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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(74)567
Vol.1974/0096

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(74)567 final
Brussels ,26April 1974
Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )
temporarily suspending theautonomous duties in
the Common Customs Tariff onanumber ofagricultural
products
(submitted totheCouncil "bytheCommission )
COM(74 )567final

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(1)Atitsmeetings on5,25and26March 1974 theJoint Group ofgovernment
experts which meets under theaegis oftheCommission tostudy economic problems
relating totheCommon Customs Tariff examined :
-theadvisability ofextending ,forcertain agricultural products ,the
suspensions ofduties which areduetoexpire on15or30June 1974
-newapplications submitted bycertain Member States forthesuspension
ofcommon customs duties onagricultural products from 1July ,>1September
or15October 1974 •
(2)Theapplications submitted concerned products inrespect ofwhich the
Member States concerned considered that aprovisional reduction ofautonomous
duties intheCommon Customs Tariff wasjustified foreconomic reasons ,owing
tothenon-existence orinadequacy ofproduction intheCommunity .
Theabove-mentioned group favoured unanimously thetotal orpartial suspension
ofcommon customs duties ontheproducts ,which arethesubject oftheproposal
foraRegulation annexed hereto .
(3)TheCommission proposes asuspension ofduties ontheproducts inquestion
chiefly forthefollowing reasons :
(a)Fish
TheCommunity 'sprocessing industry forfish isnotadequately supplied by
Community fishermen .Community catches arebecoming increasingly smaller ,so
that some Member States have become dependant onlarge quantities ofimports
from third countries .Nevertherless ,theduties applicable tothese fish
(basic materials forpreservation inparticular )reduce thecompetitiveness
ofthe industries concerned .
Suspensions ofduties areintended toenable theprocessing industry tocompete
with suppliers offinished products from third countries whose prices aremore
competitive .Inaddition ,suspensions ofduties could check theconstant increase
intheprices ofprocessed fish .

Thefollowingtable,based,ontheavailablestatisticaldata,couldserve
toillustratetheeconomicsituationinthissectorintheMemberSates
submittingapplications forsuspensionsofduties.
FederalRepublicofGermany(1973)
Description of
productsNeeds
(inmetric
tonnes)Supplies
(inmetrio
tonnes)fromthefromth
Sixorig-newMen:
inalEECStates
States metric
(inmetrictonnes)
tonnes)Imports
fromthe
newMember
States(in
metricfrom 1
third
count­
ries
(inmet­rictonnes)
Mackerel,fresh,x x1,5742,845 2,903
chilledorfrozen
Salmon,fresh,chilledjorfrozen \
SaltedSalmon 12,200 99 46261,471.
"?'
Pikeddog-fish,fresh,
chilledorfrozen 2,895 228 385512,078
Blackhalibut,fresh,
chilledorfrozen6,553 1,524 38144,212
Coalfish,saltedor
inbrine ,1,785 030152,1,603
Sprats,saltedor
inbrineχ x 28 0 321
ι
Anchovies,salted
orinbrine χ X 28 0 321
Solubleproducts
offish χ X 79523,858 ■18,656
/
m••/*••
xFiguresnotavailable.

-3-
Prance (1973 )
Description of Needs Supplies Imports
products (inmetric (inmetric from the from the from
tonnes ) tonnes ) Sixong - new Member third
mal EEC States (in countries
States metric (inmet­
(inmetric tonnes ) ne ton-
tonnes ) nes)
Anchovies salted 6,347 2.000 10 0 4,337
orinbrine
Crawfish frozen 2,879 630 13 162 2,074
and chilled
Bénélux (1972 )
Crabs χ χ 65 38 1,108
Shrimps 4,610 779 2,335 140 1,356
Asthis situation isnotexpected tochange inthenear future ,duties must be
suspended foroneyear ,i.e. from 1July 1974 "to30June 1975 *
Asmackerel areexempt from theCommon Customs Tariff from 15February to15
June ,itisproposed that theduty onthese fish besuspended fortheperiod
16June 1974 to14February 1975 *
Inthecase ofsardines (Clupea pilchardus Walbaum ),suspension ofduty hasbeen
requested onseasonal grounds fortheperiod 1September 1974 to31March 1975 *
Inthecase ofmost fishery products thecurrent suspension ofduties which is
duetoexpire on30June 1974 istobeprolonged .Inthecase ofcrawfish ,
frozen or'chilled anewtariff measure istobeintroduced .
•••/••*
xFigures notavailable .

