ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(79)648
Vol.1979/0219

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM (79)648 final
Brussels ,21st November 1979
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V\£ >/
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DRAFT
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )
opening ,allocating andadministering aCommunity tariff quota
forferro-chromium containing not less 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 3and 4Xbyweight ofcarbon (1980 )
(presented bytheCommission totheCouncil )
COM (79)648 final

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Thecompetentdepartments oftheCommission werecalledupon
toexamine,duringameetingoftheEconomicTariff'Problems
Group,thequestionofopening,for1979,anautonomous
Communitytariffquotaforcertainqualitiesofferro-chromium
containing aquantityof4%(withafixedlimitof3%)ormore
byweightofcarbon(highcarbonferro-chromium ).
Duringthediscussionittranspiredthat:
a)atthereviewcarriedoutatthesameperiod,thestateofthe*
Communitymarketinhighcarbonferro-chromium in1980appeared
,tobesubstantially thesameasin1979;
b)intheCommunity,theproductive capacityinrespectofhigh
carbonferro-chromium ismarkedlyunderused and,accordingtoforecasts
for1980,production mightbevoluntarily reducedinconsiderable
proportions inexchangefordependableoutletsinsidetheCommunity;
c)theMemberStatesforecastsplacetheusualparticulars forcalculating
thequotaatthefollowingapproximate levels:
consumption ' 578.116tonnes'
actualproduction "about 140.000tonnes
inwardprocessing arrangements , .'!■negligiblequantity .~
duty-freeimportsunderthetermsof
otherpreferential systems(EFTA,Turkey) 93.761tonnes
exportstothirdcountries '1.000tonnes
unusualstocksasat31December1978 26.000tonnes
d)onthisbasis,importneedsfromthirdcountries uptotheendof
1980mightreach300,000tonnesdepending ontheextentwhich the
forecastamountsactuallyareachieved./\
.Inthesecircumstances ,takingintoaccount(i)theuncertainties
ofconsumption levels,JCii)Communityproduction,(iii)thenecessary
importsfromthirdcountries,(iv)theneedtoensureparallel
developmentinthemarketingofCommunityproduction andintheobtsiriinq
suppliesforconsumerindustriesunderfavourabl-econditions,theCommission

considersitnecessarytobeparticularly prudentinfixing
thequotavolumeinordernottoendangerthemarketequilibrium .
WiththisinmindtheCommissionfeelsthatitisnecessary
toassureacertaincompensation tothoseMemberStateswho
favourCommunityproductiontoensuretheirsupplies.
Forthispurpose,theCommission intendstoopenfor1980
anil-dutytariffquota,theprovisional volumeofwhich,covering
theneedsforthefirstfourmonths(i.e.100.000tonnes),mightbe
increasedduringtheyeartokeepinstepwiththesituation.
TheremaywellbearevisionbytheEconomicTariffProblemsGroup
atthebeginningoftheyeartogiveeffect,(allowingforthe
durationoftheapprovalprocedures )toanincreaseasfrom
1May1980.
7Asusualinsuchcases,theproposedquotavolumehasbeen
dividedintotwotranches,thefirst,corresponding to90%of
thisvolume,beingallocated amongtheMemberStatesinproportion
totheiranticipated importsfromthirdcountries,thesecond,
corresponding tothe.balanceofthe.saidvolume,constituting a
Communityreserve.Settingupsuchareservecanbe^allthebetter
justifiedinthiscaseasthequotacolumeuslikelytoberevised
duringtheyear,inordertomeetmoreadequately theactualneeds
ofconsumerindustries .
ThedraftRegulation submitted bytheCommission,moreover,
laysdowninitsarticledthatMemberStatesshouldbefreeto
restrictthebenefitofthistariffquota"toproductstobe
usedforcertainpurposes

