WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2559/96 by Riccardo GAROSCI to the Commission. Revision of customs tariffs in the precious metals sector with a view to protecting Italian and European goldsmiths
Date: 1996-10-11
Institutions: European Parliament, GAROSCI
Subjects: Italy, customs duties, customs tariff, international trade, jewellery and goldsmith's articles, liberalisation of trade, market access, precious metal, transfer of businesses













EUR-Lex - 91996E2559 - EN






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91996E2559

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2559/96 by Riccardo GAROSCI to the Commission. Revision of customs tariffs in the precious metals sector with a view to protecting Italian and European goldsmiths  


Official Journal C 011 , 13/01/1997 P. 0103 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2559/96 by Riccardo Garosci (UPE) to the Commission (11 October 1996)Subject: Revision of customs tariffs in the precious metals sector with a view to protecting Italian and European goldsmithsCustoms tariffs have a very strong impact on the profitability of goldsmiths.The final act of the Uruguay Round, which was signed in Marrakesh, did not produce the desired results for the precious metals sector, given that it brought only a minor reduction in the customs tariffs which the main importing countries may apply to European products.The European precious metal sector's main commercial opportunities derive from the reductions made in the industrialized nations.The reductions made are far from reciprocal (-30% by the EU as against -15% by the USA) and, over the past few years, the share of the US market held by Italian and European products has fallen by more than 20%.Given the above, would the Commission not agree that it should take steps to:1. safeguard jobs in the sector, where lay-offs are already a fact of life;2. prevent the probable transfer of production facilities to non-Community countries which are at an advantage; and3. renegotiate the customs tariffs applying to the sector, either as part of the bilateral talks already in progress (the USA Transatlantic Business Dialogue) or at multilateral level (WTO - revision of the Uruguay Round at the Singapore Conference in December 1996)?Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan on behalf of the Commission (29 October 1996)The Commission is seeking to improve the access of Community industry to the markets of its trading partners. The guiding principles of such a strategy are contained in the Commission communication entitled 'The global challenge of international trade: A market access strategy for the European Union' ((COM(96) 53. )). In the spirit of the communication, the Commission has made contacts with the European jewelers associations, with a view to seeking improvements in the access to the Community's major export markets for their jewellery products.The Commission shares the concerns expressed by the Honourable Member both with respect to employment and relocation of manufacturing activities outside the Community and will bear in mind the importance of seeking improvements at multilateral level in the present tariff situation. Furthermore, the Commission deems it important that, in the context of the Transatlantic business dialogue, the interested parties raise this question in the appropriate issue group dealing with trade liberalization, including tariffs.