ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(79)13
Vol.1979/0007

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(79)13 final .
Brussels ,24January 1979 .
DRAFT COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )
opening ,allocating andadministering aCommunity tariff quota
forferro-chromium containing notless than 4%byweight of
carbon ,falling within subheading ex73.02 EIoftheCommon
Customs Tariff ,andextending thebenefit ofthis quota to
certain imports offerro-chromium containing aquantity of
between 3and4%byweight ofcarbon (1979 )
(submitted totheCouncil bytheCommission )
> 1
COM(79 )13final . i

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. Following arequest from Benelux ,thecompetent departments ofthe
Commission were called upon toexamine ,during ameeting oftheEconomic
Tariff Problems Group ,thequestion ofopening ,for1979 ,anautonomous
Community tariff quota forcertain qualities offerro-chromium containing
aquantity of4%(with afixed limit of3%)ormore byweight ofcarbon
(high carbon ferro-chromium ).
2. During thediscussion ittranspired that :
a)thedifficulties encountered onthemarket forthis metal during the "last
fewmonths ,owing topressure exerted onprices andsupplies bycertain
third countries ,have notbeen overcome sofar,notwithstanding the
conclusion ofagreements with some ofthem ;
b)intheCommunity ,theproductive capacity inrespect ofhigh carbon ferro­
chromium ismarkedly underused and ,according toforecasts for1979 ,produc­
tion might bevoluntarily reduced inconsiderable proportions inexchange
fordependable outlets inside ,theCommunity ;
c)theMember States' forecasts place theusual particulars forcalculating
thequota atthefollowing approximate levels :
consumption
I.
actuai production
inward processing arrangements
duty-free imports under theterms of
other preferential systems (EFTA ,
Turkey )
exports tothird countries
unusual stocks asat31December 1978about487 265 tonnes
150 000 tonnes
negligible quantity
41939 tonnes
10200 tonnes
54000 tonnes
d)onthis basis ,import needs from third countries uptotheendof1979
might vary between 75000and300,000 tonnes ,depending onthelevel
which might bereached byCommunity production andthelevel ofCommunity
stocks .

3.Inthesecircumstances ,takingintoaccount(i)theuncertainties
ofconsumptionlevels,(ii)Community,production,Ciii)thenecessaryimports
fromthirdcountries,(iv)theneedtoensureparalleldevelopmentinthe
marketingofCommunityproductionandintheobtainingsuppliesforconsumer
industriesunderfavourableconditions,theCommissionconsidersitnecessary
tobeparticularlyprudentinfixingthequotavolumeinordernottoendanger
themarketequilibrium.WiththisinmindtheCommissionfeelsthatitis
necessarytoassureacertaincompensation tothoseMemberStateswhofavour
Communityproductiontoensuretheirsupplies.
Forthispurpose,theCommissionintendstoopenfor1979anil-duty
tariffquota,theprovisional volumeofwhich,coveringtheneedsforthe.first
fourmonths(i.e.80000tonnes),mightbeincreasedduringtheyeartokeep
instepwiththesituation.TheremaywellbearevisionbytheEconomicTariff
ProblemsGroupatthebeginningoftheyeartogiveeffect,(allowingforthe
durationoftheapprovalprocedures )toanincreaseasfrom1May1979.
* .-V
4./Asusualinsuchcases,theproposedquotavolumehasbeendivided ..
intotwotrariches>thefirst,corresponding to90%ofthisvolume,beingallo­
cated"among*t"heMember"Statesinproportiontotheiranticipatedimportsfrom
thirdcountries,thesecond,corresponding tothebalanceofthesaidvolume,
constituting aCommunityreserve.Settingupsuchareservecanbeallthe
betterjustifiedinthiscaseasthequotavolumeuslikelytoberevised
duringtheyear,/inordertomeetmoreadequatelytheactualneedsofconsumer
industries.
Λ ' . ' ■'.'·;,ν – . ^.·
The.draftRegulationsubmittedbytheCommission,moreover,lays
downinitsArticle6thatMemberStatesshouldbefreetorestrictthe
benefitofthistariffquota"toproductstobeusedforcertainpurposes".

