A trade agreement between the EU and a partner country can take the duty rate on your goods down to little or nothing. That preference is never automatic: it exists only when the shipment carries valid proof of preferential origin. Origin here means where the goods were actually obtained or sufficiently processed under the agreement's rules, not where they happen to ship from. There are three ways to prove it, and which one fits depends on value and on how often you export.
Route 1: a EUR.1 per shipment
The classic route is a EUR.1 movement certificate, applied for per shipment (in the Netherlands via the Chamber of Commerce, validated by customs). It works at any value, but it is per-shipment paperwork: every export means a new certificate, with handling time and fees to match. For an occasional high-value shipment that is fine; for a steady export flow it becomes the expensive way.
Route 2: invoice declaration up to €6,000
If the originating goods in the shipment are worth no more than €6,000, any exporter may put an invoice declaration (origin declaration) directly on the invoice, using the standard wording prescribed by the agreement. No EUR.1, no licence, no Chamber of Commerce. Above that value an invoice declaration from an unlicensed exporter is not accepted.
Route 3: approved exporter, no value limit
Regular exporters skip the per-shipment EUR.1 with the approved exporter licence (toegelaten exporteur), applied for at Dutch Customs. You receive an authorisation number, and from then on you place the prescribed origin statement with that number on your invoice, packing list or other commercial document, at any shipment value. The standard wording runs along these lines:
"The exporter of the products covered by this document (customs authorisation No. …) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of … preferential origin."
The exact text differs per agreement (and per language), so take it from the annex of the agreement that applies to your destination. Newer agreements (Japan, Canada, the UK) use the REX system instead: the same idea, with a REX registration number in a statement on origin rather than an approved-exporter number.
The mirror image at import
The same thresholds work in reverse when you import into the EU. Your supplier in the partner country may use an invoice declaration up to €6,000; above that you should expect a EUR.1 or a declaration carrying their approved-exporter or REX number, depending on the agreement. As the importer you claim the preference in the import declaration, and the proof must be valid at that moment: a missing number or wrong wording means paying the full third-country rate, or a correction afterwards. How the proof affects your duty calculation is covered under Customs Value.
One thing preferential origin is not: the A.TR for Turkey. That document proves free circulation in the EU–Turkey customs union, not origin; the difference is explained on Customs Value.
Where Nexport Logistics comes in
We check the origin proof before the shipment moves: the right document for the value, the right wording, the number where it has to be. For exporters with a steady flow we flag when an approved-exporter licence starts paying for itself, and on import we claim the preference in the declaration when the proof holds up. Exporting under a trade agreement, or importing with preference? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl.
Official sources: Douane — Aanvraag Vergunning toegelaten exporteur · RVO — Handelsakkoorden: welke bewijsstukken · Access2Markets — oorsprongsregels. Related: Customs · Customs Value · Export Declaration Types · Importing Into The Netherlands