Commission Regulation (EC) No 76/2002

of 17 January 2002

introducing prior Community surveillance of imports of certain iron and steel products covered by the ECSC and EC Treaties originating in certain third countries

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 of 22 December 1994 on common rules for imports and repealing Regulation (EC) No 518/94(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2474/2000(2), and in particular Article 11 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 519/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports from certain third countries and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 1765/82, (EEC) No 1766/82 and (EEC) No 3420/83(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1138/98(4), and in particular Article 9(1) thereof,

Consultations having taken place within the committees set up under the Regulations referred to above,

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with Regulations (EC) No 3285/94 and (EC) No 519/94, products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community are subject to the common rules for imports, and it is therefore necessary that the arrangements for Community surveillance measures in respect of ECSC products be adopted in accordance with those Regulations.

(2) The situation on the steel market has worsened considerably in 2001 under the combined impact of a number of factors, chief among them being a marked downturn in the world economy evident from the outset of the year and the recession that began to affect some economies, including that of the United States, in the latter half of the year.

(3) The steel market has also been unsettled by the uncertainty and hedging caused by the possibility of import restrictions on the US market following the US administration's "Section 201" safeguard investigation.

(4) Should import restrictions actually be applied on the US market, they are likely to cause major fluctuations in the structure of international trade, and in particular the deflection of trade towards the Community market. Such deflection could seriously harm the Community steel industry.

(5) Available economic indicators and estimates for 2001 show the following trends:

(A) Production. Production of crude steel in the Community in 2001 is expected to be about 159 million tonnes. This estimate is not only 2,5 % lower than production in 2000 (163,2 million tonnes), it is also lower than the levels recorded in 1997 (159,4 million tonnes) and 1998 (159,7 million tonnes).

(B) Imports. Imports of ECSC iron and steel products into the Community from all third countries will remain appreciably the same as in 2000, at about 25 million tonnes. By way of comparison, Community imports of these products totalled 12,2 million tonnes in 1996. This means that steel imports into the Community have more than doubled in the past five years.

(C) Exports. At a probable level of about 21 million tonnes, Community exports of ECSC iron and steel products in 2001 are about 8 % down on the previous year. By way of comparison, Community imports of these products amounted to 28 million tonnes in 1996. Community exports to the US and Canada have been hit particularly hard, falling by an estimated 36 % and 32 % respectively. This trend will worsen in 2002 if restrictions are introduced on the US market. For 2001 as a whole, the Community is expected to be a net importer of iron and steel products, with a trade deficit in excess of 4 million tonnes. In 1996 the Community recorded a trade surplus of the order of 15,8 million tonnes.

(D) Prices. Prices for iron and steel products in 2001 were 18 % lower on average than in 2000.

(6) Since the scope of the Section 201 safeguard investigation includes pipes and tubes, the possibility of US restrictions on these products cannot be excluded. Prior surveillance should therefore be extended to pipes and tubes.

(7) The Community's external trade statistics are not available within the periods established by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1917/2000(5), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1669/2001(6).

(8) The interests of the Community require that imports of certain iron and steel products should be subject to prior Community surveillance in order to provide statistical information permitting rapid analysis of import trends.

(9) The completion of the internal market requires that the formalities to be accomplished by Community importers be identical wherever the goods may be cleared.

(10) Release for free circulation of the products covered by this Regulation should be made subject to presentation of a surveillance document meeting uniform criteria.

(11) That document should, on simple application by the importer, be endorsed by the authorities of the Member States within a certain period but without the importer thereby acquiring any right to import. The document should therefore be valid only as long as the import rules remain unchanged.

(12) The surveillance documents issued for the purposes of Community surveillance must be valid throughout the Community, regardless of the Member State of issue.

(13) The Member States and the Commission should exchange the information resulting from Community surveillance as fully as possible.

(14) The issue of surveillance documents, while subject to standard conditions at Community level, is to be the responsibility of the national authorities.

