Commission Decision
of 8 July 2002
on administering certain restrictions on imports of certain steel products from the Russian Federation
(notified under document number C(2002) 2480)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2002/602/ECSC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and in particular the first paragraph of Article 95 thereof,
Having consulted the Consultative Committee and with the unanimous assent of the Council,
Whereas:
(1) For the years 1995 to 2001 trade in certain products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Treaty was the subject of agreements between the Parties(1).
(2) The Community has concluded a further ECSC steel agreement with the Russian Federation concerning trade in certain steel products covered by the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty which take account of developments in the relationship between the Parties(2).
(3) This agreement establishes quantitative limits for the entry into free circulation in the Community of certain steel products between 2002 to 2004 and provides a framework for the removal of quantitative restrictions provided that certain conditions are met and in particular when compatible disciplines in respect of competition, state aid and environmental protection have been established in respect of the steel products covered by the Agreement.
(4) It is necessary to provide the means to administer this agreement within the Community, taking into account the experience gained during the previous agreements.
(5) It is necessary to ensure that the origin of the products in question is checked and appropriate methods of administrative cooperation are set up to this end.
(6) The effective application of the agreement requires the introduction of a requirement of a Community import licence for the entry into free circulation in the Community of the products in question together with a system for administering the grant of such Community import licences.
(7) Products placed in a free zone or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system) should not be counted against the limits established for the products in question.
(8) In order to ensure that these quantitative limits are not exceeded, it is necessary to establish a management procedure whereby the competent authorities of the Member States will not issue import licences before obtaining prior confirmation from the Commission that appropriate amounts remain available within the quantitative limit in question.
(9) The agreement provides for a system of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Community with the aim of preventing circumvention by means of transhipment, rerouting or other means; whereas a consultation procedure is established under which an agreement can be reached with the country concerned on an equivalent adjustment to the relevant quantitative limit when it appears that the agreement has been circumvented; whereas the Russian Federation also agreed to take the necessary measures to ensure that any adjustments could be rapidly applied; whereas, in the absence of agreement with a supplier country within the time limit provided, the Community may, where clear evidence of circumvention is provided, apply the equivalent adjustment.
(10) Imports of products covered by this Decision as from 1 January 2002 have been subjected to a licence in pursuance of Decision 2002/385/ECSC(3), as amended, that the ECSC steel agreement foresees that those quantities are to be counted against the limits established for 2002 in this Decision,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Scope
1. This Decision applies to imports of the steel products listed in Annex I, originating in the Russian Federation.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the steel products shall be classified in product groups as set out in Annex I.
3. The classification of products listed in Annex I shall be based on the Combined Nomenclature (CN). The procedures for the application of this paragraph are laid down in Part I of Annex II.
4. The origin of the products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined in accordance with the rules in force in the Community.
5. The procedures for verification of the origin of the products referred to in paragraph 1 are laid down in Annexes II and III and in the relevant Community legislation in force.
Article 2
Quantitative limits
1. The importation into the Community of the steel products listed in Annex I originating in the Russian Federation shall be subject to the annual quantitative limits laid down in Annex IV. The release for free circulation in the Community of the products set out in Annex I originating in the Russian Federation shall be subject to the presentation of an import authorization issued by the Member States' authorities in accordance with the provisions of Article 4.
The authorized imports shall be counted against the quantitative limits laid down for the year in which the products are shipped in the exporting country.
2. In order to ensure that quantities for which import authorizations are issued do not exceed at any moment the total quantitative limits for each product group, the competent authorities shall issue import authorizations only upon confirmation by the Commission that there are still quantities available within the quantitative limits for the relevant product group of steel products in respect of the supplier country, for which an importer or importers have submitted applications to the said authorities.
3. Imports of products as from 1 January 2002, for which a licence was required pursuant to Commission Decision 2001/932/ECSC, as amended, shall be counted against the relevant limits for 2002 laid down in Annex IV.
4. For the purposes of this Decision and as from the date of its application, shipment of products shall be considered as having taken place on the date on which they were loaded onto the exporting means of transport.
Article 3
Suspensive arrangements
1. The quantitative limits referred to in Annex IV shall not apply to products placed in a free zone or free warehouse or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system).
