The European Union extends restrictions on certain medical personal protective equipment, but exempts protective gloves. Belgium announces a plan to reopen businesses. Spain essentially eliminates certain value-added taxes to encourage the effective supply of medical equipment.

European Union
The EU extends export restrictions for medical personal protective equipment (PPE) for an additional 30 days beginning April 26, 2020. However, the EU removed protective gloves from the export restricted list and that item can now be exported without permission.

Belgium
The Belgian government will begin easing lockdown measures starting on May 4, 2020. The process consists of three phases over the course of the month of May; restaurants may begin to re-open in early June.

Spain
The Spanish government established a value-added tax rate of zero percent for certain goods necessary to combat the effects of COVID-19. This measure will apply until July 31, 2020 where:

• The good are deliveries, imports, and intra-community acquisitions of PPE, including masks, gloves, test kits, etc.;
• The recipients are public law entities, hospitals, or approved private social entities; and
• The transactions are documented in an invoice as exempt transactions.

The overall situation remains very fluid. Contact your local Expeditors representative for more information and operational assistance