r>RAF7~~
COUNCILREGULATION (EEC)_
Λ ' 4
•
opening,allocatingandadministrering aCommunitytariffquotaforferro-chro­
miumcontainingnotlessthan4%byweightofcarbon,fallingwithin
subheadingex73.02EIoftheCommonCustomsTariff,andextendingthe■
benefitofthisquotatocertainimportsofferro-chromium containingaquan­
tityofbetween3and4%byweightofcarbon(-1979)
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishingtheEuropean •
EconomicCommunity,andinparticularArticle28 ■
thereof,
.HavingregardtothedraftRegulationsubmittedby
theCommission , .
Whereasforferro-chromiuni containingnotlessthan '
4%byweightofcarbon,Communityproductionis,
toavariabledegree,inadequateandproducersarev >
unabletomeetthetotalrequirements ofconsumer
industries'• whereasitistherefore
intheCommunity'sinteresttosuspendtotallyin
respectofthismetaltheapplicationoftheCommon
CustomsTariffdutyuntil31December1979/w'thina"
suitabletariffquota;whereasinordertpavoid''
disturbingtheequilibriumofthemarketforthisferro-alloy andto
ensureparalleldevelopment insalesofCommunityproduction andin
suppliestomeettherequirements ofconsumerindustries,itis
appropriatetofixthequotavolumeattheprovisional levelof
80000tonnes,coveringimportneedsfromthirdcountriesduring
thefirst,fewmonthsoftheyear;whereasthefixingofthisamount,
basedonconservative estimates,doesnotprecludefutureadjustment
inlinewith changes inthesituation ;whereas ,moreover ,Member States
shouldbefreetoauthorizechargestobemadeagainstthisvolume
only subject tocertain conditions relating touse ;
whereasrelativelylimitedimportsofferro-chromium
containingaquantityofbetween3and4%by
weightofcarbonareforeseeableforthisquotaperiod;
whereasprovisionshouldbemadeonatemporary
basisfortheextensionofthebenefitofthetariff
quotainquestiontotheseimports,limitingit
howeverto20%ofthequotavolumetakingaccount
oftheexistenceofCommunityproduction;

-2-
Whereasequalandcontinuousaccesstothequota
shouldbeensuredforallCommunityimportersand
therateofdutyforthetariffquotashouldheapplied
consistentlytoallimportsuntilthequotais
exhausted;whereasinthelightoftheseprinciples,
arrangements fortheutilizationofthetariffquota-
basednnanallocationamnni/MemberStateswould
seemtobeconsistentwiththeCommunitynatureof
thequota;whereas,tocorrespondascloselyas
possibletotheactualtrendinthemarketinthe
productinquestion,allocationofthequotashouldbe
inproportiontotherequirementsoftheMember
Statesascalculatedbyreferencetostatisticsofimports
fromthirdcountriesduringarepresentativereference
periodandtotheeconomicoutlookforthequota
periodinquestion;
Whereas,however,sincethequotaisanautonomous
Communitytariffquotaintendedtocoverimport
needsarisingintheCommunity ,itmay,asanexperi­
ment,beallocatedonthebasisofthetemporary
importneedsfromthirdcountriesexpressedbyeach
oftheMemberStateswhileassuringa
certain degree ofcompensation for
those Member States which favour Comm­
unity production when obtaining ,
supplies "whereasthissystemofalloca­
tionalsoensurestheuniformapplicationofthe
CommonCustomsTariff;
Whereas,totakeaccountoffutureimporttrendsfor
theproductconcerned,thequotashouldbedivided
intotwotranches,thefirstbeingallocatedamongthe
MemberStatesandthesecondheldasareserveto
coversubsequentlytherequirementsofMemberStates
whichhaveexhaustedtheirinitialsharesandanyaddi­
tionalrequirements whichmightariseintheother
MemberStates;whereas,togiveimportersofthe
MemberStatessomedegreeofcertainty,thefirst
trancheofthetariffquotashouldbefixedatarela­
tivelyhighlevelwhichcouldbe72000tonnef.;
WhereasMemberStatesmayexhausttheirinitial
sharesatdifferentrates;whereastoavoiddisruption
ofsuppliesonthisaccountitshouldbeprovidedthat
anyMemberStatewhichhasalmostusedupitsinitial
shareshoulddrawanadditionalsharefromthe
reserve;whereaseachtimeitsadditionalshareis
almostexhaustedaMemberStateshoulddrawa
furthershare,andsoonasmanytimesasthereserve
allows;whereastheinitialandadditionalshares
shouldbevaliduntiltheendofthequotaperiod;
whereasthisformofadministration requiresclose
collaboration betweentheMemberStatesandthe
CommissionandtheCommissionmustbeinaposi­
tiontokeepaccountoftheextenttowhichthequotas
havebeenusedupandtoinformtheMemberStates
accordingly ;

-3-
Whereasifatagivendateinthequotaperioda
considerablequantityofaMemberState'sinitialshare
remainsunuseditisessentialthatsuchStateshould
returnasignificantproportionthereoftothereserve,
inordertopreventapartofaquotafromremaining
unusedinoneMemberStatewhileitcouldbeusedin
others;
Whereas,sincetheKingdomofBelgium,the
KingdomoftheNetherlandsandtheGrandDuchyof
Luxembourgareunitedwithinandjointlyrepresented
bytheBeneluxEconomicUnion,anymeasures
concerningtheadministration ofthesharesallocated
tothateconomicunionmaybecarriedoutbyany
oneofitsmembers,
HASADOPTEDTHISREGULATION :
ArticleI
1.FromthedateofentryintoforceofthisRegula­
tionanduntil31December1979atariffquotaof
80000tonnesshallbeopenedwithintheCommunity
inrespectofferro-chromium containingnotlessthan
4%byweightofcarbon,fallingwithinsubheadingex
73.02EIoftheCommonCustomsTariff.
2.DuringthisperiodtheMemberStatesshallbe
authorizedwithinthe20%limitofthequotasallo­
catedtothemorwhichtheylevyonthereservein
accordancewithArticles2and3tochargeagainstthe
saidtariffquota,importsofferro-chromium
containingaquantityofbetween3and4%by
weightofcarbon.
-3i~Importationsoftheproductsinquestion,which
alreadybenefitfromexemptionfromcustomsduties
underanotherpreferentialtariffsystem,arenottobe
chargedagainstthistariffquota.
4.Withinthisquota,thecustomstariffdutyshall
betotallysuspended .
Article2
1.Afirstinstalmentof72000tonnesofthis
Communitytariffquotashall,beallocatedamongthe
MemberStates;theshares,which,subjecttoArticle5
shallbevaliduntil31December19r9,shallbeas
follows:

