CELEX: 51988PC0552
Language: en
Date: 1988-10-17
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for certain plywoods of coniferous species (1989) (presented by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (88) 552
Vol. 1988/0189
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM ( 88) 552    final
                                                Brussels , 17 October 1988
                               Proposal for a
                          COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )
   N opening , allocating and providing for the administration of a
   Community tariff quota for certain plywoods of coniferous species
                                    ( 1989 )
                        ( presented by the Commission )
 ---pagebreak---                               EXFLANA.TORY MEMORANDUM
1.     At the GATT negotiations the Community undertook to open , for
       certain coniferous plywood , as listed below- a Cbrrcnunity tariff
       quota at zero duty of a total volume of GOO, 000 cubic metres .
       - plywood of a thickness greater than 8.5 nm , the faces of which are
         not further prepared than the peeling process , or
       - plywood of a thickness greater than 18.5 mm, sanded .
       Furthermore , by an agreement concluded with tire United States and
       approved by Gouncil Decision of 30 January 1987 (1 ) , the Community
       has undertaken to raise the total volume of this tariff quota to
       650 000 cubic metres .
       In addition , Protocol 11 to tire Act concerning the Conditions of
       Accession and the Adjustments to tire Treaties and the bilateral
       exchange of letters entered into on the conclusion of the GATT
       negotiations provide for autonomous Community tariff quotas at zero
       duty for the products concerned at volumes to be decided for each
       year when it is established that all possibilities of supply on the
       internal market of the Community will be exhausted during the period
       for which the quotas are open .
2.     This proposal for a Regulation concerns the Community tariff quotas
       in question to be opened on 1 January 1989 and allocated among
       Memosr States , taking into account the entry into force of the
       Combined Nomenclature , which has replaced the Goimon Customs Tariff .
3.     The application of Protocol No 11 was dealt with at advisory
       meetings of experts from tire Member States held since 1975 , at which
       it became clear , that taking into account the possibilities of
       supply on the Community market , which are in fact somewhat limited
       although increasing considerably , and on the basis of estimates
       submitted by the Member States , the tariff quotas in question could
       still be grouped under a single quota .
( 1 ) OJ L 98 , 10.4.1987 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 2 -
   The quota volume to be opened for 1989 was discussed by the
   " Economic Tariff Questions " Gioup on 5 and 6 May 1988 . It became
   clear from the discussion that :
   a)    as stated by the producing Member States , there is a risk that
         supplies opportunities on the Community internal market may not
         be used up in 1989 , which may make it difficult to open
         immediately the autonomous quota provided by Protocol No 11 of
         the Act of Accession .
   b)    Generally , the Cormission considers that , taking account of the
         uncertain level of consumption and the need to ensure outlets
         for Community production as well as the provision of supplies
         on favourable terms to user industries , great care should be
         taken in fixing the quota volume , so as not to endanger the
         market balance .
   It has therefore been decided to limit the initial quota for 1989 to
   the GATT consolidated volume of 650 000 m3 , and to review the
   situation , if necessary, during the year .
4. The method of administration proposed is the same as that usually
   adopted for Community tariff quotas and consists essentially of tne
   following :
   - the setting-up of a reserve cooresponding to 40 % of the quota
      volume ;
   - in the absence of economic data relating to each Member State ,
      an allocation identicial to the one that was approved for 1988 ;
   - the charging of inports against Member States' quota shares as and
      when the products are entered with the customs authorities for
      free circulation .
                                                                           3
 ---pagebreak---                                                    Procossl for «
                                        COUNOL REGULATION ( SEC ) No
                                                                      . .