DRAFT
*COUNCILREGULATION (EEC)
opening,allocatingandadministering aCommunitytariffquotaforferro-chro­
miumcontainingnotlessthan4%byweightofcarbon,.fallingwithin
subheadingex73.02E-IoftheCommonCustomsTariff,andextendingthe
benefitofthisquotatocertainimportsofferro-chromium containingaquan-
'tityofbetween3and4%byweightofcarbon(1980) "
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEAN thequota;whereas,tocorrespond'ascloselyas
COMMUNITIES , possibletotheactualtrendinthemarketinthe
,^. productinquestion,allocationofthequotashouldbe
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishingtheEuropean ,proportiontotherequirementsoftheMember
EconomicCommunity,andinparticularArticle28Statesascalculatedbyreferencetostatisticsofimports
thereof fromthird,countriesduringarepresentativereference
_periodandtotheeconomicoutlookforthequota
' .i.penodinquestion;HavingregardtothedraftRegulationsubmittedby
theCommission .
Whereas,however,sincethequotaisanautonomous
Whereasforferro-chromium containingnotlessthanCommunitytariffquotaintendedtocoverimport
4%byweightofcarbon,Communityproductionis,needsarisingintheCommunity ,itmay,asanexperi-
toavariabledegree,inadequateandproducersarement,beallocatedonthebasisofthetemporary
unabletomeetthetotalrequirementsofconsumer importheedsfromthirdcountriesexpressedbyeach
industries;whereasitisthereforeintheCommunity'softheMemberStateswhileassuringacertaindegree
interesttosuspendtotallyinrespectofthismetaltheofcompensation forthoseMemberStateswhich
applicationoftheCommonCustomsTariffdutyuntilfavourCommunityproductionwhenobtaining
31December19450withinasuitabletariffquota;supplies;whereasthis-systemofallocationalso
whereasinordertoavoiddisturbingtheequilibrium ensurestheuniforrriapplicationoftheCommon
ofthemarketforthisferro-alloyandtoensureparallel wCustomsTariff; 1
development insalesofCommunityproductionand N ' .
insuppliestomeetthe'requirements ofconsumer '
industries,itisappropriatetofixthequotavolumeat-Whereas,totakeaccountoffutureimporttrendsfor
theprovisionallevelof100,000tonnes,-covering'heproductconcerned,thequotashouldbedivided
importneedsfromthirdcountriesduringthefirstfew'nt0twoinstalments,thefirstbeingallocatedamong
monthsof'theyear;whereasthefixingofthisMemberStatesandthesecondheldasareserveto
amount,basedonconservativeestimates,doesnot-coversubsequentlytherequirementsofMemberStates
precludefutureadjustmentinlinewithchangesinthewhichhaveexhaustedtheirinitialsharesandanyaddi-
situation;whereas,moreover,MemberStatesshouldtionalrequirements -whichmightariseintheother
be'freetoauthorizechargestobemadeagainstthisMemberStates;whereas,togiveimportersofthe
volumeonlysubjecttocertainconditionsrelatingtoMemberStatessomedegreeofcertainty,thefirst
use. instalmentofthetariffquotashouldbefixedatarela­
tivelyhighlevelwhichcouldbe95^)00tonnes;
Whereasrelativelylimitedimportsofferro-chromium - '
containingaquantityofbetween3and4%byWhereasMemberStatesmayexhausttheirinitial
weightofcarbonareforeseeableforthisquotaperiod;sharesatdiff<.rentrates;whereastoavoiddisruption
whereasprovisionshouldbemadeonatemporary 0fSUpp]iesonthisaccountitshouldbeprovidedthat
basisfortheextensionofthebenefitofthetariffanyMemberStatewhichhasalmostusedupitsinitial
quotainquestiontotheseimports,limitingitshareshoulddraw-anadditionalsharefromthe
howeverto20%ofthequotavolumetakingaccountreserve.whereaseachtimeitsadditionalshareis
oftheexistenceofCommunityproduction,/almostexhaustedaMemberStateshoulddrawa
furthershare,andsoonasmanytimesasthereserve
Whereasequalandcontinuousaccesstothequota-'allows;whereastheinitialandadditionalshares
shouldbeensuredforallCommunityimportersandshouldbevaliduntiltheendofthequotaperiod;
therateofdutyforthetariffquotashouldbeapplied..whereasthisformofadministration requiresclose
consistentlytoallimportsuntilthequotais■collaborationbetweentheMemberStatesandthe
exhausted;whereasinthelightoftheseprinciples CommissionandtheCommissionmustbeinaposi-
arrangements fortheutilizationofthetariffquota'tiontokeepaccountoftheextenttowhichthequotas
basedonanallocationamongMemberStateswouldhavebeenusedup/andtoinformtheMemberStates
seemtobeconsistentwiththeCommunitynatureofaccordingly;I,*.

