COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 527/96 of 25 March 1996 temporarily suspending the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties and progressively introducing the Common Customs Tariff duties on imports of certain industrial products into the Canary Islands
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 28 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas Article 6 (1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1911/91 of 26 June 1991 on the application of the provisions of Community law to the Canary Islands (1) provides for the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) to be progressively introduced in the course of a transitional period which shall not extend beyond 31 December 2000; whereas, in accordance with Article 7 of that Regulation, the common commercial policy shall apply to the Canary Islands, without prejudice to the specific measures referred to in Article 6 (3) thereof;
Whereas paragraph 7.2 of the Annex to Council Decision 91/314/EEC of 26 June 1991 setting up a programme of options specific to the remote and insular nature of the Canary Islands (Poseican) (2) states that specific tariff measures must continue to be considered and that in principle they must be limited to the transitional period provided for under Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 1911/91 for the gradual adoption of the CCT to the Canary Islands;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1605/92 of 15 June 1992 temporarily suspending the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on imports of certain industrial products into the Canary Islands (3) suspended in full until 31 December 1995 CCT duties applicable to imports into the Canary Islands of the products listed in the Annex to the Regulation which are intended for the Canary Islands' domestic market;
Whereas, in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 1605/95, the Commission has examined this year the effect of measures adopted in favour of the economy of the Canary Islands; whereas that examination has shown that the suspension of duties on certain industrial products has not had the effect of increasing the volume of imports originating in non-Community countries;
Whereas the progressive introduction of the suspended CCT duties will not in principle have any adverse effect on the sectors concerned by the duty suspensions or, in general, on the Canary Islands' economy as a whole; whereas an appropriate timetable should be laid down for successive increases in the applicable rates of duty;
Whereas, in order to take advantage of the closing date of the transitional period laid down by Regulation (EEC) No 1911/91 and to take account of the request from the Spanish authorities, the duty suspensions under Regulation (EEC) No 1605/92 may be retained in 1996;
Whereas, in view of the foregoing, the progressive introduction of CCT duties must commence on 1 January 1997 until fully applicable on 31 December 2000; whereas, in the case of certain sensitive sectors of the Canary Islands' economy, in particular those processing imported raw materials into finished products and commerce, duties should be introduced in a flexible manner so as to prevent in the early years any adverse effect on production and employment in those sectors;
Whereas the Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, approved by the Community by Decision 94/800/EC (4) provides for bound tariff reductions to be implemented in five equal rate reductions (or 10 rate reductions for certain tariff headings); whereas that progressive reduction, which became operative in 1995, will culminate in a minimum, or even a zero, rate by the end of the period in question; whereas, consequently, duty suspensions should continue in respect of certain industrial products on which CCT duties resulting from the GATT agreements would reach a zero or minimum rate on 31 December 2000, the date on which the transitional period for the Canary Islands expires;
Whereas imports into the Canary Islands of certain goods originating in non-Community countries were non-existent or nearly so during the period in which CCT duty suspensions applied; whereas, consequently, there are no grounds for retaining those suspensions;
Whereas the measures taken under Regulation (EEC) No 1605/92 should be retained, on the one hand, in order to ensure that products on which the suspension of duty is extended and then progressively dismantled are intended solely for the Canary Islands' domestic market and, on the other hand, in order to permit the Commission to be regularly informed of the volume of the imports in question and, if necessary, to adopt provisions designed to prevent any speculative movement of deflection of trade,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The Common Customs Tariff duties applicable to imports into the Canary Islands of the products listed in Annexes I and II shall be suspended in full in accordance with the timetables laid down in those Annexes.
2. From 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2000 the Common Customs Tariff duties applicable to imports into the Canary Islands of the products listed in Annexes III and IV shall be progressively introduced in accordance with the provisions of those Annexes.
Article 2
1. The measures referred to in Article 1 shall apply solely to products intended for the Canary Islands' domestic market.
2. The Spanish authorities shall adapt the measures necessary to ensure compliance with paragraph 1 pursuant to the relevant Community provisions on end-use and in particular the levying of Common Customs Tariff duties when the products in question are dispatched to other parts of the customs territory of the Community.
Article 3
With regard to the products referred to in Article 1 the Spanish authorities shall inform the Commission, no later than the 15th of each month, of the volume of imports exempted under the tariff measures provided for in that Article during the preceding month.
In the case of threat of injury, certified in particular by information forwarded to the Commission, for certain sensitive or ultrasensitive products, the Commission shall propose to the Council, at the request of the Spanish authorities, any appropriate measure particular regard being paid to the objectives of Decision 91/314/EEC.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 April 1996.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 25 March 1996.