-4-
(b)Oystersweighingnoraorothan12geach;oystersof"the"Cassostrea
gigas"varietyweighingmorethan100geach
As-aresultofpollutionalong"theAtlanticcoastinparticular,a"veryhigh
mortalityratehasbeenrecordedintheoysterfarms.Asittakesseveral
yearstoreconstitute thefarmsandduetoincreasedconsumption ,itis
impossibleatpresenttoobtainsufficientmotheroystersandspatwitha
sufficiently highresistanceandafastrateofgrowthontheCommunitymarket;
theseproductsmustthereforebeimportedfromthirdcountries,inparticular
Japan.,
Notonlymustoysterfarmsbereconstituted buttheymustalsocontinueto
grow,inviewoftheconstantlyincreasingdemandforadultoysters.
Inordertomeetherneedsin1973rFranceimported250metrictonnesofoyster
spatweighingnotmorethan12geachfromtheCommunityasoriginallyconstituted
as.wellas40metrictonnesfromthenewMemberStatesandhadtoimport2,336
metrictonnesfromthirdcountries.Duringthesameperiod,sheimported170
metrictonnesofoystersoftheCassostreagigasvarietyfromthirdcountries
(Canada).Inviewofthesituationitwouldseemnecessarytoprolongthe
currenttotalsuspensionofdutiesuntil30June1975*
(c)Chantarelles,bilberriesandroso-hips
TheneedsoftheCommunityprocessingindustryfortheseproductsmustbecovered
byimportsfromthirdcountries.Forexample,thestatisticaldata(1973,in
metrictonnes)fortheFederalRepublicofGermanyareasfollows(notavailable
forrose-hips):
Description ofFeeds Imports
products(inmetric fromthefromthofrom
tonnes) Sixorig-newMemberthird
malEECStates(incountries
States metric (inmetric
(inmetrictormos)tonnes)
tonnes)
Chantarelles 1,888 ; 2 01,886
Bilberries 3,365 1,192 02,173

-5-
Customsprotectiondocsnotseemnecessaryforeconomicreasons "becausethe
highwagesforpickingtheproductsmakedomesticproductionimpossible.
SuspensionofdutieswillenabletheCommunity'sprocessingindustrytocompete
withoffersoffinishedproductsfromthirdcountrieswhosepricesaremore
favourdie.Itwouldthereforeseemsufficienttoprolongthecurrentsuspension
ofduties(chantarelles :4/^Jbilberries:4$androse-hips:0%)until30June
1975.
(d)Dates
Frenchpackersfounditdifficulttoobtainsuppliesparticularly fromAlgeria
andTunisia.Sincethesecountriesreservetheirproductionforlocalpackers,
theseproductsmustbeimportedfromthirdcountries,whence,forexample,
17,601metrictonneswereimportedin1973.
AsaResultofthesesuppliesthepackingindustryhasbeenabletosurviveand
ensureasatisfactory levelofemploymentwithjobsforapproximately 3,000workers
inaregion-theSouth-whereemploymentopportunities areverylimited.Asthe
situationisnotchanging,theCommissionconsidersitnecessarytoprolonguntil30
June1975thetotalsuspensionofduties.
(e)Saffron
ThereisonlyminimalproductionofthisproductwithintheCommunity,butthere
isnevertheless aprocessingindustry,particularlyinPrance,whichneeds5»3metric
tonnesayear.Giventhatduringthepastnewyearsthepriceofimportedsaffronhas ■
risenconsiderably ,thereisadangerofanincreasingly moremarkeddisaffection
forsaffronbecomingnoticeableandconsequently theactivityoftheprocessing
industryceasing.Itwouldthereforeseemdesirabletoprolonguntil30June1975
thesuspensionofdutyatthepresentlevelof10%forthisproduct.
f)Groundpaprika
Thisproductismixedwithfeedingstuffsforlayinghensandisnotasubstitute
foranyotheragricultural productusedforthesamepurpose.Communityneedswith
regardtothisproductmustbecoveredentirelybyimportsfromthirdcountries.
Forexample,theFederalRepublicofGermanyhad.toimport1,630metrictonnes
ofpaprikafromthirdcountriesin1973,. ...

