# EUR-Lex - 52014PC0343 - EN

*|*

# 52014PC0343

**Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification) /* COM/2014/0343 final - 2014/0175 (COD) */**

			*

			*

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           In the context of a people’s
Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying
the law of the Union so as to make it clearer and more accessible to citizens,
thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific
rights it gives them.

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous
provisions that have been amended several times, often quite substantially,
remain scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument
and partly in later amending ones. Considerable research work, comparing many
different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.

For this reason a codification of rules that
have frequently been amended is also essential if the law is to be clear and
transparent.

2.           On 1 April 1987 the
Commission decided[1]
to instruct its staff that all acts should be codified after no more
than ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that
departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the texts for
which they are responsible, to ensure that their provisions are clear and
readily understandable.

3.           The Conclusions of the Presidency
of the Edinburgh European Council (December 1992) confirmed this[2], stressing the
importance of codification as it offers certainty as to the law
applicable to a given matter at a given time.

Codification must be undertaken in full
compliance with the normal procedure for the adoption of acts of the Union.

Given that no changes of substance may be made
to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement
dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for
the fast-track adoption of codification instruments.

4.           The
purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EC) No 673/2005 of 25 April 2005 establishing additional
customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America[3]. The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in
it[4]; this proposal fully
preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than
bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by
the codification exercise itself.

5.           The codification proposal was drawn up on the
basis of a preliminary consolidation, in 22 official languages, of Regulation (EC) No 673/2005 and the
instruments amending it, carried out by the Publications Office of the European
Union, by means of a data-processing system. Where the Articles have
been given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is
shown in a table set out in Annex IV to the codified Regulation.

ê 673/2005
(adapted)

2014/0175 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

Ö on Õ additional
customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty Ö on the
Functioning of the European Union Õ , and in
particular Article Ö 207(2) Õ thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative
act to the national Parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the
European Economic and Social Committee[5],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary
legislative procedure,

Whereas:

ê

(1)       Council
Regulation (EC) No 673/2005[6] has been substantially amended several times[7]. In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Regulation
should be codified.

ê 673/2005 recital
1

(2)       On
27 January 2003, the Dispute Settlement Body (‘DSB’) of the World Trade
Organisation (‘WTO’) adopted the Appellate Body report[8]
and the Panel report[9], as upheld by the Appellate Body report, finding that the Continued
Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (‘CDSOA’) was incompatible with the United States' obligations under the ‘WTO’ agreements.

ê 673/2005
recital 2 (adapted)

(3)       Since
the United States failed to bring its legislation Ö into Õ conformity with the covered agreements, the Community requested Ö authorisation from Õ the DSB to suspend the application of its tariff concessions and
related obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (‘GATT’)
1994 to the United States[10]. The United States objected to the level of suspension of tariff
concessions and related obligations and the matter was referred to arbitration.

ê 673/2005
recital 3 (adapted)

(4)       On
31 August 2004, the Arbitrator determined that the level of nullification
or impairment caused every year to the Community was equal to 72 % of the
amount of CDSOA disbursements relating to anti-dumping or countervailing duties
paid on imports from the Community for the most recent year for which data Ö were Õ available at
that time, as published by the United States' authorities. The Arbitrator
concluded that the suspension by the Community of concessions or other
obligations, in the form of the imposition of an additional import duty above
bound custom duties, on a list of products originating in the United States
covering, on a yearly basis, a total value of trade not exceeding the amount of
nullification or impairment would be consistent with WTO rules. On 26 November
2004, the DSB granted the authorisation to suspend the application to the United States of tariff concessions and related obligations under GATT 1994 in
accordance with the decision of the Arbitrator.

ê 673/2005
recital 4 (adapted)

(5)       The
CDSOA disbursements for the most recent year for which data Ö were Õ available Ö at that
time Õ relate to the
distribution of anti-dumping and countervailing duties collected during the
Fiscal Year 2004 (1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004). On the
basis of the data published by the United States' Customs and Border
Protection, the level of nullification or impairment caused to the Community Ö was Õ calculated at
USD 27,81 million. The Community Ö was Õ, therefore, Ö authorised
to Õ suspend the
application of its tariff concessions to the United States at an equivalent
amount. The effect of a 15 % ad valorem additional
import duty on imports of the products in Annex I originating in the
United States Ö represented Õ, over one
year, a value of trade that Ö did Õ not exceed USD
27,81 million. In respect of Ö those Õ products, the Community Ö suspended Õ the
application of its tariff concessions to the United States from 1 May
2005.