-2-
Whereasifatagivendateinthequotaperioda
considerablequantityofaMemberState'sinitialshare
remainsunuseditisessentialthatsuchStateshould
returnasignificantproportionthereoftothereserve,
inordertopreventapartofaquotafromremaining
unusedinoneMemberStatewhileitcouldbeusedin
others;
Whereas,sincetheKingdomofBelgium,the
KingdomoftheNetherlandsandtheGrandDuchyof
Luxembourgareunitedwithinandjointlyrepresented
bytheBeneluxEconomicUnion,anymeasure
concerningtheadministration ofthesharesallocated
tothateconomicunionmaybecarriedoutbyany
oneofitsmembers.
HASADOPTEDTHISREGULATION :ArticleJ
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.
ArticleÎ
1.Fromtheperiod 1Januaryto •
31December1980atariffquotaof
13Ci)00tonnesshallbeopenedwithintheCommunity
inrespectofferro-chromium containingnotlessthan
4%byweightofcarbonfallingwithinsubheadingex
73.02EIoftheCommonCustomsTariff.
2.DuringthisperiodtheMemberStatesshallbe
authorizedwithinthe20%limitofthequotasallo­
catedtothemorwhichtheylevyonthereservein
accordancewithArticles2and3tochargeagainstthe
saidtariffquotaimportsofferro-chromium
containingaquantityofbetween3and4%by
weightofcarbon.
3.Importations oftheproductsinquestion,which
alreadybenefitfromexemptionfromcustomsduties
underanotherpreferentialtariffsystem,arenottobe
chargedagainstthistariffquota.
4.Withinthisquota,thecustomstariffdutyshall
betotallysuspended.3.AssoonasoneoftheMemberStates,after
exhaustingitssecondshare,hasused90%ormoreof
thethirdsharedrawnbyit,thatMemberStateshall
forthwithandonthesameconditionsdrawafourth'
shareequaltothe'third.
Thisprocessshallcontinueuntilthereserveis
exhausted .
4.Notwithstanding paragraphs 1to3,aMember
Statemaydrawshareslowerthanthosespecifiedin
thoseparagraphsiftherearegroundsforbelieving
thatthosespecifiedmaynotbeusedinfull.Any
MemberStateapplyingthisparagraphshallinform
theCommissionofitsgroundsforsodoing.
Article4
AdditionalsharesdrawnpursuanttoArticle3shallbe
validuntil31December1980-
Article2
1.Afirstinstalmentof95000tonnesofthis
Communitytariffquotashallbeallocatedamongthe
MemberStates;theshares,which,subjecttoArticle5,
shallbevaliduntil31December1979,shallbeas
follows: -•
Benelux
.Denmark
Germany
France
Ireland
Italy
UnitedKingdom -Ij.ooUtonnes.
2.Thesecondinstalmentof5000tonnesshall
constitutethereserve.Article5
TheMemberStatesshallnotlaterthan1October
1980returntothereservetheunusedportionoftheir
initialsharewhichon15September -|980exceeds
20%oftheinitialamount.Theymayreturnagreater
portioniftfierearegroundsforbelievingthatsuch
portionmaynotbeusedinfull.
'NotlaterthanIOctoberl9gQtheMemberStates
shallnotifytheCommissionofthetotalquantitiesof
theproductsinquestionimporteduptoand
including15September1980ar,dchargedagainstthe
Communityquotaandofanyportionoftheirinitial
sharesreturnedtothereserve.4.35Q .tonnes,
tonnes,32.365 .tonnes,
14.963 ,tonnes,
293$--t0nneS'y>nnes,13.880tonnes.

Article6■
MemberStates-mayrestrict'theproductinquestion
whichmaybechargedagainsttheirquotasharesto
"productstobeusedforcertainpurposes.
Article7
TheCommissionshallkeepanaccountoftheshares
openedbytheMemberStatespursuanttoArticles2
and3andshall,assoonastheinformationreachesit,
informeachStateoftheextenttowhichthereserve
hasbeenusedup.
Notlaterthan5October1980jtshallinformthe
MemberStatesoftheamountsstillinreserve
followinganyreturnofsharespursuanttoArticle5.
Itshallensurethatwhenanamountexhaustingthe
reserveisdrawn,theamountsodrawndoesnot
exceedthebalanceavailable,andtothisend.shall
notifytheamountofthatbalancetotheMemberState
makingthelastdrawing.
Article8
1.TheMemberStatesshalltakeallappropriate
measurestoensurethatadditionalsharesdrawn
pursuanttoArticle3areopenedinsuchawaythatimportationsmaybechargedwithoutinterruption
againsttheiraccumulatedshareofthetariffquota.
2.TheMemberStatesshallensurethatimporters
oftheproductinquestionestablishedintheirterrito­
rieshavefreeaccesstothesharesallocatedt<?them.
-3.Theextenttowhich-theMemberStateshave
useduptheirsharesshallbedeterminedonthebasis
ofimportsoftheproductinquestionenteredwiththe
customsauthoritiesforhomeuse.
Article9
AttherequestoftheCommission ,theMemberStates
shall-informitofimportschargedagainsttheirshares.
^ Article10
TheMemberStatesandthe^Commission shallcoop­
eratecloselytoensure.thatthisRegulationis
compliedwith.•.-
Article11
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceon
1January1980..
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicableinallMember
States. ■ . 4-
DoneatBrussels,-.-," '
• .FortheCouncil
t
ThePresident