Intheinterestsofthocompetitiveness oftheCommunity *sproductionofanimal
feedingstuffs,thecurrenttotalsuspensionofdutiesmustbeprolongeduntil
30June1975.
(g)Bitter,orSevilleoranges
TheCommunity'sprocessingindustryhasanurgentneedforthisbasicproduct,
theproductionofwhichisfairlylimited.Italyisunabletosupplythis
industrysufficiently sothatthelatterisdependantonimportsfromSpain.
inorexample:theneedsoftheindustryinquestionintheBeneluxcountries
in1972,860metrictonnes,couldbecoveredonlypartiallybysuppliesfrom
theCommunity(lS2metrictonnes).Thisindustryhadtoimport678metrictonnes
fromthirdcountries,hencetheproosaltoprolonguntil30June1975"the
suspensionofdutiesatthepresentlevelof4$*
(h)Driedaprloots
TheagreementbetweentheCommunityandIranwhichexpiredon30November1973
providedforapartialsuspensionofdutiesondriedapricots.Giventhatthe
newcommercialagreement,forwhichnegotiations areatpresenttakingplace,
willeventuallycontainthesametariffmeasure,itseemsappropriatenotto
disturbthetradeandforthisreasontheCommonCustomsdutyforthisproduct
hasbeenunilaterally suspendedfrom1December1973to30June1974•Itis
thereforedesirable,forthesamereasons,toprolongthisunilateralsuspension
ofthecustomsdutyuntil30June1975*
(i)Christmastrees
ThoneedsoftheFederalRepublicofGermanyforcutChristmastreescannot
bemetinsufficientquantitiesfrominternalsources(14millionfirs).
Itisthereforenecessarytoimportanadditional 2millionfirs,mainlyfrom
Denmark.
GiventhatthodutyratesfortheCommunityasoriginallyconstitutedwithregard
toDenmarkhaveonlybeenreducedby40/tuptonow,thecustomsreceiptsfrom
importsoffirsfromDenmarkstillamountto6%oftheirvalue.Sincethe
deiivsriesfromDenmarkcannotbecompensatedforbytheotherIierabor
States,thedutiesarecausingariseinthepricesontheGermanmarket.

-6bis–
ThetemporarysuspensionofthedutiesoftheCommonCustomsTariffmaybeconsidered
asanefficientmethodofavoidinganeventualriseinthepricesofChristmastrees.
(k)Shelledcashewnuts(forlackoftime,thispartoftheproposalcouldnotbe
' discussedbytheGroup)
Initscommunication totheCouncilon"implementation oftheDeclaration ofIntent
concerningthecommercialrelationswithcertainAsiancountries"(Doc.C0M(73)l801
finalof24October1973)>theCommissionproposedtotalsuspensionoftheCCTduty
onthisproduct.Thefollowingreasonsfortheproposalweregiven:
"ThesoleAsiansupplierofshelledcashewnutsisIndia.Thiscountry'sexports
oftheCommoditycover45$and67$respectivelyoftheimportsoftheSixandof
theUnitedKingdom.
Cashewnutsarepractically notgrowninIndia,butimportedfromTanzaniafor
processingbyhand,therebyprovidingemploymentinanareawheresocialconditions
areparticularly poor.Furthermore,India'sexportsdonotseemtocompetewith
anyoftheassociatedorassociablecountriesinAfrica.Inthecircumstances ,
therefore,itwouldappearreasonabletoplaceallsuppliersonanequalfooting,
andtheCommissionrecommendstothisendatotalsuspensionoftheCCTdutywhich
atpresentamountsto2.5$.InclusionundertheGSPisnotsufficient,asthe
productisnotofIndianorigin."
I
SoastoavoiddelayingthesigningoftheCommercialCooperation Agreementwith
India,theproposedtariffmeasurewasnot,asoriginallyplanned,includedinthe
Agreement.Forthisreason,theCommissionnowproposesthat-theproductinquestion
beadded,intheAnnextotheRegulation,tothelistofproductsforwhicha12-
monthssuspensionofdutyisprovided.

