Proposal for a Council Decision on a Community position within the EU - Mexico Joint Committee relating to Annex III to Decision No 2/2000 of the EU - Mexico Joint Council of 23 March 2000, concerning the definition of the concept of 'originating products' and methods of administrative cooperation
Date: 2002-11-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Mexico, administrative cooperation, agreement (EU), originating product

25.2.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 45 E/275

Proposal for a Council Decision on a Community position within the EU-Mexico Joint Committee
relating to Annex III to Decision No 2/2000 of the EU-Mexico Joint Council of 23 March 2000,
concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative
cooperation

(2003/C 45 E/31)

COM(2002) 633 final — 2002/0266(ACC)

(Submitted by the Commission on 19 November 2002)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. Rules of origin are essential to the correct functioning of the free trade agreements between the
Community and its trading partners, including Mexico. The European Communities and its Member
States, of the one part, and the United Mexican States, of the other part, have signed an Economic
Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement which entered into force on 1 October
2000 (1).

Annex III to Decision No 2/2000 of the EU-Mexico Joint Council (2) concerns the definition of the
concept of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation and entered into force on 1
July 2000.

2. A Joint Declaration to the Agreement provides that the Joint Committee shall extend the application of
a temporary origin rule (3) applicable until 31 December 2002 to certain leather products of headings
4104 and 4107, should the WTO negotiations continue beyond that date.

3. The current round of WTO negotiations shall address the issue of export duties that are applied on
certain products by a number of countries, including some Latin American trading partners of Mexico.
This issue poses a problem for Mexico as regards the supply of certain hides and skins in the wet-state
that, otherwise under the ‘standard’ origin rules (4), would obtain originating status through retanning
processes. In this respect, the temporary rule of origin set out in Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex III
to Decision No 2/2000 does not consider the manufacturing process ‘retanning of tanned leather’ as an
origin conferring criteria. The temporary exclusion of this origin rule at present maintains a level-
playing field between the two Parties, as Community producers would otherwise be able to source the
above-mentioned hides and skins in neighbouring countries without the financial burden represented by
export duties.

4. Having considered the above elements, the Joint Committee shall take a decision with a view to extend
beyond 31 December 2002 and until 31 December 2004 the application of the above-mentioned
temporary rule of origin.

5. The Commission therefore calls on the Council to draw up a common position for presentation to the

EU-Mexico Joint Committee.

(1) Council Decision of 28 September 2000 (OJ L 276, 28.10.2000, p. 44).
(2) OJ L 245, 29.9.2000, p. 953.
(3) Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex III to EU-Mexico Joint Council Decision No 2/2000 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2000, p.
1059 (the note has been adapted to the 2002 ‘Harmonized System’, by the EU-Mexico Joint Council Decision
. . ./2002, not yet published).

(4) Included in Appendix II to Annex III to EU-Mexico Joint Council Decision No 2/2000 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2000, p.
1000) (those origin rules have been adapted to the 2002 ‘Harmonized System’ by the EU-Mexico Joint Council
Decision . . ./2002, not yet published).

C 45 E/276

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.2.2003

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 133,

out in Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex III to Decision
2/2000 until the current round of multilateral negotiations
within the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) have
finished.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

(2) It is envisaged that negotiations within the WTO shall be

Whereas:

Agreement

(1) Joint Declaration VI to the Decision No 2/2000 of 23
March 2000 of the EU-Mexico Joint Council established
by the Economic Partnership, Political Co-ordination and
Co-operation
European
Community and its Member States, of the one part, and
the United Mexican States, of the other part, signed in
Brussels on 8 December 1997 (hereinafter
‘Decision
2/2000’) provides that
the EU-Mexico Joint Committee
established by that agreement shall extend beyond 31
December 2002 the application of the rule of origin set

between

the

concluded by 31 December 2004,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

The position to be adopted by the Community within the Joint
Committee established by virtue of the Economic Partnership,
Political Co-ordination and Co-operation Agreement between
the European Community and its Member States, of the one
part, and the United Mexican States, of the other part, signed in
Brussels on 8 December 1997, is that set out in the attached
draft decision of the Joint Committee.

Draft for a Decision of the European Union-Mexico Joint Committee relating to Annex III to
Decision No 2/2000 of the EU-Mexico Joint Council of 23 March 2000, concerning the definition
of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation

THE JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to Decision No 2/2000 of the EU-Mexico Joint
Council of 23 March 2000 (hereinafter ‘Decision No 2/2000’),
and in particular Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex III and
Joint Declaration VI thereto,

Whereas:

(1) Annex III to Decision No 2/2000, concerning the definition
of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of
administrative cooperation sets out the rules of origin for
the products originating in the territory of the Parties to
the Agreement.

(2) Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex III to Decision 2/2000,
as well as Joint Declaration VI relating to that Note have
been adapted by the Joint Council Decision No . . ./2002,
with the purpose of ensuring their consistency with the
Parties' tariff laws and regulations.

(3) According to Joint Declaration VI, the Joint Committee
shall extend beyond 31 December 2002 the rule of
origin established in Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex
III, as adapted by the Joint Council Decision No . . ./2002,
until the current round of multilateral negotiations within
the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) have finished.

(4) It

31 December

the WTO negotiations

is envisaged that
by

shall be
concluded
those
negotiations be finished by that date, the Joint Committee
shall at that time and in accordance with Joint Declaration
VI determine the rule of origin to be applied for the
products concerned,

Should

2004.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The origin rules set out in Note 4 of Appendix II(a) to Annex
III to Decision No 2/2000, as adapted by the Joint Council
Decision No . . ./2002, shall be applied until 31 December
2004 instead of the origin rules set out in Appendix II to
Annex III to Decision No 2/2000.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2003.

Done at [. . .]

For the Joint Committee

[. . .]