                   opening, allocating and providing for the adsainistraticn of a Community tariff quota for
                                         certain plywoods of coniferous species ( 1989)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                          first being allocated among the Member States, and
                                                                   the second held as a reserve to cover any subsequent
                                                                   requirements of Member States which have used up their
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European              initial shares ; whereas, in order to afford importers some
Economic Community, and in particular Article 113                  degree of certainty , the first part of the quota should be set
thereof,                                                           at a relatively high level , about60 % of its full amount;
                                                                   whereas , on the basis of Member States’ estimates of their
                                                                   needs , the initial shares could be as set out in Article 2;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Whereas the Community has undertaken to open an annual
Community tariff quota of at least 600 000 cubic iP-SCPes          Whereas Member States may use up their initial shares at
for certain plywoods of coniferous species;                        different rates; whereas , to provide for this eventuality and
                                                                   to avoid any break in the continuity of supplies, any
whereas this quota has been raised to 650 000 cubic metres         Member State which has used up its initial share should
by virtue of an agreement concluded with the United States         draw additional shares in quantities corresponding to their
and approved by Decision 87 / 224 / EEC ( ' ); whereas,            real requirements , as many times as the reserve allows;
under Protocol 11 to the 1972 Act of Accession , the               whereas this form of administration requires close
Community is required to open each year autonomous nil             cooperation between Member States and the Commission
duty Community tariff quotas for the same products, the            and the latter must be able to monitor the extent to which
volume thereof to be decided annually when it is                   the quota volume has been used up and to inform the
established that all possibilities of supply on the internal       Member States accordingly ;
market of the Community have been exhausted during the
period for which the quotas are open ; whereas the
condition laid down by the said Protocol does not seem to
be met at the moment ; whereas , in these circumstances , it       Whereas if at a given date in the quota period a
is appropriate as an initial measure not to exceed the             considerable quantity of a Member State’s initial share
contractual volume of 650 000 cubic metres ; whereas the           remains unused , it is essential that that Member State
setting of the quota volume at this level does not exclude,        concerned should return a significant proportion to the
moreover, recourse to the provisions of the                        reserve, so as to avoid a part of the quota remaining
abovementioned Protocol 11 during the quota period;                unused in one Member State when it could be used in
whereas, therefore, the tariff quota in question should be         others ;
opened on 1 January 1989 and allocated among Member
States ;
                                                                   Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of
                                                                   the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are
                                                                   united within and jointly represented by the Benelux
                                                                   Economic Union , any measure concerning the
                                                                   administration of quota shares allocated to that economic
                                                                   union may be carried out by any one of its members,
                                                                   HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Whereas, to allow for import trends for the products
concerned , the quota should be divided into two pans, the                                     Article 1
                                                                   1 . From 1 January to 31 December 1989, the customs
                                                                   duty applicable to imports of the following products shall
                                                                   be suspended at the level indicated and within the limits of
( ' ) OJ No L 98
(>)           98,, 10.4.1987
                   10. 4. 1987,, p. 1 .                            a Community tariff quota as shown herewith:
 ---pagebreak---                                                                             - 2 -
                   Combined                                                                                 Amount of         Rate of
    Order
      No
                 nomenclature                                    Decription                                 tariff quota       duty
                     code                                                                                       (m J )         (%)
  09.0013       ex 4412 19 00        Plywood of coniferous species , without the addition of other
                                     substances :
                                     – of a thickness greater than 8,5 mm , the faces of which are not
                                        further prepared than the peeling process
                ex 4412 99 90        – sanded , and of a thickness greater than 18,5 mm                      650 000             0
Within the limits of this tariff quota Spain and Portugal                   preferential treatment for a product covered by this
shall apply duties calculated in accordance with the                        Regulation , and this request is accepted by the customs
relevant provisions set out in the 1985 Act of Accession .                  authorities, the Member State concerned shall , by notifying
                                                                            the Commission , draw an amount corresponding to its
2 . Imports of the products in question may not be charged                  requirements from the reserve referred to in Article 2 ( 3 ).
against this tariff quota if they are already free of customs
duties under other preferential tariff arrangements .
                                                                            Requests to draw on the reserve together with the date of
                                                                            acceptance of the customs declarations must be forwarded
                                                                            to the Commission without delay .
                              Article 2
                                                                            Drawings shall be granted by the Commission on the basis
1 . The tariff quota referred to in Article 1 ( 1 ) shall be                of the date of acceptance of goods for entry into free
divided into two parts .                                                    circulation by the customs authorities of the Member State
                                                                            concerned , provided a sufficient amount remains in the
2. A first part of 390 000 cubic metres shall be allocated                  reserve .
among certain Member States; these quota shares shall ,
subject to Article 4, be valid until 31 December 1989, and
shall be as follows :
                                                                            If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn , it
                                                                            shall return them to the reserve as soon as possible .
