CELEX: 21994A0517(04)
Language: et
Date: 1993-12-20 00:00:00
Title: Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Belarus on trade in textile products

11/20. kd            ET                                      Euroopa Liidu Teataja                                                         111
21994A0517(04)
L 123/120                                            EUROOPA ÜHENDUSTE TEATAJA                                                       17.5.1994
                                                                AGREEMENT
             between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Belarus on trade in textile products
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                                                Article 2
of the one part, and
                                                                          1. Belarus agrees to establish and maintain for each calendar year
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS,                                quantitative limits on its exports to the Community in accordance
                                                                          with Annex II. Such exports shall be subject to a double-checking
of the other part,                                                        system specified in Protocol A.
                                                                          2. In administering the quantitative limits referred to in
DESIRING to promote, with a view to permanent cooperation and
                                                                          paragraph 1, Belarus shall ensure that the Community textile
in conditions providing every security for trade, the orderly and
                                                                          industry shall benefit from utilization of the said limits.
equitable development of trade in textile products between the
European Economic Community (hereinafter referred to as “the
Community”) and the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to          More particularly, as regards categories 1, 2, 2A and 3, Belarus
as “Belarus”),                                                            undertakes upon request from the Community textile industry to
                                                                          reserve, as a priority, 25 % of the quantitative limits concerned for
                                                                          industry users during a period extending between 1 February to 20
RESOLVED to take the fullest possible account of the serious              March of each year and another 25 % of the quantitative limits
economic and social problems at present affecting the textile             concerned for industry users during a period extending between
industry in both importing and exporting countries, and in                1 September and 15 October of each year. For this purpose,
particular, to eliminate real risks of market disruption on the           contracts made with the industry during the periods in question
market of the Community and real risks of disruption to the textile       shall be taken into consideration.
trade of Belarus,
                                                                          3. To facilitate the implementation of these provisions the
HAVE DECIDED to conclude this Agreement and to this end have              Community shall provide the competent Belarussian authorities,
designated as their plenipotentiaries:                                    before the end of each year, with a list of interested Community
                                                                          manufacturers and processors and, if possible, of the quantity of
                                                                          products requested for each firm. To this end, the firms concerned
                                                                          are invited to make direct contact with the relevant Belarussian
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                  enterprises as early as possible during the two reservation periods
                                                                          mentioned in paragraph 2, in order to make their purchasing
                                                                          intentions known.
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS,
WHO HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
                                                                                                        Article 3
                             Article 1
                                                                          1. Imports into the Community of textile products covered by
1. Trade in textile products listed in Annex I and originating            this Agreement shall not be subject to the quantitative limits
within the Contracting Parties shall be liberalized for the duration      established under this Agreement, provided that they are declared
of this Agreement under the conditions set out therein.                   to be for re-export outside the Community in the same state or
                                                                          after processing, within the framework of the administrative
2. Subject to the provisions of this or any successive Agreement,         system of control which exists within the Community.
the Community undertakes, in respect of the products listed in
Annex I, to suspend the application of quantitative import
restrictions currently in force and not to introduce new                  However, the release for home use of products imported into the
quantitative restrictions.                                                Community under the conditions referred to above shall be
                                                                          subject to the production of an export licence issued by the
Quantitative import restrictions shall be re-introduced in case of        Belarussian authorities, and to proof of origin in accordance with
denunciation or non-replacement of the present Agreement.                 the provisions of Protocol A.
3. Measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions         2. Where the Community authorities ascertain that imports of
on the importation into the Community of the products listed in           textile products have been set off against a quantitative limit
Annex I shall be prohibited for the duration of this Agreement.           established under this Agreement, but that the products have
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subsequently been re-exported outside the Community, the                  above during an Agreement year shall not exceed the following
authorities shall inform the Belarussian authorities within four          limits:
weeks of the quantities involved and authorize imports of
identical quantitative limit established under this Agreement for         — 13 % for categories of products in Group I,
the current or the following year, as appropriate.
                                                                          — 13,5 % for categories of products in Groups II, III, IV and V.
3. The Community and Belarus recognize the special and
differential character of re-imports of textile products into the
Community after processing in Belarus as a specific form of
industrial and trade cooperation.                                         6.     Prior notification shall be given by the Belarussian
                                                                          authorities in the event of recourse to the provisions of paragraphs
                                                                          1, 2 and 3 above, at least 15 days in advance.
Should quantitative limits be established under Article 5, provided
that they are effected in accordance with the regulations on
economic outward processing in force in the Community, these
re-imports shall not be subject to these quantitative limits if they
are subject to the specific arrangements laid down in Protocol C.
                                                                                                         Article 5
                                                                          1. Exports of textile products listed in Annex I to this Agreement
                              Article 4                                   may be made subject to quantitative limits on the conditions laid
                                                                          down in the following paragraphs.
Should quantitative limits be introduced under Article 5, the
following provisions shall apply:                                         2. Where the Community finds, under the system of
                                                                          administrative control set up, that the level of imports of products
                                                                          in a given category listed in Annex I originating in Belarus exceeds,
1.    In any Agreement year advance use of a portion of the               in relation to the preceding year’s total imports into the
quantitative limit established for the following Agreement year is        Community from all sources of products in that category, the
authorized for each category of products up to 5 % of the                 following rates:
quantitative limit for the current Agreement year.
                                                                          — 1,2 % for categories of products in Group II,
Amounts delivered in advance shall be deducted from the
corresponding quantitative limits established for the following           — 4 % for categories of products in Groups III, IV and V,
Agreement year.
                                                                          it may request the opening of consultations in accordance with the
                                                                          procedure described in Article 15 of this Agreement, with a view
2.    Carry-over to the corresponding quantitative limit for the
                                                                          to reaching agreement on an appropriate restraint level for the
following Agreement year of the amounts not used during any
                                                                          products in such category.
Agreement year is authorized for each category of products up to
7 % of the quantitative limit for the current Agreement year.
