# CE2004088EN.01056901.xml

| 8.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 88/569 |
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8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 88/569

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(2004/C 88 E/0580)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1097/04

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(13 April 2004)

Subject:   Regulation (EC) No 2331/2003

Subject:

With the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 2331/2003 (1) of 23 December 2003 a number of countries, including Argentina and India, once again became beneficiaries under the Community scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period 2002-2004, and from 1 January 2005 will benefit from reductions in the European Union's import duty for certain kinds of finished leather.

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Bearing in mind that:

| — | by virtue of well-established dumping practices these countries enjoy great competitive advantages at the expense of the Italian tanning industry; |
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by virtue of well-established dumping practices these countries enjoy great competitive advantages at the expense of the Italian tanning industry;

| — | there are no reciprocal and equivalent market conditions as regards commercial policy measures, since both India and Argentina set up substantial tariff and non-tariff barriers to their own exports of raw materials and imports of finished products; |
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there are no reciprocal and equivalent market conditions as regards commercial policy measures, since both India and Argentina set up substantial tariff and non-tariff barriers to their own exports of raw materials and imports of finished products;

| — | Italian businesses find themselves in difficulty as a result of the fall in demand for finished products and the unfavourable euro-dollar exchange rate, |
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Italian businesses find themselves in difficulty as a result of the fall in demand for finished products and the unfavourable euro-dollar exchange rate,

can the Commission say whether it does not consider that Regulation No 2331/2003 should be revised?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

(30 April 2004)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2331/2003 of 23 December 2003 was adopted under Article 12 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for developing countries (GSP). It was thus adopted by the Commission under an obligation within a legal framework set by the Council.

The GSP, which is a multiannual system, provides that the scope of preferences has to be adjusted each year by the Commission. Regulation No 2331/2003 does so for 2005. Since the GSP is a limited trade concession, it has to be continued to countries and products which have a real need. Article 12 has introduced a system of graduation/degraduation allowing the GSP to be withdrawn from countries/products which are competitive on the international market or to reintroduce countries/products which had been excluded from the GSP in the past for this reason but which are no longer competitive.

This is a non-political and purely economic mechanism. The objective criteria which apply are those set out in Article 12 (as amended by Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2211/2003 of 15 December 2003) (2). It was on the basis of these criteria that it was decided to reintroduce preferences in 2005 for India and Argentina for the products in question.

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Trade defence mechanisms can combat dumping if the necessary conditions are satisfied. Tariff and non-tariff obstacles to exports are one of the Community's priorities in the Doha Development Agenda and bilateral negotiations.

A new GSP system will be adopted on 1 January 2006 after consultation of all the parties concerned. We would invite the Honourable Member to encourage industrial associations to play an active part in these consultations.

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(1)  OJ L 346, 31.12.2003, p. 3.

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(2)  OJ L 332, 19.12.2003.

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