Das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und Korea und Kosmetika: Wenn sich der Aufwand für Ursprungsnachweise lohnt

A buyer in Lyon forwards us a thread with her Korean supplier. Eleven emails over two weeks, and the supplier has finally agreed to "put the FTA statement on the invoice" for an order of serums, sheet masks and a sunscreen. She wants to know whether the wording is right. It is. Every line on that invoice already enters the EU at 0 % duty, and did so long before the agreement existed, so the two weeks bought her nothing.

The EU-Korea agreement has applied since 1 July 2011. For most of what a K-beauty retailer imports it is irrelevant, because the ordinary duty on skincare, makeup and haircare was already zero. It pays on a short list of codes, and on those it pays properly.

The short version

• Skincare, sunscreen, sheet masks, makeup, haircare and toothpaste (HS 3303, 3304, 3305, 3306) show a 0 % third-country duty in TARIC for goods from Korea as of 1 September 2026, so the EU-Korea preference saves nothing on them.
• Deodorants, bath preparations, after-shave and impregnated cosmetic wipes (HS 3307) carry 6.5 % duty and liquid or cream skin cleansers (HS 3401 30) carry 4.0 %; an origin declaration on the invoice takes both to 0 % under the EU-Korea FTA.
• Article 16 of the FTA's origin Protocol lets any exporter self-declare on a consignment worth up to EUR 6,000; above that the Korean exporter needs approved-exporter status and must print its customs authorisation number in the declaration. EUR.1 forms and REX numbers do not exist in this agreement.

Where the agreement earns nothing, and where it earns 6.5 percent

A preferential rate only matters when the standard rate is above zero. Read from TARIC on 1 September 2026 with Korea as country of origin: 3303 (perfume), 3304 (skincare, sunscreen, sheet masks, makeup), 3305 (haircare), 3306 (toothpaste) and 3401 11 (soap bars) all show a third-country duty of 0 %, and the preference under Council Decision 2011/265/EU also shows 0 %. Everything under 3307 carries 6.5 %: deodorants, bath preparations, after-shave, and 3307 90, where impregnated cosmetic wipes and cleansing tissues land. Code 3401 30 00, surface-active products for washing the skin in liquid or cream form, carries 4.0 % and catches a good share of foaming cleansers and body washes.

On a EUR 30,000 consignment of serums and sheet masks the agreement is worth EUR 0. On EUR 30,000 of foaming cleansers in 3401 30 it is worth EUR 1,200, and on EUR 30,000 of deodorants or wipes in 3307 it is worth EUR 1,950, plus the import VAT otherwise charged on that duty. Duty is calculated on the customs value, freight to the EU border included, so the real saving runs slightly higher; the build-up sits in the landed cost breakdown and the VAT side in the import VAT guide.

The catch is classification. A cleansing balm, a cleansing oil, a foaming cleanser and a micellar water can land in 3304 99 at 0 %, 3307 90 at 6.5 % or 3401 30 at 4 % depending on composition, and only a Binding Tariff Information from your customs authority settles it. Settle the code before you chase origin paperwork, because the code decides whether there is anything to save.

What the proof of origin looks like in 2026

The proof is a sentence on a commercial document. Article 15(1) of the origin Protocol grants the preference on the basis of a declaration by the exporter on an invoice, a delivery note or any other commercial document that identifies the goods. No chamber or other body can make it on the exporter's behalf. The wording is fixed in Annex III and reproduced in the email below, followed by place, date and the exporter's handwritten signature, unless the exporter is approved and has given customs a written undertaking, in which case Article 16(5) lets the signature go.

The threshold that matters is EUR 6,000 per consignment. Up to that value any exporter can make the declaration under Article 16(1). Above it the exporter must hold approved-exporter status, granted by the Korea Customs Service, and Article 17(3) puts the customs authorisation number on the declaration itself. An FTA statement above EUR 6,000 with empty brackets is a decoration; your broker will clear at the full rate or come back to you for the number.

A declaration is valid for 12 months from the date it was made out (Article 18(1)). If EU customs later doubt the origin, Article 27 lets them ask the Korean authorities to verify, and if no adequate reply arrives within 10 months the preference is refused. The recovered duty lands on the EU importer, meaning you, possibly years after the shipment. On a 0 % line that liability is nothing. On 3307 lines it is real money.

