CELEX: 51977PC0239
Language: en
Date: 1977-06-15
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) increasing the Community tariff quota opened for 1977 by Regulation (EEC) No 2930/76 for unwrought magnesium falling within subheading 77.01 of the Common Customs Tariff (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (77) 239
Vol. 1977/0087
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                     „  ! COM(77)239 final
                                                                       1
                                           Brussels , 15 June 1977
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                      I
                                  Proposal for a
                        COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
                 \
          increasing the Community "tariff quota opened for
          1977 by Regulation (EEC ) No 2930/76 for unwrought
         magnesium falling within subheading 77.01 of the
                         Common Customs Tariff
                                                      V
         ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
                          /
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                            . .                                    /
 COM(77 ) 239 final
 ---pagebreak---                          EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
                                                        1 .   -
  By Regulation (EEC) No 2930/ 76 of 29 November 1976> the Council opened
  and allocated among the Member States £or 1 977 a Community tariff
  quota for unwrought magnesium falling within subheading 77.01 A of the
  Common Customs Tariff and initially totalling 5 500 metric tons , based
  on estimates put forward at the end of 1976 , which moreover did not
  preclude adjustments during the quota period .
 When this Regulation was adopted by the Council , the Commission was
 requested to pursue the study of the state of
  the market in this product and to propose an increase in the quota
 volume before mid-1977 if it appeared that Community requirements as
 regards imports from non-member countries would exceed the quota
 volume under consideration .
 This is the purpose       of this proposal fbr a regulation .
                                              I
 A review of the state of the market in magnesium and of Community
 requirements for imports from non-member countries was carried out at
  the meeting of the Economic Tariff Problems Group , held on'       April
  197 7, on the basis of the usual estimates for 1977 provided by the
 Member States in respect of the three qualities of magnesium used for
  the initial quota . It emerged from this discussion that :
  ( a ) at the first review carried out at the same period, the state
        of the Community market in magnesium in 1977 appeared to be
        substantially the same as in 1976;
  ( b ) the Community production capacities are not fully utilized
        especially in  France , where it has not been possible to reduce
        the stocks of  magnesium not in al'loy built up in 1976 and
        equivalent to  three months' production, and in Italy where ,
        owing to lack  of purchasers , the extra-pure magnesium produced
        has been sold as magnesium not in alloy ;
( c)    the estimates put forward by the Member States set the usual
         factors for calculating the quota at the following approximate
         levels for 1977 :
 ---pagebreak---                                                     - 2 -
                                                                        - in tonnes -
                                              unwrought    extra-pure         magnésium magnésium
                                              magnésium    magnésium         not in     in alloy
                                              in général                      alloy
       consumption                            55 748       1 850              30 378    23 520
j - production                                25 700         500              16 000      9 200
  - Inward processing traffic                   3 000            0              1 500     1 500
; - duty-free imports carried out
      .under other preferential tariff
        arrangements
      ;(EFTA, associated countries , etc *)     3 256            0              2 906       350
  - exports to non-member countries             2 280            0                890     1 390
  - unusual stocks existing on 31
       December 1977                         ' !2 500            0              2 500         0
          (d )  on this basis and m view of the quota volume of 5 500. tonnes
                   . already opened at the beginning of the year , the .
                requirements as regards imports from non-member countries                         |
                the end of the current year would be set at about 13 500 tonnes,                  |
                i.e. 750. tonnes of extra' pure magnesium;' 5 250 tonnes of magnesium             |
                not'in alloy' and 7 5 DG tonnes of 'magnesium - in- alloy . . • –                 |
 j3 »     These various factors indicate that cautiou& must still be exercised in                 f
           fixing quota volumes for this product , taking into account the
                                                      ♦                                 ;
          uncertainty as to the level which Conrnnjpiity Consumption might reach                  ■
          during 1977 .                                                                           1
          For this reason the Commission considers it necessary, pending
                           a further review of the situation which might be
          carried out in September on ,the , basis of more specific estimates , to
                                        further
       , confine itself again to a7provisional increase in the tariff quota of
          4 500   tonnes .
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 3 -
4*  As regards the splitting up of the 4 500      tonnes     under consideration
    into the three qualities of magnesium, it should be noted that the
    Community requirements for extra-pure magnesium imports from non-member
   > countries       of the order of 1 8 50 tonnes       could be covered to a
    large extent by the quota opened at the beginning of the year ( 600
   tonnes )        and by Community production of about 5 00 tonnes .
   Until a subsequent review is made ,         an immediate increase of
   500 tonnes allocated to this quality of magnesium should cover the
    short-term requirements of the Community industries .
     Furthermore , it is proposed that the balance , i.e. 4  000 tonnes , be
     split up amonq the other two qualities approximately     in proportion to
     the requirements for these two qualities ( 35/ 65 ) and that 1 400 tonnes
     be allocated to unwrought magnesium not in alloy and     2 600 tonnes to
     unwrought magnesium in alloy .