2. Where the products referred to in paragraph 1 are subsequently released for free circulation, either in the unaltered state or after working or processing, Article 2(2) shall apply and the products so released shall be counted against the relevant quantitative limit set out in Annex IV.
Article 4
Specific rules for the administration of Community quantitative limits
1. For the purpose of applying Article 2(2), the competent authorities of the Member States, before issuing import authorizations, shall notify the Commission of the amounts of the requests for import authorizations, supported by original export licences, which they have received. By return, the Commission shall notify its confirmation that the requested amount(s) of quantities are available for importation in the chronological order in which the notifications of the Member States have been received ("first come, first served basis").
2. The requests included in the notifications to the Commission shall be valid if they establish clearly in each case the exporting country, the product group concerned, the amounts to be imported, the number of the export licence, the quota year and the Member State in which the products are intended to be put into free circulation.
3. The notifications referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be communicated electronically within the integrated network set up for this purpose, unless for imperative technical reasons it is necessary to use other means of communication temporarily.
4. As far as possible, the Commission shall confirm to the authorities the full amount indicated in the requests notified for each product group of products. Moreover, the Commission shall contact the Russian authorities immediately in cases where requests notified exceed the limits in order to seek clarification and a rapid solution.
5. The competent authorities shall notify the Commission immediately after being informed of any quantity that is not used during the duration of validity of the import authorization. Such unused quantities shall automatically be transferred into the remaining quantities of the total Community quantitative limit for each product group.
6. The import authorizations or equivalent documents shall be issued in accordance with Annex II.
7. The competent authorities of the Member States shall notify the Commission of any cancellation of import authorizations or equivalent documents already issued in cases where the corresponding export licences have been withdrawn or cancelled by the competent Russian authorities. However, if the Commission or the competent authorities of a Member State have been informed by the competent Russian authorities of the withdrawal or cancellation of an export licence after the related products have been imported into the Community, the quantities in question shall be set off against the quantitative limit for the year during which shipment of products took place.
8. The Commission may take any measure necessary to implement the provisions of this Article.
Article 5
Statistics
1. In respect of the steel products listed in Annex I, Member States shall notify the Commission monthly, within one month of the end of each month, of the total quantities that have entered into free circulation during that month, indicating the combined nomenclature code and using the statistical units and, where appropriate, supplementary units used in that code. Imports shall be broken down in accordance with the statistical procedures in force.
2. In order to enable market trends in the products covered by this Decision to be monitored, Member States shall communicate to the Commission, before 31 March each year, statistical data on the imports of the preceding year.
Article 6
Circumvention
1. Where, following the enquiries carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in Annex III, the Commission notes that the information in its possession constitutes proof that products listed in Annex I originating in the Russian Federation have been transhipped, rerouted or otherwise imported into the Community through circumvention of such quantitative limits and that there is a need for the necessary adjustments to be made, it shall request that consultations be opened so that agreement may be reached on an equivalent adjustment of the corresponding quantitative limits.
2. Pending the outcome of the consultations referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission may ask the Russian Federation to take the necessary precautionary steps to ensure that adjustments to the quantitative limits agreed following such consultations may be carried out for the year in which the request for consultations was lodged or for the following year, if the quantitative limits for the current year is exhausted, where there is clear evidence of circumvention.
3. If the Community and the Russian Federation fail to arrive at a satisfactory solution and if the Commission notes that there is clear evidence of circumvention, it shall deduct from the quantitative limits an equivalent volume of products originating in the Russian Federation.
Article 7
Final provisions
Amendments to the Annexes which may be necessary to take into account the conclusion, amendment or expiry of agreements with the Russian Federation, adjustments to the quantitative limits made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the ECSC steel agreement with the Russian Federation, or amendments made to Community rules on statistics, customs arrangements or common rules for imports, shall be adopted by the European Commission.
Article 8
This Decision shall not constitute in any way a derogation from the provisions of the bilateral ECSC steel agreement on trade in certain steel products which the Community has concluded with the Russian Federation and which, in all cases of conflict, shall prevail.
Article 9
This Decision shall enter into force and shall apply on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Decision shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 8 July 2002.