REX, approved exporter, and the number your supplier actually needs

Korean suppliers sometimes offer a "REX number". The Registered Exporter system belongs to the EU's GSP scheme and to newer agreements such as those with Canada, Japan and Vietnam; the EU-Korea Protocol predates it and has an approved-exporter article instead. What you need above EUR 6,000 is the approved-exporter authorisation number issued by the Korea Customs Service. If the supplier does not have one, the consignment stays under EUR 6,000, or you pay the full duty on the dutiable lines, or you buy those lines from an exporter who is approved. We would usually rather pay 6.5 % on two deodorant lines than split a clean order into three shipments to stay under the threshold.

Buying from a trader, and goods that route through Hong Kong

Most small importers buy from a Korean trading company, not from the factory. The Protocol allows that; Articles 15 and 16 speak of "the exporter" and never require the exporter to be the producer. Two conditions follow. Article 16(3) obliges the exporter to be ready to produce all appropriate documents proving originating status, including statements from suppliers or producers, so a trader who buys finished goods and holds no producer statement cannot lawfully sign, however Korean the brand is. And approval attaches to the exporter, not the factory: a trader without approved-exporter status can self-declare on EUR 6,000 or less, even if the manufacturer is approved. If the invoice comes from the supplier's Hong Kong or Singapore entity, the declaration still has to be made by the exporter on a commercial document covering those goods, and the invoicing entity is usually not the exporter.

Transit itself is allowed. Article 13(1) lets goods pass through a third country with transhipment or temporary warehousing, provided they are not released for free circulation there and undergo nothing beyond unloading, reloading or preservation. In practice that means one through air waybill or bill of lading from Korea to your EU airport or port, and customs may ask to see it. Goods cleared into a Dubai or Hong Kong warehouse and re-exported later have lost the preference.

The decision rule and the email to send

1. Classify every line first. If every line sits in 3303, 3304, 3305, 3306 or 3401 11, do not ask for an origin declaration. It costs goodwill and saves nothing.
2. If any line sits in 3307 or 3401 30, multiply the customs value of those lines by 6.5 % or 4.0 %. Nobody publishes what brokers charge to claim a preference, so ask yours for the fee per declaration and pay the duty if it is lower.
3. If the duty is higher, send this before the proforma is final.

Subject: Origin declaration for order [number], EU-Korea FTA

Hello [name],

Lines [x] and [y] on this order sit in HS 3307 / 3401 30 and carry EU duty, so we will claim preference under the EU-Korea agreement. Before I confirm, three points.

1. Does [company] hold approved-exporter status with the Korea Customs Service? If yes, please send the customs authorisation number. If no, please say so. The consignment value is above EUR 6,000, so without it we cannot claim.

2. Please confirm the commercial invoice will carry this text with the number in the brackets, plus place, date and signature: "The exporter of the products covered by this document (customs authorisation No ...) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of Korea preferential origin."

3. Please confirm that you hold producer statements of origin for these lines and that the goods will travel on one through air waybill from Korea without release in a third country.

The skincare lines on the same order need none of this; their EU duty is already 0 %.

Best regards, [name]

Questions buyers ask

Do I need a EUR.1 certificate for Korean cosmetics?

No. The agreement works on self-certification only, and Access2Markets states that a EUR.1 form will not be accepted as proof of origin. A chamber of commerce certificate of origin does not reduce duty either.

Can I claim the preference after the goods have already cleared at full duty?

The Protocol allows an origin declaration to be made out after export, provided it reaches the importing customs no later than two years after importation. National customs can set a shorter window, so ask your broker how a repayment claim is filed in your country.

Does "Made in Korea" on the box count as proof of origin?

No. The country of origin on the pack is a labelling requirement under Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 for imported cosmetics and applies whatever the duty rate. Preferential origin is proven by the declaration on the invoice, and a product labelled Made in Korea can still fail the Protocol's origin rules if the exporter cannot evidence it.

Sources

• EUR-Lex, Protocol concerning the definition of originating products, EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (2011)
• European Commission, TARIC measure information for 3307 90 00, origin Korea, simulation date 1 September 2026
• European Commission Access2Markets, EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (2026)
• Korea Customs Service, FTA portal, approved exporter (2026)
• EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (2009)

TARIC rates were read on 1 September 2026; the Protocol articles and Access2Markets were read on 2 September 2026. General information, not customs advice.