Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1808/95 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain agricultural, industrial and fisheries products and establishing the detailed provisions for adapting these quotas
Date: 1995-11-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Community, Slovenia, clothing, quantitative restriction, textile product, trade agreement (EU)

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  14.11.1995 
COM(95) 536  final 

95/0277  (ACC) 

Proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL REGULATION  (EC) 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No  1808/95 opening and 
providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain 
agricultural, industrial and fisheries products and establishing the detailed provisions for 
adapting these quotas 

(presented  by  the  Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

With  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1808/95,  the  Community  undertook  to  open 
each  year,  within  the  framework  of  GATT  and  subject  to  certain  conditions, 
Community  tariff  quotas  at  reduced  or  zero  duty  for  a  certain  number  of 
agricultural, industrial and fisheries products. 

In  accordance  with  the  offer  it  made  within  UNCTAD, 
the  Community 
introduced  tariff  preferences  in  1971  for  certain jute  and  coconut-fibre  products 
from  a  number  of  developing  countries;  these  preferences  took  the  form  of  a 
gradual  reduction  in  CCT  duties,  culminating  in  the  total  suspension,  without 
quantitative limits, of the duties in question from 1978 to 31 December 1994. 

The graduation of duties introduced by the new scheme of generalized  preferences 
in force  since  1  January this year threatens to have an adverse  effect  on both  the 
countries producing these goods and their customers in the Community. 

Given that the previous special arrangements were aimed at facilitating  the access 
of  jute  and  coconut-fibre  products  to  the  Community  market,  the  Community 
announced,  in the context of GATT, that  it was ready to  suspend  CCT duties on 
these products within annual tariff quotas. 

Because the quota year  in question runs from 1  January to 31 December,  and will 
do so until the new scheme of preferences  expires, quotas will have to be opened 
from 1  July to 31 December  1995 for this year's entire quota volume. 

Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1808/95 
opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT 
for certain agricultural, industrial and fisheries products and establishing the detailed 
provisions for adapting these quotas 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 113 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Whereas  in  Council  Regulation  (EC) No  1808/95,1 the  Community  undertook  to  open, 
within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs  and Trade (GATT) and subject 
to certain conditions, annual Community tariff quotas at reduced or zero duty for a certain 
number of agricultural, industrial and fisheries products; 

Whereas, in accordance with the offer  it made within the United  Nations Conference  on 
Trade and Development  (UNCT AD) in the light of the special nature of the trade in jute 
and coconut-fibre products, the Community introduced tariff preferences  in 1971 for such 
products from certain developing countries; whereas these preferences took the form  of a 
gradual  reduction  in CCT duties, without  quantitative limits, culminating  in the complete 
suspension of these duties in 1978; 

Whereas  the  new  scheme  of  generalized  preferences  applicable  since  1  January 1995 
provides for the graduation  of duties; whereas this change threatens the continuation and 
development  of  traditional  trade flows between  the  countries  supplying  the  products  in 
question  and the Community; whereas the  Community,  in the context  of GATT,  should 
therefore  open autonomous zero-duty  tariff  quotas for  determined  quantities  of products 
manufactured  from  jute  and  coconut  fibres  for  the  period  from  1  January  1995  to 
31 December  1998;  whereas,  in  view  of  the  fact  that,  for  the  year  in  course,  this 
Regulation will apply only from 1  July, provision should be made for  quotas to be opened 
from  that date to 31 December  1995 for the entire annual quota volume; 

Whereas  provisions  should  therefore  be  adopted,  in  accordance  with  the  relevant 
WTO/GATT rules, in order to maintain the previous conditions of access for the products 
in question, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

lOJNoL  176, 27.7.1995. 

3 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No  1808/95 is hereby amended as follows: 

1. 

2. 

The attached Annex V shall be added. 

Article  1(2) shall become Article 1(4). 

The following paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be inserted. 

"2. 

3. 

All  Community  import  duties  on  the  products  listed  in  Annex  V  to  this 
Regulation  shall be suspended within the limits of the quantities laid down 
according to their origin and the period laid down. 

Access to the tariff quotas in Annex V shall be subject to  compliance with 
the rules governing the origin of products laid down in Articles 47 to 55 of 
Commission  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2454/93  of  2 July 1993  laying  down 
provisions  for  the  implementation  of the  Community  Customs  Code,2  as 
last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No  1762/95 of 19.7.1995 3" 

Article 2 

This Regulation  shall enter  into force  on the seventh day following that  of its publication 
in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 

It shall apply from 1  July 1995 to 31 December 1998. 