(4)Taking into account thesuspension oftheduties oftheCommon Customs Tariff
fortheproducts concerned ,thenewMember States should suspend their tariffs
fortheperiod envisaged inconformity with Article 39paragraph 2oftheAct
concerning the conditions ofAccession .
Thegroup also examined thepossibility ofsuspending common customs duties on
thefollowing productsi
Heading No Description ofgoods . . . ,
03«01BIh)1 Cod (Gadus morrhuas orOadus callarias ),fresh
orchilled ,whole ,headless orinpieces intended
forthoproduction offillets
03.01 BIi)1 Coalfish (Pollachius virens orGadus virens ),fresh
orchilled ,whole ,headless orinpieces intended
fortheproduction offillets
03.01 BIlc)1 Haddock ,fresh orchilled ,whole ,headless orin
pieces intended fortheproduction offillets
ex08.05 AII Almonds ,fresh ordried ,shelled orpeeled but
not shredded orchopped .
Unanimity within thogroup could hotbereached onthis point .TheCommission ,
foritspart ,isnotinfavour ofproposing asuspension ofduties onthese
products atpresent forthefollowing reasons .
(a)Cod .coalfish ,haddock ,fresh orchilled ,fresh ,chilled orfrozen
\
Thedelegations ofmost Member States stated that they were against asuspension
ofcommon customs duties forthose fish .Thereasons given concern thoavailability
ofthese fish onthemarket oftheCommunity ortherisk ofdisturbing themarket of
aMember State forwhom fishing isspecially important .

-8-
Inthoseconditionsitseemsinappropriate fortheCommissiontoproposea
suspensionfortheabove-mentioned ,fish.
(b)Alnonds
FollowingthepoorharvestintheCommunityin1973,thecustomsdutyforthis
productwaspartiallysuspendedfrom1October1973to30June1974*Acontinuation
ofthismeasureuntil30September1974,thatistosaythedatewhenthenew
CommunityCropwillbecomeavailable,wouldupsettheopportunities forthenew
CommunityCrop.

Proposal fora
" •' COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
temporarily suspending theautonomous duties inthe
Common Customs Tariff onanumber ofagricultural
products
THE COUNCIL OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic
Community ,andinparticular Article 4*3thereof ;
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ;
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament ;
Whereas production intheCommunity oftheproducts specified in
this Regulation iscurrently inadequate ornon-existent and
whereas producers thus cannot meet theneeds ofuser industries
intheCommunity }
Whereas itisinihe interest oftheCommunity incertain cases
partially tosuspend theautonomous duties intheCommon Customs
Tariff because these goods areproduced intheCommunity ,andin
other cases toeffect total suspensions ;
Whereas inview ofthedifficulty ofassessing accurately short-term
trends intheeconomic situation intherelevant sectors ,suspension
measures should betaken only fortemporary periods thelength of
which istobedetermined byreference totheinterests ofCommunity
production j
HAD ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Article 1
Theautonomous duties intheCommon Customs Tariff fortheproducts
listed inthetables annexed tothis Regulation shall besuspended
atthelevel indicated inrespect ofeach ofthem .

-2-
These suspensions shall beapplicable :
-from 16June 197^tol^fFebruary 1975 fortheproduct listed in
Table I;
-from 1July to31December 197^fortheproducts listed in
Table II j
-from 1July 197^to30June 1975 fortheproducts listed in
Table III ;
-from 1September 197^to31March 1975 fortheproduct listed in
Table IV ;
-from 15October to31December 197^fortheproduct listed in
Table V.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force onthethird dayfollowing
itspublication intheOfficial Journal oftheEuropean Communities .
This Regulation shall bebinding initsentirety anddirectly
applicable inallMember States .
Done atBrussels For the Council
The President