Bcnclux 800tonnes.
Dcnmark 30tonnes.
Gcrmanv 32000tonnes.
France 10560tonnes.
Ireland 10tonnes,
Italy 12000tonnes-
UnitedKingdom13600tonnes
2.Thesecondinstalmentof8000tonnesshall
constitutethereserve.
Article3
1.AssoonasoneoftheMemberStatesreferredto
inArticle2hasused90%ormoreofitsinitialshare
asfixedinArticle2(1),orofthatshareminusany
portionreturnedtothereservepursuanttoArticle5,
itshallforthwith,bynotifyingtheCommission ,draw
asecondshare,totheextentthatthereserveso
permits,equalto10%ofitsinitialshareroundedup
asnecessarytothenextwholenumber.
2.AssoonasoneoftheMemberStates,after
exhaustingitsinitialshare,hasused90%ormoreof
thesecondsharedrawnbyit,thatMemberStateshall
forthwith,inthemannerandtotheextentprovided
inparagraph 1,drawathirdshareequalto5%ofits
initialshare.
3.AssoonasoneoftheMemberStates,after
exhaustingitssecondshare,hasused90%ormoreof
thethirdsharedrawnbyit,thatMemberStateshall
forthwithandonthesameconditionsdrawafourth
shareequaltothethird.
Thisprocessshallcontinueuntilthereserveis
exhausted .
4.Notwithstanding paragraphs 1to3,aMember
Statemaydrawshareslowerthanthosespecifiedin
thoseparagraphsiftherearegroundsforbelieving
thatthosespecifiedmaynotbeusedinfull.Any
MemberStateapplyingthisparagraphshallinform
theCommissionofitsgroundsforsodoing.
Article4
AdditionalsharesdrawnpursuanttoArticle3shallbe
validuntil31December1979-
Article5
TheMemberStatesshallnotlaterthan1October
1979,returntothereservetheunusedportionoftheir
initialsharewhichon15Septemberl979,exceeds
20%oftheinitialamount.Theymayreturnagreater
portioniftherearegroundsforbelievingthatsuch
portionmaynotbeusedinfull.

Notlaterthan1October1979theMemberStates
shallnotifytheCommissionofthetotalquantitiesof
theproductsinquestionimporteduptoand
including15September1979 andchargedagainstthe
Communityquotaandofanyportionoftheirinitial,
sharesreturnedtothereserve.
Article6
MemberStatesmayrestricttheproductinquestion
whichmaybechargedagainsttheirquotasharesto
productstobeusedforcertainpurposes.
Article7
TheCommissionshallkeepanaccountoftheshares
openedbytheMember'StatespursuanttoArticles2
and3andshall,assoonastheinformationreachesit,
informeachStateoftheextenttowhichthereserve
hasbeenusedup.
Notlaterthan5October1979itshallinformthe
MemberStatesoftheamountsstillinreserve
followinganyreturnofsharespursuanttoArticle5.•
Itshallensurethatwhenanamountexhaustingthe
reserveisdrawn,theamountsodrawndoesnot
exceedthebalanceavailable,andtothisendshall
notifytheamountofthatbalancetotheMemberState
makingthelastdrawing.
Article8
1.TheMemberStatesshalltakeallappropriate ,
measures -toensurethatadditionalsharesdrawnpursuanttoArticle3areopenedinsuchawaythat
importationsmaybechargedwithoutinterruption
againsttheiraccumulatedshareofthetariffquota.
2.TheMemberStatesshallensurethatimporters
oftheproductinquestion-establishedintheirterrito­
rieshavefreeaccesstothesharesallocatedtothem.
3.TheMemberStatesshallchargeimportsofthe
productinquestionagainst-theirsharesasandwhen.
theproductisenteredwiththecustomsauthoritiesfor
homeuse. .
4.TheextenttowhichtheMemberStateshave
useduptheirsharesshallbedeterminedonthebasis
oftheimportationschargedagainsttheirsharesin
accordancewithparagraph3.
Article9
AttherequestoftheCommission,theMemberStates
shallinformitofimportschargedagainsttheirshares.
Article10
TheMemberStatesandtheCommissionshallcoop­
eratecloselytoensurethatthisRegulationis
compliedwith.
Article11
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceontheseventh
dayfollowingitspublicationintheOfficialJournal ,
oftheEuropeanCommunities .
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicableinallMember
States.
DoneatBrussels,
FortheCouncil
ThePresident