                                                                          3. Pending a mutually satisfactory solution, Belarus undertakes,
                                                                          from the date of notification of the request for consultations, to
3.    Transfers in respect of categories in Group I shall not be          suspend or limit at the level indicated by the Community exports
made from any category except as follows:                                 of the category of products in question to the Community or to
                                                                          the region or regions of the Community market specified by the
— transfers between categories 2 and 3 and from category 1 to             Community.
    categories 2 and 3 may be made up to 4 % of the quantitative
    limits for the category to which the transfer is made,
                                                                          The Community shall authorize the importation of products of
                                                                          the said category shipped from Albania before the date on which
— transfers between categories 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 may be made up
                                                                          the request for consultations was submitted.
    to 4 % of the quantitative limit for the category to which the
    transfer is made.
                                                                          4. Should the Contracting Parties be unable in the course of
                                                                          consultations to reach a satisfactory solution within the period
Transfers into any category in Groups II, III, IV and V may be made       specified in Article 15 the Community shall have the right to
from any category or categories in Groups I, II, III, IV and V up to      introduce a definitive quantitative limit at an annual level not
5 % of the quantitative limit for the category to which the transfer      lower than the level resulting from the application of the formula
is made.                                                                  set out in paragraph 2, or 106 % of the level of imports reached
                                                                          during the calendar year preceding that in which imports exceeded
                                                                          the level resulting from the application of the formula set out in
4.    The table of equivalence applicable to the transfers referred       paragraph 2 and gave rise to the request for consultations,
to above is given in Annex I to this Agreement.                           whichever is the higher.
5.    The increase in any category of products resulting from the         The annual level so fixed shall be revised upwards after
cumulative application of the provisions in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3         consultations in accordance with the procedure referred to in
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Article 15, with a view to fulfilling the conditions set out in          following the consultations referred to in paragraph 2 may be
paragraph 2, should the trend of total imports into the                  carried out for the quota year in which the request to open
Community of the product in question make this necessary.                consultations in accordance with paragraph 2 was made, or for
                                                                         the following year if the quota for the current year is exhausted.
5. The limits introduced under paragraphs 2 or 4 may in no case
be lower than the level of imports of products in that category          4. Should the Parties be unable, in the course of the consultation
originating in Belarus in 1992.                                          referred to in paragraph 2 to reach a mutually satisfactory
                                                                         solution, the Community shall have the right:
6. The provisions of this Article shall not apply where the
percentages specified in paragraph 2 have been reached as a result       (a) where there is sufficient evidence that products originating in
of a fall in total imports into the Community, and not as a result           Belarus have been imported in circumvention of the present
of an increase in exports of products originating in Belarus.                Agreement, to set off the relevant quantities against the
                                                                             quantitative limits established under Article 5;
7. In the event of the provisions of paragraph 2, 3 or 4 being
applied, Belarus undertakes to issue export licences for products        (b) where sufficient evidence shows that false declaration
covered by contracts concluded before the introduction of the                concerning fibre content, quantities, description or
quantitative limit, up to the volume of the quantitative limit fixed.        classification of products originating in Belarus has occured, to
                                                                             refuse to import the products in question;
8. Up to the date of communication of the statistics referred to in
Article 12 (6), the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article shall      (c) should it appear that the territory of Belarus is involved in
apply on the basis of the annual statistics previously                       transhipment or re-routing of products not originating in
communicated by the Community.                                               Belarus, to introduce quantitative limits against the same
                                                                             products originating in Belarus if they are not already subject
                                                                             to quantitative limits, or to take any other appropriate
9. The provisions of this Agreement which concern exports of                 measures.
products subject to the quantitative limits established in Annex II
shall also apply to products for which quantitative limits are
introduced under this Article.                                           5. The Parties agree to establish a system of administrative
                                                                         cooperation to prevent and to address effectively all problems
                                                                         arising from circumvention in accordance with the provisions of
                                                                         Protocol A to this Agreement.
                               Article 6
1. In view of ensuring the effective functioning of this Agreement,
the Community and Belarus agree to cooperate fully in order to                                         Article 7
prevent, to investigate and to take any necessary legal and/or
administrative action against circumvention by transhipment,
re-routing, false declaration concerning the country or place of         1. The quantitative limits established under this Agreement on
origin, falsification of documents, false declaration concerning         imports into the Community of textile products of Belarussian
fibre content, quantities description or classification of               origin will not be broken down by the Community into regional
merchandise any by whatever other means. Accordingly, Belarus            shares.
and the Community agree to establish the necessary legal
provisions and administrative procedures permitting effective
action to be taken against such circumvention, which shall include       2. The Parties shall cooperate in order to prevent sudden and
the adoption of legally binding corrective measures against              prejudicial changes in traditional trade flows resulting in regional
exporters and/or importers involved.                                     concentration of direct imports into the Community.
2. Should the Community believe on the basis of information              3. Belarus shall monitor its exports of products under restraint or
available that the present Agreement is being circumvented, the          surveillance into the Community. Should a sudden and prejudicial
Community will consult with Belarus with a view to reaching              change in traditional trade flows arise, the Community will be
a mutually satisfactory solution. These consultations will be held       entitled to request consultations in order to find a satisfactory
as early as possible and at the latest within 30 days from the date      solution to those problems. Such consultations must be held
of request.                                                              within 15 working days of their being requested by the
                                                                         Community.
3. Pending the results of the consultation referred to in paragraph
2, Belarus shall, as a precautionary measure, if so requested by the     4. Belarus shall endeavour to ensure that exports of textile
Community, take all necessary measures to ensure that, where             products subject to quantitative limits into the Community are
sufficient evidence of circumvention is provided, adjustments of         spaced out as evenly as possible over the year due account being
quantitative limits established under Article 5 liable to be agreed      taken in particular of seasonal factors.
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                               Article 8                                 5. In totally exceptional and critical circumstances, where
                                                                         consignments of products are being imported from Belarus into
                                                                         the Community at prices abnormally lower than the normal
In the event of denunciation of this Agreement as provided for in
                                                                         competitive level, such as to cause injury which it would be
Article 19 (3), the quantitative limits established pursuant to this
                                                                         difficult to repair, the Community may temporarily suspend
Agreement shall be reduced on a pro rata temporis basis unless the
                                                                         imports of the products concerned pending agreement on
Contracting Parties decide otherwise by common agreement.