ê 673/2005 recital
5 (adapted)

(6)       If
the non-implementation of the DSB ruling and recommendation persists, the
Commission should adjust annually the level of suspension to the level of
nullification or impairment caused by the CDSOA to the Ö Union Õ at that time.
The Commission should amend the list in Annex I or the rate of the additional
import duty so that the effect of the additional duty on imports from the United States of the selected products represents, over one year, a value of trade that
does not exceed the amount of nullification or impairment.

ê 673/2005
recital 6 (adapted)

(7)       The
Commission should respect the following criteria:

(a)     the Commission should amend the rate
of the additional import duty when adding or removing products from the list in Annex I does not allow to adjust the
level of suspension to the level of nullification or impairment; otherwise, the
Commission should add products to the list in Annex I if the level of
suspension increases or withdraw products from Ö that Õ list if the level of suspension decreases;

(b)     if products are added, the Commission
should select the products from the list in Annex II in an automatic
fashion following the order in which the products are listed; as a consequence,
the Commission should also amend the list in Annex II by removing from it the
products added to the list in Annex I;

(c)     if products are withdrawn, the
Commission should, first, remove products that were added to the list in Annex I Ö after 1 May
2005 Õ; the
Commission should then remove products Ö that
were Õ in the list in
Annex I Ö on 1 May
2005 Õ following the
order of that list.

ê 38/2014 Art.
1 and Annex .4 (adapted)

(8)       In order to make the necessary adjustments to the measures provided
for in Ö this Õ Regulation,
the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty
should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the rate of the
additional duty or the lists in Annexes I and II under the conditions laid
down in Ö this Õ Regulation. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry
out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert
level. The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should
ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant
documents to the European Parliament and to the Council,

ê 673/2005
(adapted)

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The tariff concessions and related
obligations under GATT 1994 of the Ö Union Õ are suspended
in respect of products originating in the United States listed in Annex I
to this Regulation.

ê 303/2014 Art.
1(1) (adapted)

Article 2

An ad valorem duty of 0,35 %
additional to the customs duty applicable under Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2913/92[11]
shall be imposed on the products originating in the United States listed in
Annex I to this Regulation.

ê 673/2005
(adapted)

Article 3

1. The
Commission shall adjust the level of suspension annually to the level of
nullification or impairment caused by the United States' Continued Dumping and
Subsidy Offset Act (‘CDSOA’) to the Ö Union Õ at that time.
The Commission shall amend the rate of the additional duty or the list in
Annex I under the following conditions:

(a)          the level of nullification or impairment
shall be equal to 72 % of the amount of disbursements under the CDSOA
relating to anti-dumping and countervailing duties paid on imports from the Ö Union Õ for the most
recent year for which data are available at that time, as published by the
United States' authorities;

(b)          the amendment shall be made so that
the effect of the additional import duty on imports of the selected products
originating in the United States represents, over one year, a value of trade
that does not exceed the level of nullification or impairment;

(c)          except in circumstances set out
in point (e), when the level of suspension increases, the Commission shall
add products to the list in Annex I; Ö those Õ products shall be selected from the list in Annex II following
the order of that list;

(d)          except in circumstances set out
in point (e), when the level of suspension decreases, products shall be withdrawn
from the list in Annex I; the Commission shall remove, first, products
that Ö were Õ in the list in
Annex II Ö on 1 May
2005 Õ and were added
to the list in Annex I at a later stage; the Commission shall then remove
products that Ö were Õ in the list in
Annex I Ö on 1 May
2005 Õ following the
order of that list;

(e)          the Commission shall amend the
rate of the additional duty when the level of suspension cannot be adjusted to
the level of nullification or impairment by adding or removing products from
the list in Annex I.

2. When products are added to the list in
Annex I, the Commission shall, at the same time, amend the list in
Annex II by removing those products from the list in Annex II. The
order of the products remaining in the list in Annex II shall not be
modified.

ê 38/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .4(1)

3. The Commission shall be empowered to
adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 4 to make adjustments and
amendments under this Article.

Where information on the amount of
disbursements made by the United States is made available late in the year, in
such a way that it is not possible to meet WTO and statutory deadlines by using
the procedure provided for in Article 4, and where, in the case of
adjustments and amendments to the Annexes, imperative grounds of urgency so
require, the procedure provided for in Article 5 shall apply to delegated acts
adopted pursuant to the first subparagraph.

ê 38/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .4(2)

Article 4

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is
conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this
Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts
referred to in Article 3(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for a
period of five years from 20 February 2014. The Commission shall draw up a
report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before
the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly
extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament
or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the
end of each period.

3. The delegation of power referred to in
Article 3(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by
the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power
specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the
publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union
or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any
delegated acts already in force.

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act,
the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to
the Council.

5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to
Article 3(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been
expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of
two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the
Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and
the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That
period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European
Parliament or of the Council.

