PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) TOTALLY SUSPENDING CERTAIN CUSTOMS DUTIES APPLICABLE BY THE COMMUNITY OF TEN TO IMPORTS FROM SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Date: 1989-04-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal product, common customs tariff, crop production, fishery product, raw material, suspension of customs duties

COMMISSION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

C0H C89) 169  final 

Brussels,25  April 1989 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 

totally suspending certain customs duties 
applicable by the Community of Ten 
to imports from Spain and Portugal 

(prtstnttd by the Commission) 

COMMUNICATION  TO THE COMMISSION 

1. In December 1988 the Council authorized the Commission to begin negotiations 

with Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland for the 

-. conclusion of additional protocols to the free trade Agreements between the 

Community and those countries in order to enable then to suspend totally 
their customs duties on imports from Spain of products covered by the 
Agreements. 

Those protocols are now being concluded. 

2. By Regulation  (EEC) No 839/88 of 28 March 1988' the Council has already 
suspended totally the customs duties applied by the Community of Ten to 
industrial products and fishery products imported from Spain and Portugal 
once the level of such customs duties falls to 2  X or less. 

3. By Regulation  (EEC) No 3482/88 of t* November  1988 (2), the Council has 

already suspended by 5 points the customs duties that the Community of Ten 
applied on the importation of preparations and preserves of sardines from 
Spain and Portugal. 

4a  Spain has requested that the Ten should^also suspend totally the customs 

duties on industrial products and fishery products. 

5;  In the interests of simplification and uniformity, it is proposed that 

Portuguese products - for which the tariff dismantling process is not yet 
complete  -  should also be covered by the total suspension of customs duties. 

!  > 

6. The result of the proposed measure on the following products, originating 

in the countries indicated below, will be that the customs duties will also 
be removed  (application of the additional protocoles of 1987/1988) : 

- Algeria 

Tunas, prepared and preserved  (CN Codes 1604 14 10 and 

1604 20 70) 

- Egypt 

Shrimps, fresh of frozen  (CN Codes 0306 13 and 0306 23) 

-•Tunisia 

Tunas, prepared and preserved  (CN Codes 1604 14 10 and 

1604 20 70) 

Community  statistics for 1987 do not however mention any importations from 
the above countries. 

1 

0J L 87, 31.3.1988, p. 1. 

2 

0J No L 306 of 11.11.1988, p. 1. 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1. In December 1988 the Council authorized the Commission to begin negotiations 

with Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland for the 
.conclusion of additional protocols to the free trade Agreements between the 

.  Community and those countries in order to enable them to suspend totally 
their customs duties on imports from Spain of products covered by the 
Agreements. 

Those protocols are now being concluded. 

2. By Regulation  (EEC). No 839/88 of 28 March 1988  the Council has already 
suspended totally the customs dut-*tfs~applied by the Community of Ten to 
industrial products and fishery products imported from^Spain and Portugal 
once the level of such customs duties falls to 2  X or less. 

3. By Regulation  (EEC) No 3482/88 of 7 November 1988 (2), the Council has already 
suspended by 5 points the customs duties that the Community of Ten applied on 
the importation of preparations and preserves of sardines from Spain and 
Portugal. 

*• Spain has requested that the Ten should also suspend totally the customs 

duties on industrial products and fishery products. 

5. ïn the interests of simplification  and uniformity, it is proposed that 

.  Portuguese products - for which the tariff dismantling process is not yet 

• complete - should also be covered by the total suspension of customs duties. 

°- For the foregoing  reasons the Commission proposes that the attached proposal 

for a Regulation be adopted. 

1  OJ L 87, 31.3.1988, p. 1. 

OJ No L 306 of 11.11.1988, p. 1 

J» 

Proposal  for 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EEC) No 

of 

totally  suspending  certain  customs  duties  applicable  by  the  Community  of  Ten 
to  imports  from  Spain  and  Portugal 

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES, 

Having  regard  to  the Treaty  establishing  the  European  Economic  Community, 

Having  regard  to the  Act  of  Accession  of  Spain  and  Portugal, and  in  particular 
Articles  33 and  192 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission, 

Whereas  the progressive  dismantling  of  Spanish  tariffs  has  notably  improved 
access  to the  hitherto  heavily  protected  Spanish  market; whereas, however, 
the economic  impact  of  the  progressive  reductions  in  the  customs duties  applied 
by  the  Ten to  imports  of  Spanish  industrial  products  is  relatively  modest 
because of  the  low  level  of  the  basic  customs  duties; 

Whereas  in the  interests  of  parallelism  and  non-discrimination  identical  measures 
should  be applied  in  respect  of  Portuguese  industrial  products  for  which  customs 
duties  have not  yet  been  abolished; 

Whereas  measures  should  be  taken  to  improve  the new  Member  States'  trade  deficit. 

