COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3211/90 of 29 October 1990 amending Regulations (EEC) No 3896/89, (EEC) No 3897/89 and (EEC) No 3898/89 in respect of the system of generalized tariff preferences applied to certain products originating in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),
Whereas Regulations (EEC) No 3896/89 (3), (EEC) No 3897/89 (4) and (EEC) No 3898/89 (5) apply generalized tariff preferences for 1990 to certain industrial products, to textile products and certain agricultural products originating in the developing countries;
Whereas the Community applies to those countries, which include Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, preferential treatment by reference notably to their degree of development and competitiveness; whereas for the industrial and textile sector this gives rise to suspension of the duty within a quota and an individual tariff ceiling and to a reduction in the customs duty without any quantitative limit for agricultural products, with the exception of five products which are subject to a fixed amount at a reduced duty;
Whereas cocaine production is being developed in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to the detriment of lawful agricultural production, the earnings from which enter those countries' economies; whereas this situation results in a substantial decline to those countries' export resources;
Whereas cocaine trafficking seriously undermines those countries' social integrity and impairs their economies to the point of jeopardizing and even setting back their development;
Whereas the Community has delivered a favourable opinion concerning the request for support for the special cooperation programme presented by the Colombian Government; whereas, in order to increase the export earnings of the countries concerned and improve growth rates, they should be given increased aid, on an exceptional, temporary basis, by granting them a system of generalized tariff preferences consisting of exemption from quotas and ceilings and the according of duty-free treatment for industrial and textile products, and the according of duty-free treatment for a specified list of products in the agricultural sector; whereas this system should be granted to them for the period of the special programme, i.e. four years, without prejudice to the annual nature of the Community's generalized preferences scheme,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Articles 7, 8 and 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3896/89 shall not apply to the imports in question from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Article 2
1. Eligibility for the arrangements laid down in the first paragraph of Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 3897/89 shall apply to products originating in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
2. Articles 2, 8, 11 and 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 3897/89 shall not apply to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
3. Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru shall be withdrawn from the list of countries given in Annex V to Regulation (EEC) No 3897/89.
Article 3
1. Eligibility for the arrangements laid down in the third indent of the first paragraph of Article 1 and in Article 6 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3898/89 shall apply to the products originating in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru listed in the Annex to this Regulation.
2. Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru shall be withdraw from the list of countries given in Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No 3898/89.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on the fifth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 29 October 1990.