                                                                         a solution in the course of consultations, which shall be opened
                                                                         immediately. The Contracting Parties shall do their utmost to
                                                                         reach a mutually acceptable solution within 10 working days’
                                                                         notice of the opening of such consultations.
                                                                         6. Should the Community have recourse to the measures referred
                                                                         to in paragraphs 4 and 5 above, Belarus may at any time request
                               Article 9                                 the opening of consultations to examine the possibility of
                                                                         eliminating or modifying these measures where the causes which
Belarus exports of cottage-industry fabrics woven on hand- or            made them necessary no longer exist.
foot-operated looms, garments or other made-up articles obtained
manually from such fabrics and of traditional folklore handicraft
products shall not be subject to quantitative limits, provided that
these products originating in Belarus meet the conditions laid
down in Protocol B.
                                                                                                       Article 11
                                                                         1. The classification of the products covered by this Agreement is
                                                                         based on the tariff and statistical nomenclature of the Community
                                                                         (herinafter called the “combined nomenclature”, or in abbreviated
                                                                         for “CN”) and any amendments thereof.
                              Article 10
                                                                         Where any decision on classification results in a change of
1. Should the Community consider that a textile product covered          classification practice or a change of category of any product
by this Agreement is being imported into the Community from              subject to this Agreement the affected products shall follow the
Belarus at a price abnormally lower than the normal competitive          trade regime applicable to the practice or category they fall into
level and is for this reason causing or threatening to cause serious     after such changes.
injury to Community producers of like or directly competing
products, it may request consultations under Article 15, and in          Any amendment to the combined nomenclature (CN) made in
that event the following specific provisions shall be applicable.        accordance with the procedures in force in the Community
                                                                         concerning categories of products covered by this Agreement or
2. If following such consultations it is acknowledged by common          any decision relating to the classification of goods shall not have
accord that the situation described in paragraph 1 exists, Belarus       the effect of reducing quantitative limits introduced pursuant to
shall take, within the limits of its powers, the necessary steps,        this Agreement.
notably as regards the price at which the product in question will
be sold, to remedy the situation.                                        2. The origin of the products covered by this Agreement shall be
                                                                         determined in accordance with the rules in force in the
3. In order to determine whether the price of a textile product is       Community.
abnormally lower than the normal competitive level, it may be
compared with:                                                           Any amendement to these rules of origin shall be communicated
                                                                         to Belarus and shall not have the effect of reducing any
— the prices generally charged for like products sold under the          quantitative limit established pursuant to this Agreement.
    ordinary conditions by other exporting countries on the
    market of the importing country,
                                                                         The procedures for control of the origin of the products referred
— the prices of like national products at a comparable marketing         to above are laid down in Protocol A.
    stage on the market of the importing country,
— the lowest prices charged by a third country for the same
    product in the course of ordinary commercial dealings in the
    three months preceding the request for consultations, and not
    having led to the adoption of any measure by the Community.
                                                                                                       Article 12
4. Should the consultations referred to in paragraphs 2 above fail
to lead to an agreement within 30 days of the Community’s                1. Belarus shall supply the Commission with precise statistical
request for consultations, the Community may, until these                information on all export licences issued for categories of textile
consultations have produced a mutually satisfactory solution,            products subject to the quantitative limits set out in Annex II,
temporarily refuse consignments of the product in question at            expressed in quantities and in terms of value and broken down by
prices under the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 above.            Community Member States.
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2. The Community shall likewise transmit to the Belarussian                                             Article 15
authorities precise statistical information on import
authorizations issued by the Community authorities and import             1. Save where it is otherwise provided for in this Agreement, the
statistics for products covered by the system referred to in Article      consultation procedures referred to in this Agreement shall be
5 (2).                                                                    governed by the following provisions:
3. The information referred to above shall, for all categories of         — as far as possible consultations shall be held periodically.
products, be forwarded before the end of the month following the              Specific additional consultations may also be held,
month to which the statistics relate.
                                                                          — any request for consultations shall be notified in writing to the
4. Upon request by the Community, Belarus shall supply import                 other Contracting Party,
statistics for all products covered by Annex I.
                                                                          — where appropriate, the request for consultations shall be
5. Should it be found on analysis of the information exchanged                followed within a reasonable period and in any case not later
that there are significant discrepancies between the returns for              than 15 days following the notification by a report setting out
exports and those for imports, consultations may be initiated in              the circumstances which, in the opinion of the requesting
accordance with the procedure specified in Article 15 of this                 Party, justify the submission of such a request,
Agreement.
                                                                          — the Contracting Parties shall enter into consultations within
6. For the purpose of applying the provisions of Article 5, the               one month of notification of the request at the latest, with
Community undertakes to provide the Belarussian authorities                   a view to reaching agreement or a mutually acceptable
before 15 April of each year with the preceding year’s statistics on          conclusion within one further month at the latest,
imports of all textile products covered by this Agreement, broken
down by supplying country and Community Member State.                     — the period of one month referred to above for the purpose of
                                                                              reaching agreement or a mutually acceptable conclusion may
                                                                              be extended by common accord.
                                                                          2. The Community may request consultations in accordance with
                                                                          paragraph 1 when it ascertains that during a particular year of
                              Article 13                                  application of the Agreement difficulties arise in the Community
                                                                          or one of its regions due to a sharp and substantial increase, by
                                                                          comparison to the preceding year, in imports of a given category
1. Belarus shall create favourable conditions for imports of textile      of Group I subject to the quantitative limits established pursuant
products originating in the Community listed in Annex I and,              to this Agreement.
where appropriate inter alia, accord to them non-discriminatory
treatment as regards the application of quantitative restrictions,
and the granting of licences and the allocation of currency needed        3. At the request of either of the Contracting Parties,
to pay for such imports. Belarus will also recommend to its               consultations shall be held on any problems arising from the
importers to use the possibilities offered by the Community               application of this Agreement. Any consultations held under this
producers of textiles mentioned above while according the highest         Article shall take place in a spirit of cooperation and with a desire
possible degree of liberalization to those imports taking into            to reconcile the differences between the Contracting Parties.
account the development of trade between the Contracting
Parties.
