Council Regulation (EC) No 138/2003 of 21 January 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 on common rules for imports of certain textile products from third countries
Date: 2003-01-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: China, import policy, originating product, quantitative restriction, textile product, third country

28.1.2003

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 138/2003

of 21 January 2003

amending Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 on common rules for imports of certain textile products
from third countries

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 133 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The application of Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 (1) has
raised questions with regard to textile products that are
imported under special circumstances, and in particular
when imported as commercial samples or in consign-
ments of negligible value.

Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 does not contain provi-
sions exempting imported textile products from the
application of its rules, such as quantitative restrictions,
licensing and other administrative requirements.

It is appropriate to provide for an exemption from these
measures for samples of textile products under certain
conditions.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1541/98 (2) lays down the
general rules concerning the proof of origin for textile
and clothing products falling within Section XI of the
Combined Nomenclature, listed in Annex I to Regulation
(EEC) No 3030/93. According to Articles 2 and 3 of that
Regulation,
free circulation in the
Community of textile products listed in groups IA, IB,
IIA and IIB of Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93
requires a certificate of origin while for products listed
in other groups of Annex I, i.e. groups IIIA, IIIB, IV and
V, a declaration of origin is sufficient.

the release for

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Some bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrange-
ments between the Community and supplier countries
go beyond these general provisions, namely by requiring
a certificate of origin for groups of products other than
IA, IB, IIA and IIB of Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No
3030/93 or by requesting the use of specific forms of
certification of origin while Regulation (EC) No 1541/98
only specifies the general conditions with which the
certificates used should comply.

It seems desirable,
in the interest of administrative
to work towards a single regulatory
simplification,
system for proof of origin in respect of imports of textile
and clothing products from all countries. It is advisable,
in this regard, to follow the general provisions contained
in Regulation (EC) No 1541/98.

It is appropriate, therefore, to establish that, in addition
to the specific requirements provided for in bilateral
agreements with third countries, the origin of textile and
clothing products can be proved in accordance with the
general requirements contained in Regulation (EC) No
1541/98.

The People's Republic of China became a Member of the
World Trade Organisation on 11 December 2001.

As part of the terms and conditions for China's accession
the
to the WTO, Paragraph 242 of
the Report of
Working Party, which forms an integral part of
the
Protocol on the Accession of China to the WTO, sets
out a specific safeguard clause applicable until 31
December 2008 concerning imports of
textiles and
apparel products, covered by the (ATC) of Chinese
origin, to a WTO Member.

(10)

The safeguard provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 3030/
93 should be brought into conformity with Paragraph
242 and establish that it should remain applicable to
China for the purposes of the specific safeguard clause.

(1) OJ L 275, 8.11.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commis-
sion Regulation (EC) No 2344/2002 (OJ L 375, 31.12.2002, p. 91).

(2) OJ L 202, 18.7.1998, p. 11.

(11)

Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 1 shall be amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.

This Regulation applies to:

— imports of textile products listed in Annex I, origi-
nating in third countries with which the Community
has concluded bilateral agreements, protocols or
other arrangements as listed in Annex II,

— imports of textile products, as listed in Annex X,
which, so far as the Community is concerned, have
not been integrated into GATT 1994 within the
meaning of Article 2(6) or (8) of the WTO Agree-
ment on (ATC) Textiles and Clothing and which
originate in third countries, Members of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO). By derogation to this
provision, Article 10a shall be applicable to textile
products listed in Annex I under the conditions
stipulated in that Article.’

(b) paragraph 6 shall be replaced by the following:

The requirements regarding proof of origin of the
‘6.
products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be as laid
down in Annex III and in the relevant Community legis-
lation in force. However, proof of origin presented in
accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1541/98 may also be accepted in place of the proof of
origin required by bilateral agreements, protocols or
other arrangements which lay down more stringent
requirements.

The procedures for verification of the origin of those
products shall be as laid down in Annex IV and in the
relevant Community legislation in force.’

(c) the following paragraph shall be added:

‘8.
By way of derogation from this Regulation, the
import of the following textile products shall not be
subject to quantitative restrictions, licensing or require-
ments regarding proof of origin:

(a) Samples of textile products which are of negligible
value and can be used only to solicit orders for
goods of the type they represent with a view to their
being imported into the customs territory of the
Community. The competent authorities may require
that certain articles, to qualify for the exemption, be
rendered permanently unusable by being torn, perfo-
rated, or clearly and indelibly marked, or by any
other process, provided such operation does not
destroy their character as samples.
“Samples of
textile products” means any article representing a
type of goods whose manner of presentation and
quantity, for goods of the same type or quality, rule
its use for any purpose other than that of
out
seeking orders.

(b) Representative samples of textile products manufac-
tured outside the customs territory of the Commu-
nity intended for a trade fair or similar event,
provided that they

— are identifiable as advertising samples of

low

unitary value;

— are not easily marketable; or

— in their total value and quantity, are appropriate
to the nature of the exhibition, the number of
visitors and the extent of the exhibitor's partici-
pation.’

2. The following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 10a

Special safeguard provisions for China

1.
Should imports into the Community of textiles and
apparel products originating in China and covered by the
(ATC) threaten to impede, owing to market disruption, the
orderly development of
such
imports may, during the period ending on 31 December
2008, be made subject to specific safeguard measures under
the following conditions:

trade in those products,

(a) The Commission — acting at the request of a Member
State or on its own initiative — shall open consultations
with China with a view to easing or avoiding such
market disruption. The request for consultation shall
provide China with a detailed factual statement of
reasons and justifications for the request, with current
data showing the existence or threat of market disrup-
tion and the role of products of Chinese origin in that
disruption. Consultations shall be commenced within 30
days of receipt of the request, the consultation period
lasting 90 days from such receipt, unless extended by
mutual agreement.

the request

Upon receipt of
for consultations China
shall, during the period of consultation, hold its ship-
ments to the Community of textile or textile products in
the category or categories subject to the consultations,
at a level no greater then 7,5 % (6 % for wool product
categories) above the amount entered during the first 12
months of the most recent 14 months preceding the
month in which the request for consultations was made.

(b) The Commission may, if no mutually satisfactory solu-
tion is reached during the 90-day consultation period,
establish a quantitative limit for the category or cate-
gories subject to the consultations. The quantitative limit
shall be set up on the basis of the level at which China
held its shipments upon receipt of the Community's
request for consultation. The term of this quantitative
limit shall be effective for a period ending on 31
the year in which consultations were
December of
requested, or, where three months or less remained in
the year at the time of the request for consultations, for
a period ending 12 months after the request for consul-
tations. Consultations with China shall be continued
during the term of the quantitative limit set up under
this provision.

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(c) No action taken under this paragraph shall remain in
effect beyond one year without reapplication, unless
otherwise agreed between the Community and China.
Measures shall not be applied to the same product at
the same time under this paragraph and the provisions
of Section 16 of the Protocol on the Accession of China
to the WTO. Measures taken pursuant to point (b) shall
a Commission communication
be
published without delay in the Official
the
European Communities.

subject of

Journal of

the

shipped from the supplier country in which they originate
for export to the Community before the date of notification
of the request for consultations.

The measures provided for in this Article,

3.
including
opening of consultations as provided for in paragraph 1(a),
shall be adopted and implemented in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 17.’

Article 2

The quantitative limits established pursuant

2.
to this
Article shall not apply to products which have already been
they were
dispatched to the Community provided that

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities.

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

Done at Brussels, 21 January 2003.

For the Council

The President

N. CHRISTODOULAKIS