5.   The supplementary volumes of 500 and 2 600 tonnes           proposed for
     extra-pure magnesium and magnesium in alloy are allotted to the
     Community reserves      set up , whereas the supplementary volume
     allocated to unwrought magnesium not in alloy is , after deduction of
     the quantity allotted to the Community reserve , divided among the
     Member States according to the percentages originally used *
                                                                         /
 ---pagebreak---                                Proposal for
                    COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
            increasing the Community tariff quota opened for 1977
            by Regulation (EEC) No 2930/ 76for unwrought magnesium
            falling within subheading 77.01 A of the Common Customs
            Tariff
                                     I
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community ,
 and in particular Article 113 thereof ,
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
                                                                              4
 whereas , for unwrought magnesium falling within subheading 77.01 A of the
 Common Customs Tariff , a Community tariff quota for 197 totalling 5 500
 tonnes was            opened by the Council and allocated among the Member
 States by Regulation (EEC) No 2930/ 76( 1 )
Whereas the economic data at present available with regard to the consump­
 tion and production of unwrought magnesium do not yet permit Community
 requirements for imports from non-member countries to be evaluated with
 sufficient precision ; whereas it appears that certain Member States have
 considerable magnesium requirements which cannot be met by Community pro­
duction ; whereas the quota concerned should therefore be increased by .
an appropriate amount , approximately 4 500 tonnes ;        whereas the fixing
at this level of this supplementary quota does not preclude further
adjustments during the quota period ; whereas , in view, moreover , on the
one hand of the present requirements for unwrought magnesium not in alloy
with a pure ihagnesium content of not less than 99.95% and on the other
hand of the quantities available in the Community and of the possible
increase in production by Community industries based principally on
                                              I
unwrought magnesium not in alloy , and also the possibility of duty-free
imports under agreements concluded by the Community with certain non-
acceding EFTA countries , it can be estimated that short-term requirements
for imports of unwrought magnesium may , within the limit of the proposed
increase , reach 500 tonnes       of unwrought magnesium containing 99.95%
or more by weight of pure magnesium (extra-pure magnesium), 1 400 tonnes
      of unwrought magnesium containing 99.8% or moreljut less than 99.95%
^ 0J No L      °f ^ December 1976, p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak---                                        2
 by weight          of pure magnesium (unwrought magnesium not in alloy), and
 2 600 tonnes      ; of unwrought magnesium containing :■       , than 99 . 8% by
weight of pure magnesium (unwrought magnesium in alloy) ;
Whereas as far as the distribution of the above quota volumes between
Member States is concerned , it is necessary to allot to the Community
reserves all the supplementary volumes allocated to extra-pure magnesium
and unwrought magnesium in alloy and also a relatively small part of the
supplementary volume allocated to unwrought magnesium not in alloy , the
balance of this volume being divided among the Member States .in accordance with
the percentages originally used ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :                                                     '
                                       <        ;                   ;
                                  Article 1
The volume of the Community tariff quota opened by Regulation (EEC ) No 2930/ 76
        for unwrought magnesium falling within subheading 77.01 A of the
Common Customs Tariff is hereby increased from 5 500 to 10 000 tonnes .
This increase of 4 500      tonnes     shall be allocated as follows :
( a)     500 tonnes        of unwrought magnesium containing 99.95% or more
          by weight of pure magnesium (extra-pure magnesium), intended for
          the nuclear industry and under customs supervision or equivalent
         administrative supervision ;
                                              . . *
(b )     1 400 tonnes        of unwrought magnesium containing not less than
         99.8% but less than 99.95% by weight of pure magnesium (unwrought
         magnesium not in alloy);
(c)      2 600 tonnes        of unwrought magnesium containing less, than 99.8%
         by weight of pure magnesium (unwrought magnesium in alloy).        .
 ---pagebreak---                             \
                                         3
                                  Article 2
The volumes of      500 tonnes      and 2 600 tonnes           . referred to in Article
 1 ( a ) and ( c) allocated to extra-pure unwrought magnesium intended for the
nuclear industry and to unwrought magnesium in alloy shall be allotted to '
 the Community reserves set up under to Articles 2 ( 1 ) and 3 ( 2 ) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2930/ 76, which shall thus be increased from 600 to
1 100 tonnesand from 425 to 3 025 tonnes                  respectively .
                                                    )
                                  Article 3
1.      A first tranche of ' 1 260 tonnes from the amount referred to in Article 1(b )
        allocated to    unwrought magnesium not in alloy shall be allocated
        among the Member States as follows :
             Bénélux                     I      211     tonnes
             Denmark                          < . 0.5   tonne
             Germany                            854     tonnes
             France                         <    42     tonnes
             Ireland                          ;   0.5   tonne
             Italy                                4     tonnes
             United Kingdom               '     148     tonnes .
2.      The second tranche of   140  tonnes           shall constitute the reserve .
        The amount of the reserve for this type of unwrought magnesium,
        provided for in Article 3 ( 2 ) of Regulation (EEC) No 2930/ 76, is thus be
        increased from 130 to 270 tonnes .
                                  Article 4 ,
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
        This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
        applicable in all Member States .                                    1   •
Done at Brussels ,                                                the Council
                                                              The President
                                       I
 ---pagebreak---                                                      Date :  18 Aprit 1977
FINANCIAL     STATEMENT.
 1 . Budget line concerned : Ch . 12 Art . 120
2 . Leqal basis :      Art . 113
3 . Title of the tariff measure :
     Proposal for a Council Regulation ( EEC ) increasing the Community
     tariff quota opened for 1977 by Regulation ( EEC ) No 2930/ 76 for
     unwrought magnesium falling within subheading 77.01 A of the
     Common Customs Tariff
4 . Objectives :
     Compliance with obligations contracted in GATT for the product in question .
5 . Method of calculation :
     - No of CCT        :    77.01 A
     - Quota volume     :    4.500 metric tons
     - Quota duty rate :     0%
     - Duty rate CCT    :    8% ( NOR rate : 4.8% )
6 . Loss of receipts :      550.000 UC