2. Where a need for additional supplies arises and in particular
a need leading to the diversification on imports of textile products
                                                                                                        Article 16
in Belarus, Belarus shall accord non-discriminatory treatment to
imports of textile products originating in the Community.
                                                                          The Contracting Parties undertake to promote the exchange of
                                                                          visits by persons, groups and delegations from business, trade and
                                                                          industry, to facilitate contacts in the industrial, commercial and
                                                                          technical fields connected with trade and cooperation in textile
                                                                          industry and textile products and garments, and to assist in the
                                                                          organization of fairs and exhibitions of mutual interest.
                              Article 14
1. The Contracting Parties agree to examine the trend of trade in
textile products and garments each year, in the framework of the
consultations provided for in Article 15 and on the basis of the
statistics referred to in Article 12.                                                                   Article 17
2. If the Community finds that in the cases foreseen in Article 13        As regards intellectual property, at the request of either
(2) of this Agreement it is placed in an unfavourable position as         Contracting Party, consultations shall be held in accordance with
compared with a third country, it may request consultations with          the procedure laid down in Article 15 with a view to finding an
Belarus in accordance with the procedure specified in Article 15          equitable solution to problems relating to the protection of marks,
with a view to taking appropriate action.                                 designs or models of articles of apparel and textile products.
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                           Article 18                                  3. Either Contracting Party may at any time propose
                                                                       modifications to this Agreement or denounce it, provided that at
This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories in     least six months’ notice is given. In that event, the Agreement shall
which the Treaty establishing the European Economic                    come to an end on the expiry of the period of notice.
Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that
Treaty and, on the other hand, to the territory of the Republic of     4. The Contracting Parties agree to enter into consultations not
Belarus.                                                               later than six months before the expiration of the present
                                                                       Agreement with a view to possibly concluding a new Agreement.
                                                                       5. The Annexes, Protocols, Agreed Minutes and letters exchanged
                                                                       or attached to this Agreement, shall form an integral part thereof.
                           Article 19
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the
month following the date on which the Parties notify each other                                      Article 20
of the completion of the procedures necessary for that purpose. It
shall be applicable until 31 December 1994. Thereafter, the            This Agreement shall be drawn up in two copies in the Danish,
application of all the provisions of this Agreement shall be           Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese,
extended automatically for a period of one more year up to 31          Spanish and Belarussian languages, each of these texts being
December 1995, unless either Party notifies the other at least six     equally authentic.
months before 31 December 1994 that it does not agree with this
extension.                                                                     For the Government                    For the Council
                                                                                      of the                               of the
2. This Agreement shall apply with effect from 1 January 1993.                 Republic of Belarus                European Communities
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                                           ANNEX I
             (The contents of this Annex I are identical to those of pages 9 to 41.)
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                                                          ANNEX II
        (The full description of the categories listed in this Annex are to be found in Annex I to the Agreement)
                                        COMMUNITY QUANTITATIVE LIMITS
          Category                   Unit                    1993                  1994                   1995
    1                          tonnes                          900                   932                   964
    2                          tonnes                        2 100                 2 174                 2 250
    of which 2a                tonnes                          300                   311                   321
    3                          tonnes                           91                    94                    97
    4                          1 000 pieces                    361                   377                   394
    5                          1 000 pieces                    294                   307                   321
    6                          1 000 pieces                    161                   168                   176
    7                          1 000 pieces                    139                   145                   152
    8                          1 000 pieces                    190                   199                   207
    9                          tonnes                          166                   173                   181
    20                         tonnes                          141                   146                   151
    22                         tonnes                          118                   124                   131
    23                         tonnes                           88                    92                    97
    39                         tonnes                           60                    63                    66
    12                         1 000 pairs                   1 500                 1 575                 1 654
    13                         1 000 pieces                    844                   869                   895
    15                         1 000 pieces                     69                    72                    75
    16                         1 000 pieces                     54                    56                    58
    21                         1 000 pieces                     92                    96                   100
    24                         1 000 pieces                    214                   225                   236
    26/27                      1 000 pieces                    129                   135                   141
    29                         1 000 pieces                     35                    36                    38
    73                         1 000 pieces                     95                    99                   104
    83                         tonnes                           64                    66                    68
    33                         tonnes                           76                    79                    83
    36                         tonnes                          550                   580                   612
    37                         tonnes                           93                    98                   103
    50                         tonnes                           50                    53                    55
    67                         tonnes                          107                   112                   118
    74                         1 000 pieces                    120                   125                   130
    90                         tonnes                           55                    58                    61
    115                        tonnes                           26                    27                    29
    117                        tonnes                          350                   368                   386
    118                        tonnes                           90                    95                    99
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                                                               PROTOCOL A
                                TITLE I                                   Agreement shall be accompanied by a certificate of Belarussian
                                                                          origin conforming to the model annexed to this Protocol.
                          CLASSIFICATION
                                                                          2. The certificate of origin shall be certified by the competent
                                                                          Belarussian organizations authorized under the Belarussian
                                                                          legislation if the products in question can be considered products
                               Article 1                                  originating in that country within the meaning of the relevant
                                                                          rules in force in the Community.
1. The competent authorities of the Community undertake to
inform Belarus of any changes in the combined nomenclature                3. However, the products in Groups III, IV and V may be
(CN) before the date of their entry into force in the Community.          imported into the Community in accordance with the
                                                                          arrangements established by this Agreement on production of
2. The competent authorities of the Community undertake to                a declaration by the exporter on the invoice or other commercial
inform the competent authorities of Belarus of any decisions              document relating to the products to the effect that the products
relating to the classification of products subject to the present         in question originate in Belarus within the meaning of the relevant
Agreement, within one month of their adoption at the latest. Such         rules in force in the Community.
communication shall include:
(a) a description of the products concerned;                              4. The certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be
                                                                          required for import of goods covered by a certificate of origin
(b) the relevant category and the related CN codes;                       Form A or Form APR completed in accordance with the relevant
(c) the reasons which have led to the decision.                           Community rules in order to qualify for generalized tariff
                                                                          preferences.