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

Done at Brussels,.... 

For the Council 

The President 

2 
3 

OJ No L 253, 11.10.1993. 
OJNoL 171, 21.7.1995. 

ANNEXV 

List of Community tariff quotas for products manufactured from jute and coconut (a) 

Order 
number 

CN codes 

Taric 
sub-

Description of goods 

Quota 
period 

Recipient 
countries 

Quota 
volume 

|Rate of| 
duty 

09.0107 

5310 

Woven fabrics of jute and other textile bast fibres of 
code 5303 

from 1 July to 
31 December 199S and 
from 1 January 1996 to 
31 DaceniDor 1998 

Bangladesh 
India 
Other countries 

33 381 
31  146 
2 759 

Twine, cordage, ropes and cables, whether or not 
plaited or braided, coated, covered or sheathed with 
rubber or plastics 

560710 00 

-of jute and other textile bast fibres of heading 
No 5303 

Carpets and other textile floor coverings, wove, not 
tufted or flocked, whether or not made up, including 
"Kelem". "Schumacks", "Karamanie" and similar 
hand-woven rugs: 

ex 5702 39 90 

•10 

-Floor coverings, of pile construction, not made up, ot 
jute and other textile bast fibres of heading No 5303 

ex 5702 49 90 

•10 

ex 5702 59 00 

•10 

-Floor coverings, of pile construction, made up, of 
jute and other textile bast fibres of heading No 5303 

-Floor coverings, not of pile construction, not made 
up, of jute and other textile bast fibres of heading 
No 5303 

-Floor coverings, not of pile construction, made up, of 
jute and other textile bast fibres of heading No 5303 

ex5702 9900 

•10 

Carpets and other textile floor coverings, tufted, 
whether or not made up: 

ex 5703 90 90 

•10 

-Other, of jute and other textile bast fibres of heading 
No 5303 

Narrow woven fabrics, other than goods of heading 
No 5807; narrow fabrics consisting of warp without 
weft assembled by means of an adhesive (bolducs): 

-Other, of jute and other textile bast fibres of heading 
No 5303 

-Fabrics consisting of warp without weft assembled 
by means of an adhesive (bolducs), of jute and other 
textile bast fibres of heading No 5303 

ex 5806 39 00 

•10 

Textile wall coverings: 

ex 5806 40 00 

•10 

-Other, of jute and other textile bast fibres of heading 
No 5303 

5905 00 50 

09.0109 

B702 20 00 

109.0111  6305 10 90 

Floor coverings of coconut 
fibres 

from 1  July to 
31 December 1995 and 
from 1 January 1995 to 
31 December 1998 

India 
Other countries 

8 201 
775 

Sacks and bags, of a kind used for the packing of 
goods: 
-of jute and other textile bast fibres of heading 
No 5303, other 

from 1 July to 
31 December 1995 and 
from 1  January 1996 to 
31 December 1998 

Bangladesh 
China 
India 
Other countries 

26 587 
35 722 
32 093 
2 759 

v*v  Without prejudice to the rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature, the description of the goods is deemed purely 
indicative, tariff treatment being determined for the purposes of this Annex by the scope of the CN  codes.  Where a code  is 
preceded by "ex", tariff treatment is determined both by the scope of the CN code and by the corresponding description. 

^> 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

1. 

Budget heading  involved 

Chapter  12, Article 120 

2. 

Legal basis 

Article  113 of the EC Treaty 

3. 

Title of operation 

Proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  (EC)  amending  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1808/95 opening and providing for  the administration of Community tariff  quotas 
bound  in  GATT  for  certain  agricultural,  industrial  and  fisheries  products  and 
establishing the detailed provisions for adapting these quotas 

4. 

Objective 

To  maintain  the  previous  arrangements  for  the  access  of jute  and  coconut-fibre 
products to the Community market 

5. 

Method of calculation 

Quota volume (ECU): 
Rate of duty to be applied: 
Normal rate (average): 

101 026 000 

0% 
7.9% 

66  146 000 
0% 
8.1% 

6. 

Forecast loss of revenue 

ECU  101 026 000 x 7.9% = ECU 
ECU  66  146 000 x 8.1% = ECU 

7 981 054 
5 357 826 
13 338 880 

Annual loss: ECU 13 338 880 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(95) 536  final 

DOCUMENTS 

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02  03  11 

Catalogue number  : CB-C0-95-5Î77-EN-C 

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