(15) It should be reiterated that for certain iron and steel products the issue of a surveillance document is subject to presentation of an export document in accordance with arrangements established within the framework of double-checking agreements with certain third countries, and the present Regulation does not apply to products originating in those countries which are subject to such a double-checking system,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. From 1 January 2002 the release for free circulation in the Community of iron and steel products covered by the ECSC and EC Treaties listed in Annex I shall be subject to prior Community surveillance in accordance with Articles 11 and 12 of Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 and Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 519/94. This applies to imports originating in all non-member countries other than the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), countries which are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), and Turkey. Products which are subject to a double-checking agreement established between a non-member country and the Community shall be subject to the conditions established by that agreement and not to this Regulation.

2. The classification of the products covered by this Regulation is based on the tariff and statistical nomenclature of the Community (hereinafter called the "combined nomenclature", or in abbreviated form "CN"). The origin of the products covered by this Regulation shall be determined in accordance with the rules in force in the Community.

Article 2

1. The release for free circulation in the Community of the products referred to in Article 1 shall be subject to presentation of a surveillance document issued by the relevant authorities of a Member State.

2. The surveillance document referred to in paragraph 1 shall be issued automatically by the competent authorities in the Member States, without charge and for any quantities requested, within five working days of presentation of an application by any Community importer, wherever it may be established in the Community. This application shall be deemed to have been received by the competent national authority no later than three working days after submission, unless it is proven otherwise.

3. A surveillance document issued by one of the authorities listed in Annex II shall be valid throughout the Community.

4. The surveillance document shall be made out on a form corresponding to the model at Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 3285/94(7) on common rules for imports or in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 519/94 on common rules for imports from certain third countries. The importer's application shall include the following elements:

(a) the name and full address of the applicant (including telephone and fax numbers, and possible identification number used by the competent national authorities) and VAT registration number, if subject to VAT;

(b) if applicable, the name and full address of the declarant or representative of the applicant (including telephone and fax numbers);

(c) the full name and address of the exporter;

(d) the exact description of the goods, including:

- their trade name,

- the combined nomenclature (CN) code(s),

- the country of origin,

- the country of consignment;

(e) the net weight expressed in kg, and the quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight, by combined nomenclature heading;

(f) the cif value of the goods in euro at the Community frontier by combined nomenclature heading;

(g) whether the products concerned are seconds or of substandard quality(8);

(h) the proposed period and place of customs clearance;

(i) whether the application is a repeat of a previous application concerning the same contract;

(j) the following declaration, dated and signed by the applicant with the transcription of his name in capital letters: "I, the undersigned, certify that the information provided in this application is true and given in good faith, and that I am established in the Community."

The importer shall also submit a copy of the contract of sale or purchase and of the pro forma invoice. If so requested, for example in cases where the goods are not directly purchased in the country of production, the importer shall present a certificate of production issued by the producing steel mill.

5. Surveillance documents may be used only for such time as arrangements for liberalisation of imports remain in force in respect of the transactions concerned. Without prejudice to possible changes in the import regulations in force or decisions taken in the framework of an agreement or the management of a quota:

- the period of validity of the surveillance document is hereby fixed at four months,

- unused or partly used surveillance documents may be renewed for an equal period.

6. The importer shall return surveillance documents to the issuing authority at the end of their period of validity.

7. The competent authorities may allow the submission of declarations or requests to be transmitted or printed by electronic means, under the conditions fixed by them. However, all documents and evidence must be available to the competent authorities.

8. The surveillance document may be issued by electronic means as long as the customs offices involved have access to the document via a computer network.

Article 3

1. A finding that the unit price at which the transaction is effected varies from that indicated in the surveillance document by less than 5 % in either direction or that the total quantity of the products presented for import exceeds the quantity given in the surveillance document by less than 5 % shall not preclude the release for free circulation of the products in question.

2. Applications for surveillance documents and the documents themselves shall be confidential. They shall be restricted to the competent authorities and the applicant.

Article 4

1. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission:

(a) on as regular and up-to-date a basis as possible and at least by the last day of each month, details of the quantities and values (calculated in euro) for which surveillance documents have been issued;

(b) within six weeks of the end of each month, details of imports during that month, in accordance with Article 32 of Regulation No (EC) 1917/2000.

The information provided by Member States shall be broken down by product, CN code and by country.