ê 38/2014
Art. 1 and Annex .4(3)

Article 5

1. Delegated acts adopted under this
Article shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no
objection is expressed in accordance with paragraph 2. The notification of
a delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council shall state the
reasons for the use of the urgency procedure.

2. Either the European Parliament or the
Council may object to a delegated act in accordance with the procedure referred
to in Article 4(5). In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act
without delay following the notification of the decision to object by the
European Parliament or by the Council.

ê 673/2005
(adapted)

Article 6

The origin of any product to which this
Regulation applies shall be determined in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92.

Article 7

1. Products listed in Annex I for
which an import licence with an exemption from, or a reduction of duty, was
issued before Ö 30 April
2005 Õ shall not be
subject to the additional duty.

2. Products listed in Annex I which
are admitted free of import duties pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009[12] shall not be subject to the additional duty.

3. Products listed in Annex I may be
placed under the customs procedure ‘Processing under Customs Control’ in
accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 551(1) of Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93[13] only where the examination of the economic conditions has taken
place in the Committee of the Customs Code unless the products and operations
are mentioned in Part A of Annex 76 to that Regulation.

ê

Article 8

Regulation (EC) No 673/2005 is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall
be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table in Annex IV.

ê 673/2005
(adapted)

Article 9

This Regulation shall enter into force on
the Ö twentieth Õ day Ö following
that Õ of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation
shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at

For the European Parliament                        For the Council

The President                                                 The
President

[1]               COM(87) 868 PV.

[2]               See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.

[3]               Entered in the legislative programme for 2014.

[4]               See Annex III to this proposal.

[5]               OJ C [...], [...], p. [...].

[6]               Council Regulation (EC) No 673/2005 of 25 April
2005 establishing additional customs duties on imports of certain products
originating in the United States of America (OJ L 110, 30.4.2005, p. 1).

[7]               See Annex III.

[8]               United States — Offset Act (Byrd
Amendment), Appellate Body report (WT/DS217/AB/R, WT/DS234/AB/R, 16 January
2003).

[9]               United States — Offset Act (Byrd
Amendment), Panel report (WT/DS217/R, WT/DS234/R, 16 September 2002).

[10]             United States — Offset Act (Byrd Amendment),
Recourse by the European Communities to Article 22(2) of the DSU
(WT/DS217/22, 16 January 2004).

[11]             Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code
(OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1)).

[12]             Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 of 16 November 2009 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty (OJ L 324, 10.12.2009, p. 23).

[13]             Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 253,
11.10.1993, p. 1).

ê 303/2014 Art.
1(2) and Annex (adapted)

ANNEX I

The products on which additional duties are
to apply are identified by their eight-digit CN codes. The description of
products classified under these codes can be found in Annex I to Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87[1] as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1810/2004[2].

0710 40 00

9003 19 30

8705 10 00

6204 62 31

_____________

ê 349/2013
Art. 2 and Annex II

ANNEX II

The products in this Annex are identified
by their eight-digit CN codes. The description of products classified under these
codes can be found in
Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87.

_____________

é

ANNEX III

Repealed
Regulation with list of its successive amendments

Council Regulation (EC) No 673/2005 (OJ L 110, 30.4.2005, p. 1) || ||

|| Commission Regulation (EC) No 632/2006 (OJ L 111, 25.4.2006, p. 5) Commission Regulation (EC) No 409/2007 (OJ L 100, 17.4.2007, p. 16) Commission Regulation (EC) No 283/2008 (OJ L 86, 28.3.2008, p. 19) Commission Regulation (EC) No 317/2009 (OJ L 100, 18.4.2009, p. 6) Commission Regulation (EU) No 305/2010 (OJ L 94, 15.4.2010, p. 15) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 311/2011 (OJ L 86, 1.4.2011, p. 51) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 349/2013 (OJ L 108, 18.4.2013, p. 6) ||

|| Regulation (EU) No 37/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 18, 21.1.2014, p. 1) || Only point 11 of the Annex

|| Regulation (EU) No 38/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 18, 21.1.2014, p. 52) || Only point 4 of the Annex

|| Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 303/2014 (OJ L 90, 26.3.2014, p. 6) ||

_____________

ANNEX IV

Correlation
Table

Regulation (EC) No 673/2005 || This Regulation

Articles 1 to 4 || Articles 1 to 4

Article 4a || Article 5

Article 5 || Article 6

Article 6(1) || Article 7(1)

Article 6(2) || –

Article 6(3) || Article 7(2)

Article 6(4) || Article 7(3)

– || Article 8

Article 8 || Article 9

Annex I || Annex I

Annex II || Annex II

– || Annex III

– || Annex IV

_____________

[1]               Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).

[2]               Commission Regulation (EC) No 1810/2004 of 7 September 2004 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 327, 30.10.2004, p. 1).