Includes the barriers (tariff and non-tariff) that U.S. companies face when exporting to this country.

Greece maintains nationality restrictions on a number of professional and business services, including legal advice.  These restrictions do not apply to EU citizens, and U.S. companies avoid these barriers when partnering with Greek or EU businesses.   Through Law 3693/2008, Greece harmonized its regulation of auditing services with European Directive 2006/43/EC.  Audits can now be performed by any company/auditor, regardless of nationality, with the appropriate license.  Licenses can be obtained without taking exams.  Law 3919/2011 further liberalized some of the remaining restrictions on the auditing profession, specifically the minimum fees imposed by Presidential Decree 341/1997.  Auditors are now free to set fees with the interested party.
 
A special tax (percentage on admission tickets) that applied to motion pictures (12% in Athens and Thessaloniki and 8% of the ticket price in other cities) was abolished with the law 4336/2015.  Revenue from this tax were used to provide grants to Greek film companies to support and develop the industry.
 
The general position towards GE (Genetically Engineered) crops in Greece remains unfavorable.  Greece does not have a coexistence policy and maintains a de facto ban on both the cultivation and importation of GE products.  In Greece, there are no GE plants or crops under development.  Greece does not commercially cultivate any GE crops, even for GE seed production.  Greece has maintained a de facto ban on GE products since April 2005, when it implemented a “safeguard clause” prohibiting the field release of MON 810, a GE corn developed by Monsanto and approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).  In July 2008, EFSA determined that Greece’s ban lacked a scientific basis.  In November 2011, Greece extended the ban for another two years and expanded the measure to include both importation and cultivation.  EFSA again rejected this argument in September 2012. Greece still enforces the cultivation ban despite the EU Court of Justice stating that it has no grounds for relying on the safeguard clause.
 
In March 2015, Directive (EU) 2015/412 allowed Member States (MS) to restrict or ban the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) plants in their territory.  In August 2015, Greece informed the Commission that it intended to officially opt-out of growing MON 810 corn anywhere in its territory.  A similar European Commission proposal to enable Member States to restrict or prohibit the sale and use of EU-approved GE food or feed was rejected by the European Parliament in October 2015, as Member States were concerned the law might prove unworkable or would lead to the reintroduction of border checks between pro-GE and anti-GE countries.  However, in December 2015, the Environment Committee passed a resolution calling on the Commission to table a new proposal and withhold any new approvals until the process has been revised.
 
On March 21, 2015, the Greek Parliament passed a new law (4321: “Provisions to Restart the Economy” to prevent triangular trade transactions with third countries that have lower taxes than Greece (i.e. Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Ireland).  According to Article 21 of the new law, a company which imports goods into Greece from another country with a lower tax rate must prepay the 26% withholding tax.  In order to secure a refund, the entity has three months to demonstrate the transaction was made on market terms and is not triangular (not an exchange between corporate partners exploiting the tax rate differential between the countries).
 
The Greek Federation of Enterprises believes this potentially bureaucratic process is likely to adversely affect the agricultural sector, particularly small and medium sized enterprises as well as transportation and logistical service providers.
 Many products that are freely available and sold “over-the-counter” in the United States, such as protein-based meal replacement products, can only be sold in pharmacies and specialized stores, limiting the ability of U.S. companies to sell their products through direct sales.
 
For information on existing trade barriers, please see the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, published by USTR and available through the following website: USTR  
Information on agricultural trade barriers can be found at the following website: USDA-EU 
 
To report existing or new trade barriers and get assistance in removing them, contact either the Trade Compliance Center at TCC or the U.S. Mission to the European Union.
For more information and help with trade barriers please contact:

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.