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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (81)606
V ol.1981/0183

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(81)606 final
Brussels -26October 1981
Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )
opening ,allocating and providing for the administration ofa
Community tariff quota for newsprint falling within subheading
48.01 Aofthe Common Customs Tariff (1982 )and extending this
quota toinclude certain other types ofpaper
> --.
&:
- J
(submitted tothe Council bythe Commission )
C0M(81 )606 final

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. Atthelast multilateral GATT negotiations ,theCommunity undertook toopen
annually anil-duty Community tariff quota for 1500 000 tonnes ofnewsprint
falling within subheading 48.01 AoftheCommon Customs Tariff .
Furthermore ,theCommunity informed theNordic delegation (text Nord kof
document NCG(67 .)^rev. )that ithad decided toopen anil-duty tariff quota
each year under Article 28oftheTreaty ofRome ifitwere established that all
possibilities ofsupply onthe internal market ofthe Community had been
exhausted during agiven accounting period andafter having entirely used upthe
nilduty quota bound under GATT .
Moreover ,Protocol N°13annexed totheAct ofAccession also provides forthe
opening ofanautonomous Community tariff quota forthis product when ithas
been established that allpossibilities ofsupply ontheinternal market ofthe
Community have been exhausted during theperiod forwhicfi thequota isopened .
2. Judging from market trends over thepast few years itisalready clear that the
198 2Community tariff quota tobeopened must begreater than the 1500000
tonnes originally established .The matter ofthequota amount tobeprovided for
1982wasthesubject ofadiscussion bytheEconomic Tariff Questions Group on
16September 198 2,,attheconclusion ofwhich ittrahspired that :
(i)themarket forCommunity production in198 2didnotseem tobeguaranteed
atthemoment and,therefore ,that thecondition imposed ontheopening ofan
autonomous tariff quota byProtocol N°13,and bythecommitment entered into
with theNordic delegation ,didnottherefore appear tobecurrently fulfilled ■;
(ii)the estimates put forward bythe Member States fixed their import
.requirements from third countries atnearly 3000 000 tonnes ,according to
thelevel which might bereached byCommunity production ,.although theactual
utiiization ofquotas opened for1977 ,1978 ,1979 and 1980 was only 2385 000,
2500 G00 »'2c60 C0C an:!2721 400 respectively and for 1981 the figure is
likely tobesimilar .
The consumption trend and the unfavourable current general economic
situation donot justify such requirements for .1982 .

-2-
3. Generally speaking ,theCommission considers inthis case that inview ofthe
uncertainties regarding thelevels ofconsumption ,production and imports from
third countries ,aswell asofthe need toensure parallel development of
Community production and ofsupplies for the consumer industries on
satisfactory terms ,itisnecessary toshow discretion infixing thequota tobe
opened soasnottojeopardize thestability ofthemarket .Fortheabove reasons ,
the Commission proposes that thequota befixed for 1982attheanticipated
minimum level ofimport requirements oftheMember States ,namely 2700 000
tonnes ,andthat thesituation bereviewed inthecourse oftheyear .
4. The tariff quota isallocated inaccordance with themethod which hasnormally
been applied :allocation isbased onpast import figures and onestimates forthe
quota year inquestion .
Furthermore ,inview ofthe size ofthe quota proposed from thestart ,the
Commission considers that itwould becontrary totheCommunity nature ofthis
quota todivide itupinto shares allocated definitively toalltheMember States .
Ittherefore proposes asystem ofadministration based ontheestablishment ofa
Community reserve limited to5,5%.This system ofallocation andadministration
was ,moreover ,unanimously approved byallMember States atthetime ofthe
opening ofthetariff quota forprevious years .
5. Pending adefinitive decision ontheproblem ofwatermark criteria ,contained in
the Additional Note toChapter 48,itisproposed torenew for 1982 the
possibility fortheMember States tocharge against thequota concerned other
types ofpaper which ,leaving aside thecriteria ofwatermarks ,correspond tothe
definition ofnewsprint tobefound intjieabovementioned Additional Note .