3. Where a decision on classification results in a change of
classification practice or a change of category of any product
subject to the Agreement, the competent authorities of the
Community shall provide 30 days’ notice, from the date of the
Community’s communication, before the decision is put into
effect. Products shipped before the date of entry into effect of the                                     Article 3
decision shall remain subject to the earlier classification practice,
provided that the goods in the question are presented for                 The certificate of origin shall be issued only on application having
importation into the Community within 60 days of that date.               been made in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter’s
                                                                          responsibility, by his authorized representative. The competent
4. Where a Community decision on classification resulting in              Belarus organizations authorized under Belarussian legislation
a change of classification practice or a change of categorization of      shall ensure that the certificate of origin is properly completed and
any product subject to the Agreement affects a category subject to        for this purpose they shall call for any necessary documentary
quantitative limits, the Contracting Parties agree to enter into          evidence or carry out any check which they consider appropriate.
consultation in accordance with the procedures described in
Article 15 of the Agreement with a view to honouring the
obligation under the second subparagraph of Article 11 (1) of the
Agreement.
5. In case of divergent opinions between Belarus and the
competent Community authorities at the point of entry into the                                           Article 4
Community on the classification of products covered by the
present Agreement, classification shall provisionally be based on         Where different criteria for determining origin are laid down for
indications provided by the Community, pending consultations in           products falling within the same category, the certificates or
accordance with Article 15 with a view to reaching agreement on           declarations of origin must contain a sufficiently detailed
definitive classification of the product concerned.                       description of the goods so as to enable Belarus criterion to be
                                                                          determined, on the basis of which the certificate was issued or the
                                                                          declaration drawn up.
                               TITLE II
                               ORIGIN
                                                                                                         Article 5
                                                                          The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements
                               Article 2                                  made in the certificate of origin and those made in the documents
                                                                          produced to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the
1. Products originating in Belarus for export to the Community            formalities for importing the products shall not ipso facto cast
in accordance with the arrangements established by this                   doubt upon the statements in the certificate.
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                              TITLE III                                    been effected even if the export licence is issued after such
                                                                           shipment.
     DOUBLE-CHECKING SYSTEM FOR THE CATEGORIES OF
      PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO COMMUNITY QUANTITATIVE
                               LIMITS                                      2. For the purpose of applying paragraph 1, shipment of the
                                                                           goods is considered to have taken place on the date of their
                                                                           loading onto the exporting aircraft, vehicule or vessel.
                             Section I
                           Exportation
                                                                                                         Article 10
                                                                           The presentation of an export licence, in application of Article 12
                                                                           hereafter, shall be effected not later than 31 March of the year
                              Article 6                                    following that in which the goods covered by the licence have
                                                                           been shipped.
1. The competent authorities of Belarus shall issue an export
licence in respect of all consignments from Belarus of textile
products referred to in Annex II, up to the relevant quantitative
limits as may be modified by Articles 3, 4 and 6 of this Agreement,
as well as of textile products subject to any definitive or
provisional quantitative limits, established as a result of the
application of Article 5 of the Agreement.                                                              Section II
                                                                                                       Importation
                              Article 7
1. The export licence shall conform to the model annexed to this
Protocol and it shall be valid for exports throughout the customs                                        Article 11
territory to which the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community applies. However, where the Community has made
recourse to the provisions of Article 5 and 7 of the Agreement in          Importation into the Community of textile products subject to
accordance with the provision of the Agreed Minute No 1, or to             quantitative limits shall be subject to the presentation of an import
the Agreed Minute No 2, the textile products covered by the                authorization.
export licences can only be put into free circulation in the region(s)
of the Community indicated in those licences.
2. Each export licence must certify inter alia that the quantity of
the product in question has been set off against the quantitative
limit established for the category of the products concerned and
shall only cover one of the categories of products listed in Annex                                       Article 12
II. It may be used for one or more consignments of the products
in question.                                                               1. The competent authorities of the Community shall issue the
                                                                           import authorization referred to in Article 11 above, within five
                                                                           working days of the presentation by the importer of the original
                                                                           of the corresponding export licence.
                              Article 8                                    2. The import authorizations concerning products subject to
                                                                           quantitative limits under this Agreement shall be valid for six
                                                                           months from the date of their issue for imports throughout the
The competent authorities of the Community must be informed
                                                                           customs territory to which the Treaty establishing the European
immediately of the withdrawal or modification of any export
                                                                           Economic Community is applied. However, where the
licence already issued.
                                                                           Community has recourse to the provisions of Articles 5 and 7 of
                                                                           the Agreement in accordance with the provisions of the Agreed
                                                                           Minute No 1, or to the Agreed Minute No 2, the products covered
                                                                           by the import licences can only be put into free circulation in the
                                                                           region(s) of the Community indicated in those licences.
                              Article 9
                                                                           3. The competent authorities of the Community shall cancel the
1. Exports shall be set off against the quantitative limits                import authorization already issued whenever the corresponding
established for the year in which the shipment of the goods has            export licence has been withdrawn.
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However, if the competent authorities of the Community are                This number shall be composed of the following elements:
notified of the withdrawal or the cancellation of the export licence
only after the importation of the products into the Community,
the relevant quantities shall be set off against the quantitative         — two letters identifying the exporting country as follows: BY,
limits established for the category and the quota year concerned.
                                                                          — two letters identifying the intended Member State of customs
                                                                              clearance as follows:
                             Article 13
                                                                              BL = Benelux,
1. If the competent authorities of the Community find that the
total quantities covered by export licences issued by the
competent authorities of Belarus for a particular category in any             DE = Federal Republic of Germany,
year exceed the quantitative limit established for that category
established in Annex II for that category as may be modified by               DK = Denmark,
Articles 4, 6 and 8 of the Agreement, or any quantitative limit
established in accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement, the said
                                                                              EL = Greece,
authorities may suspend the further issue of import
authorizations. In this event, the competent authorities of the
Community shall immediately inform the authorities of Belarus                 ES = Spain,
and the special consultation procedure set out in Article 15 of the
Agreement shall be initiated forthwith.