ANNEX
Table I
CCT
heading NoDescription ofgoodsEate ofduty
(autonomous )
ex03.01 BIm)2 Mackerel ,fresh ,chilled orfrozen ,
whole ,headless ,orinpieces ,,
intended for theprocessing
industry .(a)5%
Table II -,
CCT
heading NoDescription ofgoodsRate ofduty
(autonomous )
ex08.02 AIIa)
and b)Bitter orSevilla oranges ,fresh
ordried8%
Table III
CCT
heading No/.Description ofgoodsEate ofduty
(autonomous )
03.01 Alb ) Salmon ,fresh ,chilled orfrozen total
suspension
ex03.01 BIc)
\Piked dog-fish (Squalus acanthias ).,
fresh ,chilled orfrozen *who&e ,
headless orinpiecestotal
suspension
ex03.01 BIg) Black halibut (Hippoglossus rein-
hardtius ),fresh ,chilled or
frozen ,whole ,headless orinpiecestotal
suspension
ex03.01 BIq) Sardinops sagax sardinops ocellata
(pilchards ),,freeh ,chilled orfrozen ,8c*
whole ,headless orinpieces ,inten­
dedfortheprocessing industry (a)
•••/••
issuspension shall besubject tosuch conditions asmaybe •determined
Ljthecompetent authorities .

-2- ANNEX
ex03.01 BIq)
ex03.02 Aie )
03.02 Aie )
ex03.02 AIf)
ex03.02 AIf)
ex03.03 AI
ex03.03 BIb)
\■..o
ex03.03 BIb)
ex07.01QII
ex08.01 A
ex08.01 FSturgeons ,fresh ,chilled orfrozen ,
whole ,headless orinpieces ,in­
tended fortheprocessing industry (a)
Anchovies (Engraulis sp.p .)salted or
inbrine ,whole ,headless orinpieces ,
inbarrels orother containers ofa
net capacity of10kgormore
Salmon ,salted orinbrine ,whole ,
headl.es or .inpieces ,
Sprats ,salted orinbrine ,whole ,
headless orinpieces
Coalfish (gadus virens ),salted
orinbrine ,whole ,headless orin
pieces ,inimmediate packings of
anet capacity of :
a)^7kgto57kginclusive and
containing atmost 50fish halves
b)more .than 57 -kgandcontaining
atmost 60fish halves
Crawfish meat ,chilled orfrozen ,
shelled ornot
Oysters ,fresh (living ),weighing
nomore -than 12geach "
' \ ." ... .
Oysters ,fresh (living ),ofthe
"crassostrea gigas "variety „-
weighing more -than 100 geach
Chantarelles ,infresh orchilled
state : ^
Dates ,fresh ordried ,inimmediate
packings ofanet capacity not
exceeding -35kg,forrepacking ,
under customs orequivalent
(administrative control ,forretail
sale (a)
Shelled cashew nuts8%
total
suspension
total
suspension
total
suspension
7%
total
suspension
total
total
suspension
k%
total
suspension
totsl
suspension /•••/«*
(a)This suspension shall besubject tosuch conditions asmaybedetermined
.bythe competent authorities . . . ' '

r,3- ANNEX
08.08 C Bilberries ,fresh k%
ex08.09 Rose-hips ,fresh total
suspension
ex08.10 Β Bilberries ,cooked oruncooked ,
preserved byfreezing ,without
added sugark%
08.12 A Dried apricots 6%
ex09.04 BI Paprika ,ground ,foruseinanimal
feedingstuffs (a)total ,
suspension
09.10 CI Saffron ,neither crushed orground 10%
ex16.0 ^CII Spiced herrings ,packed inbarrels
(semi-preserved )fortheprocessing
industry (a)total
suspension
ex16.05 A Crabs ofthe "King ","Hanasaki ",
"Kegani "and "Queen "varieties ,
simply boiled inwater andshelled ,
whether ornot frozen ,inpackings
ofanet capacity of2kgormore ,
intended fortheprocessing
industry concerned with products fal­
ling within heading No16.05 (a)10%
23.07 A Fish ormarine mammal solubles 2%
Table IV
CCT
heading NoDescription ofgoodsRate ofduty
(autonomous )
ex03.01 Bid ) SardineB (Clupea pilchardus Walbaum ),
fresh ,chilled orfrozen ,whole ,of
alength of20cmormoretotal
suspension
(a)This suspension shall besubject tosuch conditions asmaybe
bythecompetent authorities .determined

-k- ANNEX
Table V
CCT Hate ofduty
heading No Description ofgoods (autonomous )
ex06.0 ^BI Natural Christmas trees (firs )unfit total
forreplanting suspension