Whereas ,totake account *>fimport trends forthe
product concerned ,.thequota should bedivided into '
two tranches ,thefirst being allocated among the
Member States and the second held asareserve to
cover subsequently the requirements ofMember
States which have exhausted their initial shares ;
whereas ,togive ,importer ^some degree ofcertainty
andyetenable Community production tobedisposed
ofonsatisfactory terms ,thefirsttranche ofthequota
should befixed atabout 94%ofthe.full amount ;
Whereas Member States may exhaust their initial
shares atdifferent rates ;whereas toprovide forthis
eventuality and avoid disruption ofsupplies any
Member State which hasalmost used upitsinitial
share should draw anadditional share from the
reserve ;whereas each time itsadditional share is
almost exhausted aMember State should draw a
further share ,and soonasmany times asthereserve
allows ;whereas the initial and additional .shares
should bevalid until theend ofthequota period j
whereas this form ofadministration requires close
collaboration between the Member States and the
Commission ,andthelatter must beinaposition to
keep account oftheextent towhich thequota has
been used upand toinform the Member -States
accordingly ; , >.
Whereas ifatagiven date inthequota period a
considerable quantity ofaMember State 'sinitial
share remains unused itisessential ,toprevent apart
ofthe Community tariff quota from remaining
unused inone Member State while itcould beused in
others ,that such State should return asignificant -
proportion thereof tothereserve ; 1^»
Whereas ,.since the Kingdom ofBelgium ,the;
.Kingdom oftheNetherlands andtheGrand Duchy
ofLuxembourg are united within and jointly
represented bytheBenelux Economic Union ,any
transaction inrespect oftheadministration ofthe
shares allocated tothat economic union may be
carried outbyanyoneofitsmembers , -*
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :2.Member States may charge against this tariff
quota theother types ,ofpaper complying with the
definition ofnewsprint contained intheAdditional
Note to.Chapter 48,except asregards theCriteria
governing watermarks . '
"3.Imports .ofnewsprint shall not becharged
against thistariff quota ifthey arealready free of
customs duties under other preferential tariff
treatment .Furthermore ,imports ofanyother'paper
referred toin.paragraph ,2enjoying duty-free
exemption under thesaid tariff quota shall notbe
charged against thetarget ceilings fixed under certain
freetrade agreements .
4.The -Common Customs Tariff duty shall be
totally suspended within thelimits oftheabove quota .
Withjn thelimits oftheabove quota ,'Greece shall
apply duties calculated inaccordance with the
relevant provisions laid down inthe 1979 Act of
Accession . ~  
Article 2 • . <
1.The Community tariff quota referred toin
Article 1shall bedivided into two tranches . '•
2.Afirst tranche of2550000 tonnes shall be
allocated among theMember States .Member States'
shares ,which subject toArticle 5shall bevalid from
1Januaiy until 31December 1982/shall beas
follows :. '
Bénélux
Denmark
Germany
Greece
France
Ireland ■«
Italy -
United Kingdomtonnes
"357 765
162 '945
621 435
-64770
295 ,800
.30090
'23715
.993 480
Article t3.The second tranche ,of150000 tonnes ,shall
constitute thereserve .
1.During theperiod 1January to-31December
1982/aCommunity tariff quota of2700000tonnes
.shall beopened inrespect ofnewsprint falling within
subheading 48.01 Aofthe Common Customs
Tariff (').
(')hntry under thissubheading is^subject toconditions to
bedetermined bythecompetent authorities .Article 3 .
.!. If90% ormore ofaMember State 'sinitial
share asfixed inArticle 2(2),orofthat share minus
theportion returned tothereserve where Article 5
hasbeen applied ,hasbeen used upitshall forthwith ,
;bynotifying theCommission ,draw asecond share ,to

PROPOSAL FOR A
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )
opening ,allocating andproviding fortheadministration ofaCommunity tariff quota for
newsprint falling within subheading 48.01 AoftheCommon Customs Tariff (1982 ,)and
extending thisquota toinclude certain other types ofpaper
THE COUNCIL OFTHE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard tothe Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community ,and inparticular
Articles 28and 113thereof ,
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ,
Whereas theCommunity hasundertaken toopen an
annual duty-free Community tariff quota of
1500000 tonnes of newsprint falling within
subheading 48.01 A;whereas ,inaccordance with
Protocol 13annexed tothe 1972 Act ofAccession ,
each year anautonomous Community tariff quota is
tobeopened forthis product when ithas been
established that allpossibilities ofsupply onthe
internal market ofthe Community have been
exhausted during theperiod forwhich thequota is
opened ;
Whereas ,inview ofpresent Community production
capacity ,thecontractual quota volume of 1500000
tonnes isinsufficient tomeet anticipated import
requirements ;whereas provision should therefore be
made foranautonomous supplementary quota which ,
inorder nottojeopardize thestability ofthemarket
and soastoensure parallel development ofthe
market forCommunity production andofsupplies for
theconsumer industries onsatisfactory terms ,should
befixed atalevel sothat thetotal quota does not
exceed itsanticipated minimum utilization ,namely
27GO000tonnes ;whereas thefixing ofafigure of
12CP000tonnes fortheautonomous supplementary
quota does notrule out areadjustment during the
quota period ;whereas aCommunity tariff quota
should therefore beopened for 1982for atotal
quantity of2700 000 tonnes ofthe product in
question ;
Whereas provision should bemade forextending the
tariff quota inquestion toinclude certain types of
paper fulfilling all.theconditions setout inthe
Additional Note toChapter 48except those relating
towater marks ;
Whereas equal and continyous access tothequota
should beensured forallCommunity importers andtherateofduty forthetariff quota should beapplied
without interruption toallimports oftheproduct in
question until thequota isexhausted ;whereas inthe
light oftheses principles ,arrangements for the
utilisation oftheCommunity tariff quota based onan
allocation among Member States would seem tobe
consistent with theCommunity nature ofthequota ;
whereas ,inorder that itmay correspond asclosely as
possible totheactual trend ofthemarket inthe
product inquestion ,allocation ofthequota should be
inproportion totherequirements oftheMember
States ascalculated byreference tostatistics on
imports from third countries during a'representative
reference period andtotheeconomic outlook forthe
year covered bythequota inquestion ;,
Whereas ,forthepastthree years forwhich complete
statistics areavailable ,theimports ofeach ofthe
Member States sharing inthe above allocation
amounted tothe following percentages oftotal
imports oftheproducts inquestion :
1979 1980
13-05 14-44
5-85 5-49
25-64 27-39
1-16 1-11
12-08 12-15
1-76 0-39
1-03 1"63
39-43 37.40
Whereas ,inview oftheabove andoftheforeseeable
trend onthemarket innewsprint ,ingeneral ,andof
Community production inparticular during 1982 the
initial quota may beallocated approximately inthe
following percentages :
Benelux
Denmark 1
Germany
Greece
France
Ireland
Italy
United Kingdom1978
Benelux 14-78
Denmark 6-55
Germany 25-28
Greece 1-66
France 11-12
Ireland 1-94
Italy 0-89
United Kingdom 39-44
14-03
6-39
24-37
2*54
11-60
108
0-93
38j96