                                                                              FR = France,
2. Exports of products of Belarus origin subject to quantitative
limits or a double-checking system and not covered by Belarus                 GB = United Kingdom,
export licences issued in accordance with the provisions of this
Protocol may be refused an import authorization by the
competent Community authorities.                                              IE = Ireland,
However, without prejudice to Article 6 of the Agreement if the               IT = Italy,
import of such products is allowed into the Community by the
competent authorities of the Community, the quantities involved
shall not be set off against the appropriate quantitative limits              PT = Portugal,
established in Annex II, or established by virtue of Article 8 of the
Agreement, without the express agreement of the competent
authorities of Belarus.                                                   — a one-digit number identifying quota year, corresponding to
                                                                              the last figure in the respective year, e.g. 3 for 1993,
                                                                          — a two-digit number from 01 to 99, identifying the particular
                              TITLE IV                                        issuing office concerned in the exporting country,
  FORM AND PRODUCTION OF EXPORT CERTIFICATES AND
   CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN, AND COMMON PROVISIONS
         CONCERNING EXPORTS TO THE COMMUNITY                              — a five-digit number running consecutively from 00001 to
                                                                              99999 allocated to the intended Member State of customs
                                                                              clearance.
                             Article 14
1. The export licence and the certificate of origin may comprise
additional copies duly indicated as such. They shall be made out
                                                                                                         Article 15
in English or French. If they are completed by hand, entries must
be in ink and in printed script.                                          The export licence and the certificate of origin may be issued after
                                                                          the shipment of the products to which they relate. In such cases
These documents shall measure 210 × 297 mm. The paper used
                                                                          they must bear the endorsement “délivré a posteriori” or the
shall be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical
                                                                          endorsement “issued retrospectively”.
pulp, and weighing not less than 25 g/m2. If the documents have
several copies only the top copy, which is the original, shall be
printed with the guilloche pattern background. This copy shall be
clearly marked as “original” and the other copies as “copies”. Only
the original shall be accepted by the competent authorities of the
Community as being valid for the purpose of export to the
                                                                                                         Article 16
Community in accordance with the provision of the Agreement.
                                                                          1. In the event of a theft, loss or destruction of an export licence
                                                                          or a certificate of origin, the exporter may apply to the competent
2. Each document shall bear a standardized serial number,                 Belarussian authorities which issued the document for a duplicate
whether or not printed, by which it can be identified.                    to be made out on the basis of the export documents in his
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possession. The duplicate of any such certificate or licence so            enquiry. If the invoice has been submitted, such invoice or a copy
issued shall bear the endorsement “duplicata” or “duplicate”.              thereof shall be attached to the certificate or to the licence or their
                                                                           copies. The authorities shall also forward any information that has
2. The duplicate shall bear the date of the original export licence        been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the said
or certificate of origin.                                                  certificate or licence are inaccurate.
                                                                           3. The provisions of paragraph 1 above shall also apply to
                                                                           subsequent verifications of the declarations of origin provided for
                                                                           in Article 2 of this Protocol.
                                TITLE V
                 ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION                                4. The results of the subsequent verifications carried out in
                                                                           accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be
                                                                           communicated to the competent authorities of the Community
                                                                           within three months at the latest. The information communicated
                                                                           shall indicate whether the disputed certificate, licence or
                                                                           declaration, applies to the goods actually exported and whether
                              Article 17                                   these goods are eligible for export under the arrangements
                                                                           established by the Agreement. The information shall also include,
The Community and Belarus shall cooperate closely in the                   at the request of the Community, copies of all the documentation
implementation of the provisions of this Protocol. To this end,            necessary to fully determine the facts, and in particular the true
contacts and exchanges or views, including on technical matters,           origin of the goods.
shall be facilitated by both Parties.
                                                                           Should such verifications reveal systematic irregularities in the use
                                                                           of declarations of origin, the Community may subject imports of
                                                                           the products in question to the provisions of Article 2 (1) of this
                                                                           Protocol.
                              Article 18
In order to ensure the correct application of this Protocol, the           5. For the purpose of subsequent verification of certificates of
Community and Belarus offer mutual assistance for the checking             origin, copies of the certificates as well as any export documents
of the authenticity and the accuracy of export licences and                referring to them shall be kept for at least two years by the
certificates of origin issued or of any declarations made within the       competent Belarussian authorities.
terms of this Protocol.
                                                                           6. Recourse to the random verification procedure specified in this
                                                                           Article must not constitute an obstacle to the release for home use
                                                                           of the products in question.
                              Article 19
Belarus shall transmit to the Commission of the European
Communities the names and addresses of the authorities
competent to issue and verify the export licences and the
certificates of origin, together with specimens of the stamps used
by these authorities and specimen signatures of officials
responsible for signing the export licences and the certificates of                                      Article 21
origin. Belarus shall also notify the Community of any change in
this information.
                                                                           1. Where the verification procedure referred to in Article 20 or
                                                                           where information available to the competent authorities of the
                                                                           Community or of Belarus indicates or appears to indicate that the
                                                                           provisions of this Agreement are being circumvented or infringed,
                              Article 20                                   the two Contracting Parties shall cooperate closely and with the
                                                                           appropriate urgency in order to prevent any such circumvention
                                                                           or infringement.
1. Subsequent verification of certificates of origin or export
licences shall be carried out at random, or whenever the
competent Community authorities have reasonable doubt as to                2. To this end, the competent authorities of Belarus shall, on their
the authenticity of the certificate or licence or as to the accuracy       own initiative or at the request of the Community, carry out
of the information regarding the true origin of the products in            appropriate inquiries, or arrange for such inquiries to be carried
question.                                                                  out, concerning operations which are, or appear to the
                                                                           Community to be, in circumvention or infringement of this
2. In such cases, the competent authorities in the Community               Protocol. Belarus shall communicate the results, of these inquiries
shall return the certificate of origin or the export licence or a copy     to the Community, including any other pertinent information
thereof to the competent Belarussian authorities, giving, where            enabling the cause of the circumvention or infringement,
appropriate, the reasons of form or substance which justify an             including the true origin of the goods to be determined.
