Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) extending the measures taken under the agreement between the European Economic Community and the United States of America for the conclusion of negotiations under GATT Article XXIV.6
Date: 1993-03-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: GATT, United States, agreement (EU), customs tariff, trade agreement

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

C0M(93)  111  f i n al 

Brussels,  18  March  1993 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  REGULATION  (ESC) 

extending  the  measures  taken  under  t he  agreement  between 

t he  European  Economic  Community  and  t he  United  S t a t es  of 

America  for  the  conclusion  of  n e g o t i a t i o ns  under  GATT 

A r t i c le  XXIV.6 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

;.3f 

I 

3. 

Whereas the Community applied these measures during  1992 

by virtue of Council Regulation  (EEC) No  3919/91 of 19 

December  1991  (3) ; 

Whereas the reasons still exist for the prolongation  of 

these measures, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION 

Article 1 

The measures referred to in the Exchange of  Letters 

supplementing  the Agreement between the European  Economic 

Community  and  the United  States of America  for the 

conclusion of negotiations under GATT Article XXIV.6 

shall be applied by the Community until 31 December 1993. 

Article 2 

This Regulation  shall enter  into force on the day of  its 

publication  in the Official Journal of the  European 

Communities. 

It shall apply with effect from  1 January  1993. 

This Regulation  shall be binding  in its entirety  and 

directly  applicable  in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 

The  President 

(3) OJ No L 372, 31.12.1991, p. 35 

X 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 

extending the measures taken under the agreement  between 

the European Economic Community and the United  States of 

America  for the conclusion of negotiations under GATT 

Article XXIV.6 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing  the  European 

Economic Community, and in particular Article  113 

thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal  from the Commission, 

Whereas by an Agreement between the European  Economic 

Community and the United States of America  for the 

conclusion of negotiations under Article XXIV.6 of the 

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade  (GATT)  (1) which 

was extended  by the conclusion of an Exchange of Letters 

(2) supplementing that Agreement until 31 December  1991, 

the Community  agreed to take certain measures; 

(1) OJ No L 98,  10.4.19^87, p. 1. 

(2) OJ No L  17,  23.1.1991, p. 17. 

:> 

IMPACT ON COMPETITIVENESS AND EMPLOYMENT  RECORD 

The present draft proposal will not alter the  current 
situation  in respect of competitiveness  and employment. 
On the contrary, without these measures the United  States 
of America might consider retaliating  against  Community 
exporters  for a number of sensitive products. 

4-

FINANCIAL RECORD 

1.  Budge  line concerned; 

Chap. 12 Art. 120 

Title of the measure concerned: 
for a Council Regulation  (EEC) extending  the 
measures taken under the agreement between the 
European Economic Community  and the United  States of 
America  for the conclusion of negotiations under 
GATT Article XXIV.6 

Draft proposal 

3. 

Legal basis: 

Art. 113 of the Treaty 

To ensure the continued  application 

Objective: 
of the reduction of certain autonomous duties  in the 
Combined Nomenclature by virtue of  "Agreement for 
the Conclusion of Negotiations between the  European 
Economic Community  and the United  States of America 
under GATT Article XXIV.6" on an autonomous basis 

5. 

Cost of this measure: 
the situation as compared with the previous year 

No significant  change in 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

Subject:  The  1987 bilaterial agreement between the 

European Economic Community  and the United 
States of America 

1. 

2. 

3. 

In  1987  an  "Agreement  for  the  Conclusion  of 
Negotiations  between  the  European  Economic  Community 
and  the  United  States  of  America  under  GATT  Article 
XXIV.6"  was  entered  into  between  the  two  parties  by 
which  they  agreed  upon  a  number  of  rights  and 
obligations  (1). 
Consultations  between  the  two 
parties  as  foreseen  in  the  Agreement  subsequently 
took  place  in  an  attempt  to  find  a  solution  to  the 
disagreement  existing  between  the  Community  and  the 
United  States,  on  whether  or  not  new  actions,  if 
any, might be appropriate. 

It  was  not  possible  to  conclude  these  consultations 
by  the  end  of  1990,  notably  in  view  of  the 
prolongation  of  the  Uruguay  Round,  and  therefore  in 
respect  of  those  rights  and  obligations  which  were 
foreseen  to  expire  on  that  date  an  agreement  was 
reached  between  the  Community  and  the  United  States 
to  extend  these  until  31  December  1991. 
The 
Community 
implemented  this  prolongation  by  a 
Decision  by  the  Council  to  approve  an  Exchange  of 
Letters  between  the  Community  and  United  States 
complementing  the Agreement (2). 

The Commission  considered  it appropriate  that  on the 
one hand  it was desirable  to continue  to apply  these 
measures,  in  particular  to  avoid  a  worsening  of  the 
disagreement  on  this  issue,  and  on  the  other  hand 
that  it  was  preferable  to  do  so  on  an  autonomous 
Consequently,  the  Commission  submitted  to 
basis. 
the  Council  a  draft  regulation  extending  these 
measures 
for  a  year. 
Subsequently,  the  proposal  was  adopted  by  the 
Council  late  1991  and  published  in  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 3919/91 (3). 

1  January 

from 

1992 

4. 

As  the  negotiations  under  the  Uruguay  Round  are 
continuing  into  1993, a  resolution  of  this  issue  is 
The  Commission,  therefore, 
still  not  possible. 
proposes  to  extend  these  measures  for  another  year 
with effect from 1 January until  31 December 1993. 

(1) OJ No L 98, 10.4.1987, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L  17,  23.1.1991, p. 17 
(3) OJ No L 372, 31.12.1991, p. 35 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM (93) 111 final 

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