DECISION No 2/2018 OF THE EU-UKRAINE ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE IN TRADE CONFIGURATION

of 14 May 2018

on recalculating the schedule of export duty elimination and safeguard measures for export duties set set out in Annexes I-C and I-D to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Association Agreement [2018/1045]

THE ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE IN TRADE CONFIGURATION,

Having regard to the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, signed in Brussels on 27 June 2014,

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with Article 486 of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part (‘the Agreement’), parts of the Agreement, including provisions on the elimination of customs duties, and related Annexes I-C to I-D to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement are applied provisionally as of 1 January 2016.

(2) Annex I-C to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement, setting out the schedules of export duty elimination of Ukraine, establishes that the recalculation of the table is needed in order to maintain the relative preference, (same proportion), compared to the WTO-bound export duty rates applicable for each period in case the trade-related provisions of the Agreement enter into force after 15 May 2014.

(3) Annex I-D to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement, setting out safeguard measures in the form of a surcharge to be applied to the export duty for specific goods, also establishes that the recalculation of the table is needed in order to maintain the relative preference, (same proportion), compared to the WTO-bound export duty rates applicable for each period in case the trade-related provisions of the Agreement enter into force after 15 May 2014.

(4) A technical amendment in Annex I-C to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement is required to tariff code 1207 99 97 00 to reflect the correct description as per United Commodities Classifier (UKTZED) of Ukraine.

(5) Article 463(3) of the Agreement provides that the Association Council may update or amend the Annexes to the Agreement.

(6) Article 465(2) of the Agreement specifies that the Association Council may delegate any of its powers, including the power to take binding decisions, to the Association Committee. Under Article 465(4) of the Agreement, that Committee is to meet in a specific configuration to address all issues related to the Title IV (Trade and Trade-Related matters) of the Agreement.

(7) The EU-Ukraine Association Council empowered the Association Committee in Trade configuration (the ‘Trade Committee’) by Decision No 3/2014 of 15 December 2014 to update or amend certain trade-related annexes, including Annexes I-C and I-D to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement.

(8) It is therefore appropriate for the Trade Committee to adopt a decision recalculating the schedule of export duty elimination set out in Annex I-C and I-D to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Agreement,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 Annex I-C to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, is hereby replaced by the Annex set out in Appendix 1 to this Decision.

Article 2 Annex I-D to Chapter 1 of Title IV of the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, is hereby replaced by the Annex set out in Appendix 2 to this Decision.

Article 3 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.