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3. By agreement between the Community and Belarus, officials           Community has reasonable grounds to consider that the products
designated by the Community may be present at the inquiries            in question may be in transit across the territory of Belarus prior
referred to in paragraph 2 above.                                      to their importation into the Community. This information may
                                                                       include at the request of the Community copies of all available
4. Pursuant to the cooperation referred to in paragraph 1 above,       relevant documentation.
the competent authorities of the Community and Belarus shall
exchange any information considered by either Contracting Party        5. Where sufficient evidence shows that the provisions of this
to be of use in preventing circumvention or infringement of the        Protocol have been circumvented or infringed, the competent
provisions of this Agreement. These exchanges may include              authorities of Belarus and the Community may agree to take the
information on the production of textile, products in Belarus and      measures set out in Article 6 (4) of the Agreement, and any other
on the trade in the type of products covered by this Agreement         measures as are necessary to prevent a recurrence of such
between Belarus and third countries, particularly where the            circumvention or infringement.
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                                                 PROTOCOL B
                                            referred to in Article 9
                            Cottage industry and folklore products originating in Belarus
    1. The exemption provided for in Article 9 in respect of cottage industry products shall apply to the
       following types of product only:
       (a) fabrics woven on looms operated solely by hand or foot, being fabrics of a kind traditionally made
           in the cottage industry of Belarus;
       (b) garments or other textile articles of a kind traditionally made in the cottage industry of Belarus
           obtained manually from the fabrics referred to above and sewn exclusively by hand without the
           aid of any machine;
       (c) traditional folklore products of Belarus made by hand, in a list to be agreed between the
           Community and Belarus.
       Exemption shall be granted in respect only of products covered by a certificate conforming to the
       specimen attached to this Protocol and issued by the competent authorities in Belarus. These
       certificates must indicate the reasons justifying their issuance; the competent authorities of the
       Community will accept them after having checked that the products concerned have fulfilled the
       conditions established in this Protocol. The certificates concerning the products envisaged in (c) above
       must bear a stamp “FOLKLORE” marked clearly. In the case of a difference of opinion between the
       Parties concerning the nature of these products, consultations shall be held within one month in order
       to resolve these differences.
       Should imports of any product covered by this Protocol reach proportions liable to cause problems
       within the Community, consultations with Belarus shall be initiated as soon as possible, with a view
       to resolving the situation by the adoption if necessary of a quantitative limit, in accordance with the
       procedure laid down in Article 15 of this Agreement.
    2. The provisions of Titles IV and V of Protocol A shall apply mutatis mutandis to the products covered
       by paragraph 1 of this Protocol.
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                                                    PROTOCOL C
    Reimports into the Community, within the meaning of Article 3 (3) of this Agreement, of products listed
    in the Annex to this Protocol shall be subject to the provisions of this Agreement, unless the special
    provisions below provide otherwise:
    1. Subject to paragraph 2, only reimports into the Community of products affected by the specific
        quantitative limits laid down in the Annex to this Protocol shall be considered reimports within the
        meaning of Article 3 (3) of the Agreement.
    2. Reimports not covered by the Annex to this Protocol may be made subject to specific quantitative
        limits following consultations in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 15 of the
        Agreement, provided the products concerned are subject to quantitative limits pursuant to the
        Agreement, to a double-checking system or to surveillance measures.
    3. Having regard to the interests of both Parties, the Community may at its discretion, or in response
        to a request under Article 15 of the Agreement:
        (a) examine the possibility of transferring from one category to another, using in advance or carrying
            over from one year to the next, portions of specific quantitative limits;
        (b) consider the possibility of increasing specific quantitative limits.
    4. However, the Community may apply automatically the flexibility rules set out in paragraph 3 above
        within the following limits:
        (a) transfers between categories may not exceed 20 % the quantity for the category to which the
            transfer is made;
        (b) carry-over of a specific quantitative limit from one year to the next may not exceed 10,5 % of the
            quantity set for the year of actual utilization;
        (c) advance use of specific quantitative limits from one year to another may not exceed 7,5 % of the
            quantity set for the year of actual utilization.
    5. The Community shall inform Belarus of any measures taken pursuant to the preceding paragraphs.
    6. The competent authorities in the Community shall debit the specific quantitative limits referred to
        in paragraph 1 at the time of issue of the prior authorization required by Council Regulation (EEC)
        No 636/82 which governs economic outward processing arrangements. A specific quantitative limit
        shall be debited for the year in which a prior authorization is issued.
    7. A certificate of origin made out by the organizations authorized to do so under Belarussian law shall
        be issued, in accordance with Protocol A to the Agreement, for all products covered by this Protocol.
        This certificate shall bear a reference to the prior authorization mentioned in paragraph 6 above as
        evidence that the processing operation it describes has been carried out in Belarus.
    8. The Community shall provide Belarus with the names and addresses of, and specimens of the stamps
        used by, the competent authorities of the Community which issue the prior authorizations referred
        to in paragraph 6 above.
    9. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 8 above, Belarus and the Community shall
        continue consultations with a view to seek a mutually acceptable solution enabling both Contracting
        Parties to benefit from the Agreement’s provisions on outward processing traffic and so ensure the
        effective development of trade in textile products between Belarus and the Community.
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                                                           Annex to Protocol C
            (The product descriptions of the categories listed in this Annex are to be found in Annex I to the Agreement)
                                                             OPT QUOTAS
                                             COMMUNITY QUANTITATIVE LIMITS
                Category                  Unit                    1993                   1994                  1995
          4                         1 000 pieces                  1 800                 1 922                  2 051
          5                         1 000 pieces                  2 500                 2 669                  2 849
          6                         1 000 pieces                  2 900                 3 096                  3 305
          7                         1 000 pieces                  2 200                 2 349                  2 507
          8                         1 000 pieces                    300                   320                    342
          12                        1 000 pairs                   1 600                 1 720                  1 849
          13                        1 000 pieces                    200                   209                    218
          15                        1 000 pieces                    950                 1 014                  1 083
          16                        1 000 pieces                    300                   318                    337
          21                        1 000 pieces                    600                   641                    684
          24                        1 000 pieces                    200                   215                    231
          26/27                     1 000 pieces                    950                 1 014                  1 083
          29                        1 000 pieces                    350                   371                    393
          73                        1 000 pieces                  1 900                 2 028                  2 165
          74                        1 000 pieces                    350                   371                    393
          83                        tonnes                          300                   314                    328
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                                              Agreed Minute No 1
    In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of
    Belarus on trade in textile and clothing products, initialled at Brussels on 1 April 1993, the Parties agreed
    that Article 5 of the Agreement does not preclude the Community, if the conditions are fulfilled, from
    applying the safeguard measures for one or more of its regions in conformity with the principles of the
    internal market.