                                                  (cubic metres}
         Benelux                                    100 932
         Denmark                                       42 627
                                                                            If requests for drawings exceed the amount remaining in
         Germany                                       61 620                the reserve , an allocation shall be made pro rata . The
         Greece                                            39
         France                                         7 215                Member States shall be informed by the Commission in
         Ireland                                        5 850                accordance with the same procedure.
         Italy                                         15 717
         United Kingdom                             -| 5£ QQQ
3 . The second part , amounting to 260 000 cubic metres
shall constitute the reserve .
4 . If products of the type in question are presented in
Spain or Portugal and supported by a declaration as to
entry into free circulation which is accepted by the customs
services , the Member State concerned shall inform the
Commission and draw a corresponding amount under the
conditions laid down in Article 3 .                                                                    Article 4
                                                                             Member States shall return to the reserve , not later than
                                                                             1 October 1989 , the unused portions of their initial shares
                                                                             which , on 15 September 198 9are in excess of 20 % of the
                              Article 3                                      initial r mt . They may return a greater portion if there
                                                                             are grounds for believing that it may not be used in full .
 1 . If a Member State’s initial share as specified in Article 2
( 2 ), or of that share less any portion returned to the reserve
 where Article 4 has been applied has been used up entirely ,                Member States shall notify the Commission , not later than
 the following provisions shall apply .                                       1 October 198 9, of the total quantities of the products in
                                                                             question imported up to 15 September 198 9and charged
 If an importer presents, in a Member State , a declaration as               against the Community quota and of any portion of their
 to entry into free circulation comprising a request for                     initial shares returned to the reserve .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                - 3 -
                           Article 5                                 2 . Member States shall ensure that importers of the
                                                                     products in question have free access to the shares allocated
The Commission shall keep an account of the shares                   to them .
opened by the Member States pusuant to Articles 2 and 3
and , as soon as it has been notified , shall inform each State      3 . Member States shall charge imports of the products in
of the extent to which the reserve has been used up .                question against their shares as and when the products are
                                                                     entered with the customs authorities for free circulation .
It shall inform the Member States , not later than 5 October         4 . The extent to which a Member State has used up its
1 98 9, of the amount still in reserve after amounts have            share shall be determined on the basis of imports charged
been returned thereto pusuant to Article 4.                          against that share in accordance with paragraph 3 .
                                                                                              Article 7
It shall ensure that the drawing which exhausts the reserve
does not exceed the balance available and , to this end , shall
notify the amount of that balance to the Member State                At the Commission’s request , Member States shall inform it
making the last drawing .                                            of the imports actually charged against their quota
                                                                     shares .
                                                                                              Article 8
                           Article 6                                 Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely
                                                                     to ensure that this Regulation is complied with .
1 . Member States shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that additional drawings of shares pursuant to
Article 3 are carried out in such a way that imports may be                                   Article   9
charged without interruption against their accumulated
shares of the Community quota .                                      This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1989.
                  This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
                  States .
                 Done at Brussels ,
                                                                                         For the Council
                                                                                           The President
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          €
                                                                           N
FICHE FINANCIERE
1.      Ligne budgétaire concernée : Chap . 12 art . 120
2.      Base juridique : art . 113 du traité
3.      Intitulé de la mesure tarifaire : Proposition de règlement du
        Conseil portant ouverture , répartition et mode de gestion d' un
        contingent tarifaire conmunautaire pour certains bois
        contre-plaqués de conifères ( 1939 )
4.      Objectif : Respecter les engaganents contractés au GATT
5.      Mode de calcul :
        Volume du contingens : 600 000 m3
        Droits à appliquer :   0 %
        Droits           :   10 %
6.      Perte de recettes :
        Valeur au m3 : 396 écus
        Valeur des 650 000 m3 : 256 400 000 écus
        Perte de recettes : 25 740 000 écus
        Par rapport au contingent de 1938 : augmentation des pertes de
        25 740 000 écus - ( 22 320 000 écus - 1 860 000 écus ) = 1 560 000
                                                                       0
        écus .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                            CT /
               FICHE D' IMPACT SUR LA COMPETITIVITE ET L' EMPLOI
Cette proposition est formulée en conformité avec un engagement contractuel
de la Corrmunautê . L' impact découlant de cette concession a été pris en
considération lors de la prise de décision d' adoption de ce contingent et
il n' aura pas un caractère sérieux sur la compétitivité et 1 ' snploi dans la
Communauté .
                                                                            2