Whereas by  Regulation  (EEC) No 3482/88 of 7 November  1988  (1), the  Council  has 
already  defined  a specific  system  of  partial  suspension  of  customs  duties  for 
preparations  and  preserves  of  sardines, , 

HAS ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION  : 

Article 1 

The  collection  of  customs  duties  applicable  in  the  Community  of  Ten  pursuant  to 
the  Act  of  Accession  of  Spain  and  Portugal  to  imports  of  the  following  products, 
from  Spain and  Portugal, shall  be  totally  suspended  : 
-  products  listed  in Annex  II to  the  Treaty  in so  far  as  they  are  the  subject  of 
Council  Regulation  (EEC) No 3796/81  of  29 December  1981  on  the  common  organiza 
tion  of  the market  in fishery  products  (2), as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EEC) 
(3), excluding  preparations  and  preserves of  sardines 
No ....;'.' 

of  codes  1604 13 10 and  ex  1604 20 50 (4) of  the.Combined  Nomenclature, 

-  products  not  listed  in Annex  II  to  the  Treaty, 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  1 July  1989. 

Article  2 

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

Done  at  Brussels, 

(1) 0J  No I 306 of  11.11.1988, p. 1.. 
(2) 0J. No L 379 of  31.12.1981, p. 1.V. 

For  the  Council 
The  President 

(4) T*RIC  codes  1604 20 50*11  and  1604  20 50*19, applicable  on  the date of entry  into 

V 

force of  the present  Regulation. 

FICHE  D'IMPACT  SUR  LA  COMPETITIVITE  ET  L'EMPLOI 

La  suspension  totale  des droits  de douane  résiduels  sur  les produits 

industriels  et  les produits  de  la pêche  importés  de  l'Espagne  dans  les 

Dix  pourrait  avoir  un  certain  effet  sur  la compétitivité  et  l'emploi, 

le désarmement  tarifaire  complet  n'étant  prévu  que  pour  le 1er  janvier 

1993  (le  1er  janvier  1996 pour  certaines  conserves  de  poissons). 

Pour  le Portugal,  l'impact  serait  beaucoup  plus  inférieur  parce  que  les 

produits  industriels  portugais  bénéficient  déjà  de  l'exemption  dans  les 

Dix. 

FICHE  FINANCIERE 

1. Ligne budgétaire  concernée  : Chap. 12 art. 120 

2. Base  juridique  : art. 33 et  192 de  l'acte  d'adhésion  de  l'Espagne  et du 

Portugal 

3- Intitulé de  la mesure  tarifaire  : 

Proposition  de  règlement  du Conseil portant  suspension  totale de  certains 
droits de douane  applicables  par  la Communauté  à Dix aux  importations  de 
l'Espagne  et du Portugal 

4 

4. Objectif  : accélérer  le désarmement  tarifaire  entre  les Dix et  l'Espagne 

ainsi  que  le Portugal. 

5. Pertes de recettes  : 

Le projet  de  règlement  du Conseil  concerne  les droits de douane basés  sur 
la nouvelle  nomenclature  combinée, pour  laquelle des données  statistiques 
exactes  quant  aux  importations  en provenance  de  l'Espagne  et du  Portugal 
dans  la Communauté  dans  sa composition  au 31 décembre  1985 ne sont  pas 
encore  disponibles. 

Sur  la base des  importations  totales, du nombre  des  lignes  tarifaires 
concernées, de  l'évolution  du désarmement  tarifaire  ainsi  que du fait  que 
les droits de douane  (D.D.) égaux  ou  inférieurs  à 2 X sont  suprimés  lors 
de chaque  réduction  tarifaire  (Règlement  (CEE) N° 839/88 du Conseil du 
28 mars  1988 - J.O. n° L 87 du 31.3.1988, p. 1 ), les pertes en D.D. sont 
estimées  comme  suit  : 

a) Année 1989  (période du 1er  juillet  au 31 décembre); 

43.959.000 Ecu 

b) Année 1990  :  27.814.000 Ecu 

c) Années  1991  et  1992 : 

négligeables  du fait  de  l'application  du Règlement  N° 839/88 précité. 

Commission of the European Communities 

COM(89)  169  final 

Proposal for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION (EEC) 
totally  suspending  certain  customs  duties  applicable  by the  Community 
of Ten to imports from Spain and Portugal 

(submitted to the Council by the  Commission) 

25.4.1989 

Office for  Official  Publications of the  European Communities 
L - 2985  Luxembourg 

Series:  DOCUMENTS 

1989 — 6 pp. — Format:  21.0 *  29.7  cm 

EN 

ISSN  0254-1475 

ISBN  92-77-48883-2 

Catalogue number:  CB-CO-89-166-EN-C 

COM(89)  169  final 

ISSN 0254-1475 

DOCUMENTS 

Proposal for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (EEC) 

totally  suspending  certain  customs  duties 
applicable  by the  Community  of  Ten to  imports 
from  Spain  and  Portugal 

(submitted to the  Council  by the  Commission) 

02 

11 

Catalogue  number:  CB-CO-89-166-EN-C 

ISBN  92-77-48883-2 

€ 

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

25.4.1989