    In such an event, Belarus shall be informed in advance of the relevant provisions of Protocol A to the
    Agreement to be applied, as appropriate.
                     For the Government                                         For the Council
                  of the Republic of Belarus                             of the European Communities
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                                                       Agreed Minute No 2
          Nothwithstanding Article 7 (1) of this Agreement, for imperative technical or administrative reasons or
          to find a solution to economic problems resulting from regional concentration of imports, or in order
          to combat circumvention and fraud of the provisions of this Agreement, the Community will establish
          for a limited period of time a specific management system in conformity with the principles of the
          internal market.
          However, if the Parties are unable to reach a satisfactory solution during the consultations provided for
          in Article 7 (3), Belarus undertakes, if so requested by the Community, to respect temporary export limits
          for one or more regions of the Community. In such a case, these limits shall not preclude the importation
          into the region(s) concerned of products which were shipped from Belarus on the basis of export licences
          obtained before the date of formal notification to Belarus by the Community about the introduction of
          the above limits.
          The Community shall inform Belarus of the technical and administrative measures, such as defined in
          the attached note verbale, that need to be introduced by both Parties in order to implement the above
          paragraphs in conformity with the principles of the internal market.
                            For the Government                                      For the Council
                         of the Republic of Belarus                          of the European Communities
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                                                 Note verbale
    The Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission of the European Communities
    presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and has the honour
    to refer to the Agreement on textile products negotiated between Belarus and the Community initialled
    at Brussels on 1 April 1993.
    The Directorate-General wishes to inform the Ministry that the Community has decided to apply, starting
    from 1 January 1993, the provisions of paragraph 1 of Agreed Minute No 2 to the exchange of letters
    initialled on 1 April 1993. Consequently, the corresponding provisions of Articles 7 and 12 of Protocol
    A to the Agreement shall also be applied as of the above date.
    The Directorate-General for External Relations avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Ministry
    of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus the assurance of its highest consideration.
 ---pagebreak--- 11/20. kd    ET                                      Euroopa Liidu Teataja                                              133
                                                    Agreed Minute No 3
          In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of
          Belarus on trade in textile and clothing products, initialled at Brussels on 1 April 1993, the Parties agreed
          that Belarus shall endeavour not to deprive certain regions of the Community which have traditionally
          had relatively small shares of Community quotas of imports of products serving as inputs for their
          processing industry.
          The Community and Belarus further agreed to hold consultations, should the need arise, in order to avert
          any problems which might occur in this respect.
                           For the Government                                         For the Council
                        of the Republic of Belarus                             of the European Communities
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                                             Agreed Minute No 4
    In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of
    Belarus on trade in textile and clothing products, initialled at Brussels on 1 April 1993, Belarus agreed
    that, from the date of request for and pending the consultations referred to in Article 7 (3), it shall
    cooperate by not issuing export licences that would further aggravate the problems resulting from the
    regional concentration of direct imports into the Community.
                    For the Government                                        For the Council
                  of the Republic Belarus                              of the European Communities
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                                                     Exchange of notes
          The Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission of the European Communities
          presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and has the honour
          to refer to the Agreement on textile products between Belarus and the Community initialled at Brussels
          on 1 April 1993.
          The Directorate-General wishes to inform the Ministry that whilst awaiting the completion of the
          necessary procedures for the conclusion and the coming into force of the Agreement, the Community
          is prepared to allow the provisions of the Agreement to apply de facto from 1 January 1993. This is on
          the understanding that either Party may at any time terminate this de facto application of the Agreement
          provided that 120 days’ notice is given.
          The Directorate-General for External Relations would be grateful if the Ministry would confirm its
          Agreement to the foregoing.
          The Directorate-General for External Relations avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Ministry
          of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus the assurance of its highest consideration.
                                                     Exchange of notes
          The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus presents its compliments to the
          Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission of the European Communities and has the
          honour to refer to the Agreement on textile products between Belarus and the Community initialled at
          Brussels on 1 April 1993.
          The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus wishes to confirm to the Directorate-General
          that whilst awaiting the completion of the necessary procedures for the conclusion and the coming into
          force of the Agreement, the Government of the Republic of Belarus is prepared to allow the provisions
          of the Agreement to apply de facto from 1 January 1993. This is on the understanding that either Party
          may at any time terminate this de facto application of the Agreement provided that 120 days’ notice is
          given.
          The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus to the European Communities avails itself of
          this opportunity to renew to the Directorate-General for External Relations of the Commission of the
          European Communities the assurance of its highest consideration.
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                                               Agreed Minute No 5
    In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of
    Belarus on trade in textile and clothing products initialled on 1 April 1993, the Parties agreed that, in
    conformity with Article 19 (2) of the Agreement, the quantities of products originating in Belarus,
    shipped during the year 1993 and falling within one of the categories of textile products subject to the
    quantitative limits referred to in Article 2 (1) of the Agreement shall be set off against the quantitative
    limits established for the year 1993 for the category concerned.
                      For the Government                                     For the Council
                    of the Republic Belarus                           of the European Communities
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                                                     Agreed Minute No 6
          In the context of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of
          Belarus on trade in textile products initialled on 1 April 1993, the Parties agreed that, in conformity with
          Article 19 (2) of the Agreement, products listed in Annex I to the Agreement originating in Belarus but
          not subject to the quantitative limits referred to in Article 2 (1) of the Agreement may be made subject
          either to the double-checking system specified in Protocol A to the Agreement or to a prior system of
          surveillance.
                           For the Government                                        For the Council
                         of the Republic Belarus                              of the European Communities