2. The Member States shall give notification of any anomalies or cases of fraud which they discover and, where relevant, the basis on which they have refused to grant a surveillance document.

Article 5

Any notices to be given under this Regulation shall be given to the Commission of the European Communities and shall be communicated electronically via the integrated network set up for this purpose, unless for imperative technical reasons it is necessary to use other means of communication temporarily.

Article 6

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall apply from 1 January to 31 December 2002.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 17 January 2002.

For the Commission

Pascal Lamy

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 53.

(2) OJ L 286, 11.11.2000, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 89.

(4) OJ L 159, 3.6.1998, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 229, 9.9.2000, p. 14.

(6) OJ L 224, 21.8.2001, p. 3.

(7) As modified by Council Regulation (EC) 139/96 of 22 January 1996 (OJ L 21, 27.7.1996, p. 7), and taking into account the provisions of Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).

(8) Under the criteria given in OJ C 180, 11.7.1991, p. 4.

ANNEX

LIST OF PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO PRIOR SURVEILLANCE (2002)

7208 10 00

7208 25 00

7208 26 00

7208 27 00

7208 36 00

7208 37 10

7208 37 90

7208 38 10

7208 38 90

7208 39 10

7208 39 90

7208 40 10

7208 40 90

7208 51 10

7208 51 30

7208 51 50

7208 51 91

7208 51 99

7208 52 10

7208 52 91

7208 52 99

7208 53 10

7208 53 90

7208 54 10

7208 54 90

7208 90 10

7209 15 00

7209 16 10

7209 16 90

7209 17 10

7209 17 90

7209 18 10

7209 18 91

7209 18 99

7209 25 00

7209 26 10

7209 26 90

7209 27 10

7209 27 90

7209 28 10

7209 28 90

7209 90 10

7210 11 10

7210 12 11

7210 12 19

7210 20 10

7210 30 10

7210 41 10

7210 49 10

7210 50 10

7210 61 10

7210 69 10

7210 70 31

7210 70 39

7210 90 31

7210 90 33

7210 90 38

7211 13 00

7211 14 10

7211 14 90

7211 19 20

7211 19 90

7211 23 10

7211 23 51

7211 23 91 (1)

7211 23 99 (2)

7211 29 20

7211 29 50 (3)

7211 29 90 (4)

7211 90 11

7211 90 90 (5)

7212 10 10

7212 10 91

7212 20 11

7212 30 11

7212 40 10

7212 40 91

7212 50 31

7212 50 51

7212 60 11

7212 60 91

7213 10 00

7213 20 00

7213 91 10

7213 91 20

7213 91 41

7213 91 49

7213 91 70

7213 91 90

7213 99 10

7213 99 90

7214 20 00

7214 30 00

7214 91 10

7214 91 90

7214 99 10

7214 99 31

7214 99 39

7214 99 50

7214 99 61

7214 99 69

7214 99 80

7214 99 90

7215 90 10

7216 10 00

7216 21 00

7216 22 00

7216 31 11

7216 31 19

7216 31 91

7216 31 99

7216 32 11

7216 32 19

7216 32 91

7216 32 99

7216 33 10

7216 33 90

7216 40 10

7216 40 90

7216 50 10

7216 50 91

7216 50 99

7216 99 10

7225 11 00

7225 19 10

7225 19 90

7225 20 20

7225 30 00

7225 40 20

7225 40 50

7225 40 80

7225 50 00

7226 11 10

7226 11 90 (6)

7226 19 10

7226 19 30

7226 19 90 (7)

7226 91 10

7226 91 90

7226 99 20

7227 90 10

7228 10 10

7228 10 30

7228 20 11

7228 20 19

7228 20 30

7228 30 20

7228 30 41

7228 30 49

7228 30 61

7228 30 69

7228 30 70

7228 30 89

7228 60 10

7228 70 10

7228 70 31

7228 80 10

7228 80 90

7301 10 00

Complete CN Heading 7304 (8)

Complete CN Heading 7306 (9)

7307 93 11 (10)

7307 93 19 (11)

7307 99 30 (12)

7307 99 90 (13)

