Commission Regulation (EC) No 2186/2004 of 20 December 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1613/2000 derogating from Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 in respect of the definition of the concept of originating products used for the purposes of the scheme of generalised preferences to take account of the special situation of Laos regarding certain exports of textiles to the Community
Date: 2004-12-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Laos, common commercial policy, derogation from EU law, generalised preferences, originating product, textile product

L 373/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.12.2004

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2186/2004

of 20 December 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1613/2000 derogating from Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 in respect
of the definition of the concept of originating products used for the purposes of the scheme of
generalised preferences to take account of the special situation of Laos regarding certain exports of
textiles to the Community

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12
October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (1),
and in particular Article 247 thereof,

Laos has benefited from such a derogation for certain
instance by virtue of
in the last
textiles since 1997,
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1613/2000 of 24 July
2000 derogating from Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 in
respect of the definition of the concept of originating
products used for the purposes of the scheme of gener-
alised preferences to take account of the special situation
textiles to the
of Laos regarding certain exports of
Community (4),
Regulation No
amended
as
291/2002 (5), which extended its validity until 31
December 2004. By letters dated 4 May 2004 and 4
August 2004, Laos has submitted a request
for the
renewal of this derogation.

by

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of
2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing
the
Community Customs Code (2), and in particular Article 76
thereof,

(4)

The request submitted by Laos has been considered by
the Commission and has been found to be duly substan-
tiated.

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

By Council Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 of 10
December 2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff
preferences
the period 1 January 2002 to 31
December 2004 (3), the Community granted generalised
tariff preferences to Laos.

for

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 establishes
the definition of the concept of originating products to
be used for the purposes of the scheme of generalised
tariff preferences (GSP). However, Regulation (EEC) No
least-
2454/93 provides for derogations in favour of
developed GSP-beneficiary countries which submit an
appropriate request to that effect to the Community.

(1) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the

2003 Act of Accession.

(2) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 2286/2003 (OJ L 343, 31.12.2003, p. 1).

(3) OJ L 346, 31.12.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by
L 321,

(EC) No 1928/2004 (OJ

Commission Regulation
22.10.2004, p. 23).

it was considered that

(5) When the validity of Regulation No 1613/2000 was
its expiry should
extended,
coincide with the ending of the current GSP scheme,
which was due to end on that date. However, Regulation
No 2211/2003 (6) extended the validity of
the GSP
scheme for a further year, until 31 December 2005.

(6)

On 18 December 2003 the Commission published a
Green Paper on the future of rules of origin in prefer-
trade arrangements (7) which opened a wide-
ential
ranging debate on the subject. On 7 July 2004 it
published a Communication to the Council,
the
European Parliament and the Economic and Social
Committee entitled ‘Developing countries,
international
trade and sustainable development: the function of the
Community’s generalised system of preferences (GSP) for
the 10-year period from 2006 to 2015’ (8), which also
acknowledged the need for change in rules of origin.
However, no decisions have yet been taken and no
new rules will be in place before 31 December 2004.

(4) OJ L 185, 25.7.2000, p. 38.
(5) OJ L 46, 16.2.2002, p. 12.
(6) OJ L 332, 19.12.2003, p. 1.
(7) COM(2003) 787 final.
(8) COM(2004) 461 final.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 373/15

(7)

(8)

(9)

A prolongation of the derogation should not prejudge or
prejudice the outcome of discussions on possible new
rules of origin for GSP. However,
the interests of
traders concluding contracts both in Laos and in the
Community, as well as the stability and the sustained
development of the Lao industry in terms of ongoing
investment and employment, require that the derogation
should be prolonged for a period of time sufficient to
permit
longer-term
contracts, while facilitating the transition to possible
new rules of origin for GSP.

the continuation or conclusion of

(10)

(11)

Regulation (EC) No 1613/2000 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
the Customs Code
accordance with the opinion of
Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1613/2000 is amended as follows:

in
The provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1613/2000,
particular
the existence of quantitative limits, which
apply on an annual basis, reflecting the Community
market's capacity to absorb the Lao products, Laos's
export capacity and actual recorded trade flows, were
designed to prevent
corresponding
injury
branches of Community industry.

to the

The derogation should therefore be renewed until 31
December 2006. However,
to ensure fair
treatment both for Laos and for other least developed
the derogation
continuing need for
countries,
should be reviewed once any new rules of origin are
adopted in the context of the new GSP.

in order

the

— in Article 2,

‘31 December 2004’

December 2006’;

is replaced by ‘31

— the following paragraph is added:

‘The continuing need for the derogation shall however be
reviewed not later than 31 December 2005, in accordance
with the new provisions to be adopted with regard to the
generalised system of preferences and the rules of origin
related thereto’.

Article 2

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2005.

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

Done at Brussels, 20 December 2004.

For the Commission

László KOVÁCS
Member of the Commission