tariff applies.
The table below lists he products subject to quota:
| Product | CN code | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Cucumbers and gherkins | 0707 00 | 6,500 |
| Grapes, fresh or dried (including raisins) | 0806 | 5,000 |
| Pears (other than perry pears in bulk, 1 Aug–31 Dec) | 0808 30 90 | 750 |
| Apricots | 0809 10 00 | 7,000 |
| Cherries (other than sour cherries) | 0809 29 00 | 2,000 |
| Peaches and nectarines | 0809 30 | 3,500 |
| Plums | 0809 40 05 | 1,500 |
| Strawberries | 0810 10 00 | 2,500 |
The reductions may be claimed for goods declared for release for free circulation from 10 October 2026, provided that all substantive requirements are met at that time and a valid proof of origin is available.
Documentary evidence of the Armenian origin
The tariff reduction may be applied only to products having Armenian preferential origin in accordance with the rules of origin governing relations between the EU and Armenia.
Proofs of origin to be provided by the importer
Under Regulation (EU) 2026/2269, the preference must be claimed using a proof of preferential origin issued or made out in accordance with the rules of origin applicable between the EU and Armenia. This may take the form of:
- a movement certificate EUR.1; or
- an origin declaration on an invoice or another commercial document made out by the exporter (or, where the value exceeds EUR 6,000, by an approved exporter); or
- an origin declaration on an invoice or another commercial document made out by a REX exporter, which the final paragraph of Article 2 also permits as an alternative proof of origin to the other two.
How to claim the reduction in H1
Although Regulation (EU) 2026/2269 establishes all three possibilities as evidence of the Armenian origin of the goods, the EU has so far confirmed acceptance only of the first two, declared in H1 using the following Supporting Document codes:
- movement certificate EUR.1, code N954;
- origin declaration on an invoice or another commercial document made out by the exporter (or, where the value exceeds EUR 6,000, by an approved exporter), code N864.
The preference code to be entered in H1 is 300, as applicable to this type of preferential arrangement.
Conditions and safeguards
The regime includes mechanisms enabling action if imports cause or threaten to cause adverse effects for Union producers.
In addition, the granting of preferences is conditional on compliance with the requirements laid down in the Regulation and on the effective operation of administrative cooperation on origin.
Further information
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2269 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 October 2026 on temporary trade-liberalisation measures applicable to certain products originating in the Republic of Armenia
- EU DG TRADE – The EU and Armenia
- EU PRESS NEWS – Commission to grant temporary trade preferences to support Armenian exports to the EU
- Armenia: Council adopts temporary trade measures to reduce import tariffs