Republic of Cyprus:

A member of the European Union (EU) since 2004, most of the Republic of Cyprus’ trade barriers mirror those of other EU members.

Biotechnology

Cyprus adopted several restrictive biotechnology policies in recent years.  For example, Parliament passed a law in 2011 requiring local stores to place all bioengineered products with biotechnology content over 0.9 percent on separate shelves with a sign clearly declaring them as containing genetically modified organisms or “GMOs.”  Cyprus was the first EU country to introduce such legislation, so the law sets an important precedent, and the European Commission has raised no objections.  The practical effect of the law is to discourage store owners from stocking food products with biotech content.  In 2012, Parliament passed another law providing “zero tolerance” of biotech content in conventional seeds.  Under this legislation, conventional seeds imported into Cyprus cannot contain any amount of biotech seeds.  The law also requires a “Certificate of non-Biotechnology” for each shipment of seeds coming into Cyprus.  The ROC consistently advocates EU member states’ right of choice whether to allow growing of biotech crops on their soil, and votes against applications to the EU for new bioengineered crops.  At the end of 2015, the European Commission approved the ROC’s request to exclude the entire ROC territory from cultivating GMO crops.

Area Administered by Turkish Cypriots:

For more information on trade barriers, contact the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.