theextent that thereserve sopermits ,equal to15%•
ofitsinitial share ,rounded upasnecessary tothe
next whole number . '
2.If,after itsinitial share has been exhausted ,
90°/oormore ofthesecond share drawn bya
Member State hasbeen used up,that Member State
shall ,inthemanner and totheextent provided in
paragraph 1,draw athird share equal to7-5%ofits
initial share .
3.If,after itssecond share has been exhausted ,
90%ormore ofthethird share drawn byaMember
State hasbeen used up,that Member State shall ,in
themanner andtotheextent provided inparagraph
1,draw afourth share equal tothethird .
This procedure shall apply until the reserve is
exhausted .
4.Notwithstanding paragraphs .1,2and 3,
Member States may draw lesser shares than those
specified inthose paragraphs ifthere aregrounds for
believing thatthose specified may notbeused infull.
They shall inform theCommission oftheir reasons
forapplying thisprovision . ,Itshall inform the Member States ,not later than
5October 1982 oftheamount still inreserve after
amounts have been returned thereto pursuant to
Article 5. '.
Itshall ensure that when aquantity exhausting the
reserve isdrawn ,the amount sodrawn does not
exceed thebalance available ,and tothis end shall
notity theamount ofthat balance ,totheMember
State making thelastdrawing .
Article 7
1..Member States shall take all appropriate
measures toensure that additional shares drawn
pursuant toArticle 3areopened insuch away that
imports may becharged without interruption against
their accumulated share oftheCommunity quota .
4
2.*Member States shall take allmeasures necessary
toensure thatthetypes ofpaper referred toinArticle
1(2)included inthistariff quota areinfactintended
fortheprinting ofnewspapers ,weekly papers or
other periodicals ofheading No49.02 ,published at
least 10times peryear .
Article 4
Additional shares drawn pursuant toArticle 3.shall be_
valid until 31December 1982 .
Article 5
The Member States shall *return tothereserve ,not
later than 1October .1982,theunused portion of
their initial share which ,on15September 1982 isin
excess of20%oftheinitial amount .They may
return agreater portion ifthere aregrounds for
believing thatsuch portion maynotbeused infull.
Member States shall ,notlater than 1October 1912,
notify theCommission ofthetotal quantities ofthe
products inquestion imported uptoandincluding 15
September 1982 andcharged against theCommunity
tariff quota andofanyportion oftheir initial shares
returned tothereserve .Insuch acase ,thecontrol oftheuseofthegoods for
the prescribed end-use shall becarried out by
applying therelevant Community provisions .
3.,Member States shall ensure thatimporters ofthe
products inquestion established intheir territory have
free access totheshares allocated toit.
4.The extent towhich aMember State has used
upitsshares shall bedetermined onthebasis of
imports oftheproducts inquestion entered with the
customs authorities forfree circulation .4.
up its
* Article 8
AttheCommission 'srequest ,theMember States shall
inform itofimports actually charged against their
shares . "
Article 9
rArticle 6
The Commission shall keep anaccount oftheshares
opened bytheMember States pursuant toArticles 2
and 3and shall ,assoon asithas ,been notified ,
inform each Member State oftheextent towhich the
reserve hasbeen used up.Member States and theCommission shall cooperate
closely toensure that thisRegulation iscomplied
with .
Article 10
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1January
1982 .
This Regulation shall bebinding initsentirety and
directly applicable inallMember States .
Done atBrussels , 1981 . For the Council
The President