WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1999/97 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Commission. Imports of poor-quality steel products from third countries
Date: 1997-06-09
Institutions: European Parliament, KAKLAMANIS
Subjects: customs inspection, fraud, import, iron and steel product, price disparity, product quality, quality label, quality standard, restriction on competition, third country

C 21/132

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 1. 98

At  the  Council’s  request,  the  Commission  is  currently  preparing  a  discussion  paper  on  the  strengthening  of
relations with Turkey. The paper will include proposals to that effect and should go to the Council in a matter of
weeks.

(98/C 21/249)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1999/97

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission

(9 June 1997)

Subject: Imports of poor-quality steel products from third countries

The  European  steel  industry  is  facing  serious  problems  arising  from  imports  of  steel  products  from  third
countries whose specifications are not comparable to the EU(cid:146)s, while the accompanying (cid:145)quality certificates(cid:146) are
very often not genuine. These products have been imported into the EU for many years and the fact that their
prices are low is putting further pressure on the already beleaguered European steel industry, particularly in the
smaller Member States of the Union.

How  will  the  Commission  respond  to  the  allegations  that  (cid:145)quality  certificates(cid:146)  are  falsified  or  issued  with
completely inaccurate information and what measures will it take to verify effectively such certificates which
often accompany the poor-quality, cheap steel products which are taking over from their EU counterparts which
are manufactured to higher specifications?

Answer givren by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(10 July 1997)

In the case of steel product imports, it is essential to distinguish between customs treatment of the goods and
judgment of the condition of the goods.

As far as customs treatment is concerned, the quality of the goods will play a role only if it has to be incorporated
into the definition of the combined customs nomenclature, which corresponds to the international harmonized
tariff  system,  i.e.  stainless  steel,  high-grade  steel.  The  use  of  false  data  in  order  to  obtain  advantages  in  the
application of custom duties can be pursued on the basis of customs regulations. The responsibility for these
controls lies with the national customs authorities.

As far as the question of the quality and the fitness for use of import material is concerned, it is up to buyers and
sellers to include appropriate provisions in their contracts. Falsifications of quality certificates fall accordingly
into  the  civil  law  area.  Community-wide  controls  in  this  area  cannot  fall  under  sovereign  jurisdiction.
Nonetheless,  a  number  of  technical  supervision  and  examination  systems  exist  for  steel  products  within  the
Community, which exclude the use of sub-standard material in sensitive areas (e.g. with reinforced steel).

Finally,  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that,  on  the  basis  of  the  data  in  the  import  documents,  imports  of
downgraded material do not currently exceed the proportion found on the Community market.

(98/C 21/250)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2006/97

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(11 June 1997)

Subject: Free movement of goods from the Netherlands to Italy

A Dutch citizen who has moved home to Italy where he is now resident has told me that re-registering a Dutch car
in Italy requires not only a lot of bureaucracy but also the payment of some FL 800.