LISTA DE LAS AUTORIDADES NACIONALES COMPETENTES

LISTE OVER KOMPETENTE NATIONALE MYNDIGHEDER

LISTE DER ZUSTÄNDIGEN BEHÖRDEN DER MITGLIEDSTAATEN

ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΣΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΩΝ ΕΚΔΟΣΗΣ ΑΔΕΙΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΚΡΑΤΩΝ ΜΕΛΩΝ

LIST OF THE COMPETENT NATIONAL AUTHORITIES

LISTE DES AUTORITÉS NATIONALES COMPÉTENTES

ELENCO DELLE COMPETENTI AUTORITÀ NAZIONALI

LIJST VAN BEVOEGDE NATIONALE INSTANTIES

LISTA DAS AUTORIDADES NACIONAIS COMPETENTES

LUETTELO TOIMIVALTAISISTA KANSALLISISTA VIRANOMAISISTA

FÖRTECKNING ÖVER BEHÖRIGA NATIONELLA MYNDIGHETER

BELGIQUE/BËLGIË

Ministère des affaires économiques Administration des relations économiques

Services licences

Rue Général Leman 60 B - 1040 Bruxelles Fax (32-2) 230 83 22 Ministerie van Economische Zaken Bestuur van de Economische Betrekkingen

Dienst Vergunningen

Generaal Lemanstraat 60 B - 1040 Brussel Fax (32-2) 230 83 22

DANMARK

Erhvervsfremme Styrelsen Søndergade 29 DK - 8600 Silkeborg Fax (45) 35 46 64 01

DEUTSCHLAND

Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle

(BAFA)

Frankfurter Straße 29-35 D - 65760 Eschborn 1 Fax: (49-61) 96 9 42 26

ΕΛΛΑΔΑ

Υπουργείο Εθνικής Οικονομίας Γενική Γραμματεία Διεθνών Σχέσεων

Διεύθυνση Διεθνών Οικονομικών Ροών

Κορνάρου 1 GR - 10563 Αθήνα Φαξ: (301) 328 60 94

ESPAÑA

Ministerio de Economía Dirección General de Comercio Exterior Paseo de la Castellana 162 E - 28046 Madrid Fax: (34) 915 63 18 23/913 49 38 31

FRANCE

Service des industries manufacturières

DIGITIP

12, rue Villiot - Bâtiment Le Bervil F - 75572 Paris cedex 12 Fax (33-1) 53 44 91 81

IRELAND

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Import/Export Licensing, Block C Earlsfort Centre

Hatch Street

Dublin 2 Fax: (353-1) 631 28 26

ITALIA

Ministero delle Attività produttive Direzione generale per la politica commerciale e per la gestione del regime degli scambi Viale America 341 I - 00144 Roma Fax (39) 06 59 93 22 35/06 59 93 26 36

LUXEMBOURG

Ministère des affaires étrangères Office des licences BP 113 L - 2011 Luxembourg Fax (352) 46 61 38

NEDERLAND

Belastingdienst douane Centrale dienst voor in- en uitvoer Engelse Kamp 2 Postbus 30003 9700 RD Groningen Nederland Fax (31-50) 526 06 98 M.i.v. 18 januari 2002

Fax (31-50) 523 23 41

ÖSTERREICH

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit Außenwirtschaftsadministration Landstrasser Hauptstraße 55-57 A - 1030 Wien Fax: (43-1) 711 00/8386

PORTUGAL

Ministério da Economia Direcção-Geral das Relações Económicas Internacionais Av. da República, 79 P - 1069-059 Lisboa Fax: (351) 21 793 22 10

SUOMI

Tullihallitus PL 512 FIN - 00101 Helsinki Faksi: (358-9) 614 28 52

SVERIGE

Kommerskollegium Box 6803 S - 113 86 Stockholm Fax (46-8) 30 67 59

UNITED KINGDOM

Department of Trade and Industry Import Licensing Branch Queensway House, West Precinct Billingham, Cleveland UK - TS23 2NF Fax: (44-1642) 533 557

(1) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(2) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(3) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(4) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(5) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(6) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(7) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(8) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(9) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(10) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(11) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(12) Products covered by the EC Treaty.

(13) Products covered by the EC Treaty.